The slam of the door still echoed in Lola’s ears long after Chris’s footsteps faded down the hall. The silence that followed was unbearable, pressing against her chest until she thought she might suffocate. She sat frozen on the edge of the bed, her hands trembling in her lap. Her pulse hadn’t slow
The pounding on the door echoed through the small dorm room, each knock like a strike against Lola’s chest. She could barely breathe. The man beside her straightened, his entire body tense, jaw clenched as if ready for a fight. His hand slid away from her wrist, but only so he could brace himself a
Lola woke to the dim light of dawn slipping through the blinds, painting pale lines across the bed. For a moment, she lay still, her body heavy with exhaustion, her heart beating too fast for someone just waking up. Her mind was a blur of last night the shouting, the confession, the kiss she should
The door slammed shut with a force that seemed to echo through Lola’s bones. For a long moment, she just stood there, staring at the wood as if willing it to swing open again. The silence afterward was deafening, broken only by the ragged sound of her own breathing. Her knees gave out first. She sa
The knock came again, sharper this time, rattling through the small dorm room like a gunshot. “Lola!” Chris’s voice was closer now, insistent. “I’m not leaving until you answer.” Her pulse skittered, her palm hovering over the knob. Every muscle in her body screamed at her to move, to do something
The air between them still vibrated from the weight of their kiss, heavy with a charge that neither dared to break. Lola’s lips tingled, her breath shallow, her body thrumming with a dangerous rhythm she hadn’t known she was capable of feeling. He hadn’t moved far just far enough that the whisper o