“I was a catastrophe of a person,” Jackson groans, laughing softly as he presses his eyes shut and remembers his first few days in the city. “I was…so shocked by the noise, Ariel, and the pavement – god, stone and metal everywhere - and the people. God, I didn’t think that there were that many peopl

“I mean, there was a tv in the living room of the boarding house,” Jackson says on a sigh, even as he starts to laugh. “But…before they showed me what it was for, I thought it was a computer.” “So, you knew what a computer was,” I say, grinning, “but not a tv?” “Yup,” he says, smiling down at me

A tiny groan escapes Jackson’s lips as he pulls me tighter, moving his mouth slowly over mine, cupping my face in his wide palm as he kisses me breathless. Things move fast, as they always do with us, and it feels like hardly a moment has passed before my hand wraps in the fabric of his t-shirt, pul

Daphne and I chat amiably on the way to breakfast, her telling me all the things she wants to see in the city, me giving my own recommendations. But when we turn into the breakfast room, I go a little still to see that it’s just my dad sitting at the head of the table, having a quiet cup of coffee w

My dad sits quietly by me as I finish telling him what Jackson and Luca have asked of me, as I wipe a few stray tears from my eyes. Dad is strong and stoic as I speak – the rock in my life that I always need him to be, letting me feel my pain and sitting quietly by me as I do. And when it passes, he