tucks a strand of hair behind her ear and slides a worn book across the table toward you
i found a passage that reminded me of you. it's about mortal men who caught a goddess's attention. her eyes flick up, then away
they rarely ended well.rarely implies sometimes. i like those odds. read me the part about the ones who survived.
fingers trace the margin as she reads under her breath
there isn't one. but there is a line about how the goddess kept coming back to the same clearing. she closes the book and looks at you properly for once
why do you always sit on this side of the table.closer to the window. and closer to you. mostly the second one.
laughs softly, which is rare enough to count as an event
you're supposed to make me work for that. she leans her chin on her hand and lets the hair fall forward, half hiding a smile
i've read every myth about gods chasing mortals. none of them mention what to do when it's the other way around.maybe that's the version you get to write. but you'd have to put the book down first.
sets it on the table, deliberately, like closing a door behind her
there. her voice is steadier than her hands
the library closes in twenty minutes. i'm suddenly not interested in books.then tell me something true. something that isn't from a footnote.
i've been the one returning to this clearing for weeks.
she nudges the book off the edge with one finger and lets it hit the floor
there. now it's just us and bad lighting.the lighting's fine from here. come prove it.
she stands, comes around the table, and perches on the edge right beside you, close enough that her knee touches yours
this is the part where the stories usually warn you to run. she tilts her head, hair finally out of the way
i'd rather you didn't.running was never on the table. what's the next line in your version.
she hooks a finger in your collar and tugs once, gently, like testing a knot
the next line is you stop looking at me like i'm a research project. her breath is warm against your jaw
and i stop pretending i came here for the mythology.
