I resumed my work and we fell into easy conversation after that. He told me what it was like to grow up in a palace the size of a small state, about the times July got into trouble and then would hide under his bed until he took the fall for her.
I in turn told him about how I would sneak into my father’s office so I could eavesdrop on his meeting. Or the time I thought dressing up in his clothes would be enough to convince the guards that I was him.
We spoke about safe things, things that didn’t matter and we carefully avoided anything real, or dangerous, or even remotely close to the tangible tension we could feel every time he moved and his knee brushed my thigh.
At some point, I must have said something ridiculous because Ethan threw his head back and he laughed. Really laughed. An
