‘The good news is that you have amazing words, and a pure connection to the emotions they come from. You end up defeating the dozen clichés in this because of honesty, which is always a defence against cliché.’

‘But?’

‘No buts. You just need breath. And lose the last two lines.’

‘Breath?’

‘Spaces between the words, to let them breathe. I’m sure there’s some professional terminology for it—I just call it breath. Hold on, I was taking notes—give me one second. Okay, here, try writing it like this:

‘So—when he does leave,
deliberate movement unaware,
A part of me will break
Pieces, glisten, torn.

So, so, many
pains
different,
varied
rainbow of tears
screaming—
agonizing never leaving.

Scars brutal and red
sprinkled with blue
they are what they seem
taken from me,
forced—the loss of Safe.

You left me,
and it’s all within
locked away, unexpressed,
except here, here
on this page.’

I felt a rush of distinctly unfamiliar form and substance, pulsing to know the taste of his lips and the feel of his skin, everything like an ache for equilibrium.

‘Tara?’

The only note of shy hesitancy I’d ever heard from him. It fuelled the hunger, the desire—whatever it was; a want transformed by its fierceness into a need.

I struggled to cover up the lust lodged in my throat; my voice came out unnaturally high. ‘Oh. Oh that sounds a lot better.’

‘Mmhm.’ He’d settled back into himself.

‘You’re a really good writer.’

‘This was actually editing, not writing.’

‘Well then, you’re a really good editor.’

‘True.’

‘Also exceedingly modest.’

He laughed.

‘Have you always been this arrogant?’ I was surprised at my own words, at the unexpected boldness that took to me to take liberties.

‘Yes. But that’s not a bad thing.’

‘I know many who would disagree. I’m not half as bad as you, but I still get the whole “she has way too much attitude” line at every damn PTA meeting.’

‘Oh. See, the thing about arrogance is that you need to back it up with enough substance to justify it. Real achievement, and knowledge. And a veneer of polite deference to all elders, superiors, what have you. Then they can’t say anything about you. They just appreciate not being victims to your fault-finding.’

‘Tall order.’

‘Not really. Just be the smartest, most engaging person in the room.’

‘Yeah, right.’

‘What? You totally have the chops for it. You’re completely crazy, which is the first and biggest prerequisite.’

I didn’t know about that. ‘Well, it’s easier for some than others.’

‘Oh no, I worked very, very hard to earn my right to arrogance. I had to.’

He was a Dhillon; why did he have to? ‘Why?’