She bit her bottom lip to keep from crying – again – as Jase approached, dressed all in black once more. Leaving her exactly as he’d come to her for their one night together. Maybe not exactly. She didn’t think that either of them could ever be the same again after tonight. He paused in front of her and started to speak, but then his normally mobile and smiling lips snapped closed and into a harsh thin line. She understood. What other words could they possibly say to each other? What words could possibly make any difference in what they both knew had to happen that morning? She inched higher on her tiptoes and kissed him, a hard and urgent kiss that she hoped communicated all that she was feeling. When they broke apart, she sniffled back her tears, scrubbed her face with shaky hands, and offered him a watery smile. She didn’t outright cry, but she couldn't speak past the tightness in her throat and was thankful that he remained silent as well. With a quick, almost curt nod, and another hard urgent kiss, he rushed out the door, leaving her behind to deal with the emotions swirling around in her brain. Emotions she didn't have time to fully explore because she knew that she had to be downstairs soon for the big bye-bye breakfast that her parents had planned for the Hart family.
