unveiled

excerpt

EXCERPT:

Tae had gotten used to reading people, their body language, their choice of words.  He found even a person's clothes gave clues as to how they were feeling.  He collected all these tidbits of information about people hundreds of times a day for his job.  Yet he had never found someone who really picked up his tells.

Dae knew some of them. He wore something pink when he needed a bit of luck.  If he switched to whiskey after the first round of drinks it was going to be a long night. If his date was rude to the waiter she was going home alone. 

But even Dae did not pick up all of them, no matter how loudly he projected them. No one did.

Except now, looking into her face, he knew.  He knew she was reading his expressions, cataloging his reactions, looking for his tells.  She was not looking at the design of his suit, the tone of his body, the symmetry of his face, the sharpness of his jawline, the folds of his eyes or even the freckle on his nose. She was judging none of those things by which he was used to being measured.

She was looking at him, inside him.  He sat stock still and prayed she found at least some tiny bit of worth in him.

She looked at him and tilted her head one way, and then another. Minutes passed and the twilight deepened.  Still the two of them sat in silence.

Finally, as the sun sank into the horizon and the gold was replaced by strokes of orange and purple, the girl gave Tae a nod so small  he almost missed it.

He smiled at her.  His real smile, his whole smile.

Before he knew what was happening , she unfolded herself from her position and caught his still smiling lips in a soft,  open mouth kiss. 

It was the purest, sweetest gift Tae had ever been given.  Before he could react she had disappeared into the shadows now lining the courtyard.

Tae fought the urge to run after her, by instinct knowing that would frighten her.

He sat there in stillness, his thoughts racing as darkness claimed this space.

What the hell just happened to him?