Sharp Instrument
Chapter 28 Mask Off:
Erna sits on the stoop, hunched over and attempting to light her half finished cigarette. Levi's hands cup the air around her lighter until she gets it lit. She takes one drag and then is left exhaling a shocked little gasp as he steals the black cigarette straight from her mouth.
She looks up at him standing in front of her as he uses the tip of her cigarette to light a new one resting between his pierced lips. She narrows her eyes at him for the theft until he brings the stolen clove back to her mouth, making her open her lips while staring up at him. The filter touches her lower lip and her breath hitches. His hand returns to the pocket of his hoodie and Erna's face feels unbearably hot.
She looks away, but her eyes are drawn back to him always, no matter how hard she tries not to look. She stares at the way he moves when he puts his tea down on the steps, the muscles of his neck. She inhales, the wind blows a stray piece of hair in his eyes, she exhales a steady stream of smoke from her nostrils, and he tells her, “Stop looking at me like that.”
She feels her face flush immediately. “Like what?”
“You know.”
A Tequila Sunrise Over Us