I stop beside the bed, turn my whole body toward Shane, facing her. She’s still looking at me with those soft eyes, bottomless eyes burning with an invisible touch.
I take both of her hands in mine and pull her closer to me, my forehead resting against hers. It’s a sunny day, a little past noon, and the stillness in this room is scary, too peaceful, too intense, too bright to be ignored.

A night of darkness and violence is waiting for us. I have no idea what’s going to happen exactly and, right now, I force myself not to care about anything else but Shane.

No, I am not afraid to die, but the truth is that I don’t want to. There are so many things I want to do, so many places I want to see, so many kisses I want to spread like butterflies on Shane’s skin. No, we’re not going to die. None of us will die tonight.

“Tu eres mi alma, mi vida” [“You are my soul, my life”], I tell her, softly, in a whisper, and Shane tilts her head to a side, her eyes softening even more, glimmering with unexpressed tears of love and sorrow and longing.

“Tu eres mi todo, mi pasión, mi amor prohibido, mi amor libre…” [“You’re my everything, my passion, my forbidden love, my free love…”] , I whisper, staring at her, cupping her face, brushing the soft skin of her cheeks with the palms of my hands, “…Es una bendicion tener tu amor… Tú eres mi primer amor y el último… Tú eres en todo lo que pienso… y todo lo que sueño…” [“…I’ve been blessed with your love… You’re my first love and my last love… You’re all I think about… and all I dream about…”].

Shane’s hands move on my back, on my hips, her fingers brush my stomach through the fabric of my shirt. She touches me like she’s venerating me. The warmth coming from her body is spellbounding, mesmerizing.

“¿Te he dicho últimamente, que te amo?” [“Have I told you lately that I love you?”], she murmurs then, huskily, in a perfect Spanish, and I smile in surprise.

“Si…”, I reply under my breath, nodding. I rake my fingers through her head and kiss her lips, slowly at first, and then deeply, passionately.