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We sink into the blanket

Our fingers are in each other’s hair, and his breath is in the hollow of my neck, and I wish the world would s us here, whole, in this moment And that’s when it hitsin love

Chapter eleven

We kiss on the stairs, on the streets of the Right Bank, on the bridge over the Seine, on the streets of the Left Bank We kiss until our mouths are sore and our lips are numb It’s so intense that I don’t realize my feet are blistered until we’re only a few blocks away from the dorm I pop off my heels on the steps of Saint-Étienne-du-Mont, a church across from the Panthéon, and release a pained hiss of relief

"Blisters and a bloody nose" Josh sits down beside ain

"Those shoes are insane," he says

I wiggle my red feet "Maybe they were a bit ly tall side You knoe all know you’re short, right? It’s not, like, a secret"

"Hush"

"I like that you’re tiny I like that I could carry you around in my pocket"

I shove his arm with ether, you can sit on hs He tries to push ainst the steps He laughs even harder I do, too "You deserve that," I say

"And now I’ll pay round and faces his backside towards me "Get on"

"What?"

"You can’t walk in those shoes, and the streets are covered in broken glass"

"I’hs in fake exasperation "Will you just get on already?"

"Just because I’"

"Just because I’m skinny doesn’t mean that I can’t carry someone short You’re what, five one?"

"Yeah" I’uessed it exactly "What are you?"

"Six one So there"

"Freak"

He grins at me over his shoulder "Get on"

I stand, my heels in hand "Okay You asked for it"