I watched Nikolai go about, and I slowly finished eating. Without a word, he cleared the plates away, then slowly disappeared into one of the rooms in the house.
When he came back, he was wearing different clothes, his hair slightly damp and ruffled, his eyes thin as he came to me.
"Ready?"
"Where are we going?" I asked, standing up either way.
He gave a small shrug. "To the mall. Let's get some groceries."
I bit down on my lips. "Does this mean..." I trailed off, then slowly shook my head. "Sure, let's..."
"Your dress is torn," he suddenly said, his brows furrowed.
I looked down at it, then sighed. "It's nothing. I just..."
Before I could finish it, his hands were around me, his head buried in the crook of my neck.
"Thank you," he whispered after some time, his lips brushing my
