"What are you doing here? I thought you were still in Europe until next week?" His voice was crusty and aged. It was as if he had swallowed dust instead of water or air. His hair was a dark unruly mass curling wildly around those dark brown eyes..haunting his features like shadows. "I got back early, aren't you going to let me in?" I hated the way my voice sounded, a little girl's. I looked down at the cotton pattern of the light green dress I had purchased in how the fabric clung to my skin from the heat. In Europe I had been awoken by the attention I received from older men, and a part of me was scared of that. I didn't want to be noticed by anyone but Him, and yet he didn't even seem to want to meet my gaze as I slid through the door like the serpent in the garden of Eden; wishing in the back of my mind that I could tempt him into my garden. He seemed different, but that was to be expected as I had been gone for 2 months. His skin was a light yellow and I could tell he had been sleeping and staying inside all the while that I had been gone. He was never one for really going out and seeking the day, and maybe that was just as well. Breathing in I caught that unusual scent that his house always held, the smell of frankincense and myrrh. It made me want to smell him, to see if he smelled anything like the walls in which he lived, but I knew not to cross the invisible border he held up between us. Shifting on his bed he reached underneath the covers for his pipe, the sinews of his muscles gleaming in the candle light as he found his stash and began to prepare to light up. I hated it when he did this because it made him even more far away. Without thinking, I reached over and knocked the pipe from his hand, lacing my fingers around his thin wrist. It was in that moment that he saw me for the first time, his eyes narrowing in anger and the growl beneath his throat barely audible. I wondered if he would slap me, if he would yell, or if he would shut down and push me out even more. But instead he did something I had never witnessed before. He grabbed my wrist and pulled me to him, before he started to sob against my breast like a child. I could hardly catch the words that were uttered in between gasps for air..I always thought that he would be a silent crier, but instead he was loud and vocal. Maybe it was this contrast that excited me so much, I could feel myself tensing and yet I knew that I needed to just be there for cotton of my dress was getting wet as he clung to me shaking. I wanted to say something to consol him but instead I remained quiet, brushing the hair from his eyes and listening to him mutter and breathe. When he finally looked up at me, I could tell he was about to pull away and return to being unemotional and guarded like before. I could feel my heart tense with fear, I didn't want to be away from him again now that he had opened up. So I did what I thought I should never ever do.. I leaned in and kissed him.