"Much, much easier," I said, trying to exhale.
"Hmm... .mmm."
"So I was wondering... "
"Hmm?" He paused with my earlobe between two incisors, nibbling gently. His fingers that had been tracing my collarbone stopped.
"Why is that," my voice shook, embarrassing me, "do you think?"
As if erupting from a pocket universe of silence, he guffawed lightly into my ear. "Mind over matter."
I pulled back; as I moved, he froze—and I could no longer hear his pretend breathing.
We stared cautiously at each other for a moment, face to face, and then, as his clenched jaw gradually relaxed, his expression became puzzled.288
"Did I do something wrong?"
"No—the opposite. You're driving me crazy," I explained.
He considered that briefly, and when he spoke, he sounded pleased. "Really?" A triumphant smile spread slowly over his face.
"Would you like a round of applause?" I asked sarcastically.
He considered that briefly but said, "No, no. I'm just pleasantly surprised," he said, pausing. "Surprisingly pleased," he clarified. "In the last hundred years of so," his voice was teasing, "I never imagined anything like this. I didn't believe I would ever find someone I wanted to be with... in another way than my
288. Presumably bearing likeness to "Balloon Crazy", a jigsaw puzzle drawn by Royce McClune that depicts a sky filled with all manner of hot-air balloons.