Se connecterKAYLA"Sorry," Darius murmured, but there was no apology in his voice. "Just getting this."He turned on the tap, and I stood frozen, my heart slamming against my ribs as he started washing the containers like it was the most normal thing in the world."Kay, can you grab the wine?" Zara called from the living room. "It should be in one of those bags on the counter.""Coming!" My voice came out too bright, but she didn't seem to notice.I moved toward the counter, but Darius shifted at the same moment, and suddenly we were body to body, the sink at my back, the counter digging into my hips, his chest pressing against mine. The sponge was in one hand, the other braced against the counter, boxing me in."Move," I breathed."Where?"There was a flicker of that raw hunger I'd seen on his face when he'd been on top of me, driving into me, telling me to come for him."Please, Darius…"She's right there. She'll see us. She'll know.But I didn't say any of that, because I couldn't find the wor
KAYLAWe lay tangled together on the naked mattress, my head on his chest and his hand lazily tracing patterns along my bare arm. The sunlight had shifted, the room warmer now, and for a few dangerous, blissful moments I let myself pretend.His hand stilled on my arm. "We should…""Don't say it yet," I whispered. "Give me one more minute."He was quiet. His arms tightened around me, and I pressed my face into the curve of his neck, breathing him in, trying to memorize this moment like a photograph I'd never be able to look at again.Then his phone buzzed on the floor somewhere. And mine did too.I knew who it was before either of us moved.Darius reached for his phone first, and I watched his face shift as he read the message. "She's about ten minutes out.""Right." I sat up, scanning the floor for my clothes. "Okay."I wasn't sure what I expected him to say. That everything would change, that we'd figure something out. But he said nothing.By the time her key turned in the lock, we w
KAYLAI could hear my own heartbeat, could feel it in my throat, in my fingertips where they still rested on the cardboard box.Finally, I pushed myself up. "We should just…" I gestured vaguely toward the hallway where I assumed the bedroom was. "Get it done.""Yeah." His voice was rough. "Get it done."I walked first. I could feel him behind me, could feel the heat of his presence even without looking, and I kept my eyes forward, focused on the half-emptied hallway with its stack of boxes and the door at the end that led to what would be their bedroom.Their bedroom.The words echoed in my head as my fingers closed around the doorknob. I pushed the door open and stepped inside.It was empty except for a few leaning boxes and a naked mattress on the floor. Big windows, same floor-to-ceiling style, with sheer curtains that let the morning light pour through. A closet with sliding doors along the far wall.I felt him step in behind me. The door didn't close, we left it open, but it migh
KAYLAHis car pulled up exactly on time, which felt deeply unfair. Late would have given me an excuse. Late would have meant I could text Zara saying he didn't show and spend the day aggressively reorganizing my closet instead.But no. Seven fifty-nine, and there he was.I grabbed my bag and walked out before I could think too hard about it.He was leaning against the passenger side when I stepped outside, looking all casual. Like a man with an entirely clear conscience, which was offensive."Morning," he said."Morning."I reached for the door handle at the exact same moment he did. Our hands landed on top of each other.I pulled back like I'd touched a stove. "Sorry."He opened the door without a word. I got in without looking at him.The drive started fine. Zara's voice filled the silence through his phone speaker, talking about paint colors and whether the accent wall should be sage or terracotta, and I contributed exactly the right number of mm-hmms and I like the sage to sound l
KAYLAI spent the entire morning telling myself I was ready. I was not ready.But that was tomorrow's problem. Tonight, I just had to survive getting home.The cab ride back from the café felt longer than it should have. I kept my eyes on the window and watched the city blur past, buildings and streetlights and strangers living completely unbothered lives, and I envied every single one of them.By the time I got to my floor, I had almost convinced myself I was fine.Then Mrs. Cassia's door swung open."Kayla!"I stopped walking. "Hi, Mrs. Cassia."She was already in the hallway, arms open, slippers on, reading glasses pushed up on her forehead. She pulled me into a hug before I could prepare for it. She smelled like shea butter and rice and everything warm, and some stupid part of me nearly teared up."You're back," she said, holding me at arm's length to look at me properly. "You look thin.""I'm not thin.""You're thin. Come, let me give you something.""I just ate…""You ate café f
KAYLAI woke up exhausted. Not physically… morally. The second my eyes opened, last night came crashing back .The kiss. The panic. The look on Darius's face before he left.I groaned and immediately buried my face in my pillow. "Nope."Unfortunately, my brain wasn't interested in cooperating. Every embarrassing second replayed itself anyway.I kissed him. The realization hit me all over again.Not only had I kissed him. I had kissed my best friend's boyfriend.I rolled onto my back and stared at the ceiling. "Okay." I pointed at the ceiling. "We are not doing this today."No flirting, staring, thinking about him, or replaying the kiss.Last night was a mistake. A massive, catastrophic mistake, and from this moment forward, I was going to act like a mature adult with functioning self-control.My phone suddenly rang. I reached for it, and the screen lit up.Zara was Calling.I closed my eyes. "Of course."I considered pretending to be dead. Instead, I answered. "Hello?""Good morning,





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