Sophia
I found the balcony almost by accident, slipping away from my mother's determined tour of the donor boards under the excuse of needing air, and it turned out to be exactly what I needed. Quiet. Dark, except for the string of small lights along the railing and the glow of the city spread out below. A place to breathe after an hour of feeling like every eye in that ballroom had somehow landed on the two seconds Mark's hand had rested against my waist.
I didn't hear him come out behind me. I felt it, the way the air shifted, the way my whole body seemed to know before my mind caught up.
"Hiding?" Mark asked, coming to stand beside me at the railing, close enough that our arms nearly touched.
"Regrouping." I kept my eyes on the skyline rather than on him, because looking at him dire
