Barely a lean was all it would take to kiss her, the distance between them more vertical than horizontal. She was there, so close, and she was his—except she wasn't. It was a decision they had made, together, and now it loomed between them greater than any distance.

And yet, though Julius knew this, he could not move away again, could not even contemplate the idea that the music would end, that they would be forced once more to part—permanently.

His eyes bored into hers as they continued to dance, saying everything he could not put words to.