Falling in Love

He might’ve been someone she loved… if not for the fact that he was now just a stain on the rocks below. It was an odd thought to have and it confused her. She didn’t usually get sentimental at times like this. She watched the seaweed spread around the rocks in the frothy tide and wash the stain away. She felt comforted to know that his body would be taken into the sea’s capable hands. The sound of the waves crashing in seemed to say ‘I’ve got it from here’.

But the thought still troubled her. She didn’t do that, she wasn’t stupid enough to fall for a mark. And by all rights, she hadn’t been particularly attached when she pushed him off the edge- it hadn’t bothered her then. So why then, after he touched down, would she think such a thing?

Perhaps it was the way he accepted his fate. He had such a calm, almost serene look as she slid the needle into his neck. He didn’t struggle at all as he lost control of his muscles and crumbled to the ground. And as she gave him that final push she watched his face as he turned- it had the look of acceptance. As if this was ok by him. How strange. It made her smile.

She felt his arms around her before she had a chance to react and melted into him. She’d been missing him so much over these past months and she set up the con. So little contact so as not to risk being found out. She knew he was watching her from afar, counting down the time until they would be together again.

“I missed you,” she whispered.

He backed away and turned her to face him. She went in for a kiss, an instinctual move. He held her back with a hand on her neck. Her pulse quickened. Not from fear, but another reaction.

“It’s done then?” he asked, starting directly into her eyes.

“Executed perfectly,” she smiled at him. “The money is in the account ready for us to pick it up.”

“Excellent,” he said. And then his stern look softened into a smile. He picked her up with arms tucked under her butt and lifted her up. She bent down for a kiss and they embraced with the passion she’d felt building since last she saw him. He spun her around then and she closed her eyes. She thought that this is what falling in love is supposed to feel like.

“So what’s next?” she asked, her hands playing lightly on his chest. She felt so secure in his arms.

“Well, I’ll be picking up that money and hitting the road,” he answered, with a grin.

“Don’t you mean we?” she asked, her heart dropped a beat.

“Nope,” he said.

His arms gave a small push outward as they let go and she plummeted off the cliff edge. She looked up at him as she fell, still too in shock to comprehend the end of her life.

He stood there for a moment, watching the red stain spread across the rocks. She might’ve been someone he loved…