chapter 4: leave the door unlocked

Maya left the door unlocked.

She told herself it didn’t mean anything. She told herself she could still change her mind, still throw the deadbolt, still pretend the afternoon on the mattress hadn’t happened. Instead she took another shower, pulled on a clean tank top and soft shorts, and sat on the edge of the mattress with a book she never opened.

Every sound from the hallway made her pulse jump.

At 9:42 the door opened without a knock.

Noah stepped inside and closed it quietly behind him. He looked like he had come straight from work—black joggers, a dark hoodie, hair still slightly damp like he’d showered at the gym. The second his eyes found her, the tiredness in them burned off.

“You left it unlocked,” he said.

Maya stayed seated. “You told me to.”

“I did.” He crossed the room slowly, stopping in front of her. “Didn’t know if you would.”

She tipped her chin up. “It doesn’t mean this is anything.”

Noah’s mouth curved, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes. “Keep telling yourself that.”

He reached down, hooked his hands under her arms, and lifted her to her feet in one smooth motion. Maya’s hands landed on his chest. The hoodie was soft. The body underneath was hard.

“I had to leave earlier,” he said, voice low. “I hated it. Spent the whole time thinking about the way you felt around me.”

Maya’s stomach tightened. “Noah—”

He kissed her before she could finish the sentence.

This kiss was different from the frantic one that afternoon. Slower. Deeper. Like he had all night and planned to use every minute. Maya made a small sound against his mouth and felt his hands slide down to grip her ass, pulling her flush against him. He was already hard.

She broke the kiss just enough to speak. “This is still just sex.”

Noah’s forehead rested against hers. “Okay.”

“I mean it.”

“I heard you.” His hands squeezed. “Now take your clothes off.”

Maya’s breath stuttered. She stepped back, gripped the hem of her tank top, and pulled it over her head. Noah watched every inch of skin as it appeared. When she hooked her thumbs in her shorts and pushed them down, his jaw flexed.

“On the mattress,” he said quietly. “Hands and knees.”

Heat flooded her face and between her legs at the same time. She dropped to the mattress and settled on her hands and knees the way he wanted. The position made her feel exposed, vulnerable. Noah made a low, approving sound behind her.

She heard the soft rustle of clothes, the tear of a condom packet. Then the mattress dipped and his big hands settled on her hips.

“Been thinking about this all day,” he murmured, dragging the head of his cock through her wetness. “The way you sounded when you came on my tongue. The way you looked at me after.”

Maya’s arms trembled. “Stop talking and—”

He pushed into her in one smooth thrust.

The stretch punched a moan out of her. Noah groaned like the sound wrecked him. He held still for a second, buried deep, giving her time to adjust, then started moving in long, steady strokes that dragged against every sensitive place inside her.

One of his hands slid up her spine and into her hair, closing into a fist. He tugged just hard enough to make her arch.

“You feel even better like this,” he gritted out. “Taking me so deep.”

Maya could only moan in answer. Every thrust forced her forward a little on the mattress. The wet sound of him moving inside her filled the quiet apartment. She pushed back to meet him, chasing the thick slide of his cock.

Noah’s free hand snaked around her hip and found her clit. He rubbed tight circles in time with his thrusts. The dual sensation made her vision blur.

“That’s it,” he said against her ear, leaning over her back. “Let go for me. I want to feel you come again.”

The orgasm built fast and dirty. Maya’s arms gave out. She dropped to her forearms as pleasure tore through her, pulsing hard around him. Noah cursed and followed her over a few thrusts later, hips stuttering as he buried himself deep and came with a broken groan of her name.

They stayed locked together for a long moment, both breathing hard. Eventually Noah pulled out carefully and dealt with the condom. When he came back he didn’t reach for his clothes. He stretched out on the mattress and tugged Maya down against his chest like it was the most natural thing in the world.

She let him.

For a while neither of them spoke. His fingers traced idle patterns on her bare shoulder. The ceiling fan turned slowly overhead.

Maya stared at the far wall. “You can’t keep doing this.”

“Doing what?”

“Showing up. Making me—” She stopped, frustrated. “I told you I don’t do complicated.”

Noah’s hand stilled. “And I told you it doesn’t have to be casual.”

She pushed up on one elbow so she could see his face. “We had sex twice in one day. That doesn’t mean we’re suddenly something.”

“I’ve wanted you for ten years, Maya.” His voice was quiet but steady. “This isn’t sudden for me.”

The honesty in it made her chest tighten. She looked away.

Noah’s fingers resumed their slow path along her arm. “What are you so scared of?”

“I’m not scared.”

“Liar.”

She sat up fully, pulling the sheet around her chest like armor. “I came back here to get my life together. Not to fall into whatever this is with the boy next door who never left.”

Noah sat up too. The sheet pooled around his hips. In the low light he looked both familiar and completely new—same eyes, same scar on his collarbone, but harder, more certain.

“I’m not the boy next door anymore,” he said. “And you’re not the girl who used to pretend she didn’t watch me from her window.”

Maya’s throat worked. “You don’t know what I’m like now.”

“Then let me learn.”

The simple offer landed harder than any filthy promise. She shook her head, more to herself than to him.

“I can’t do the whole… feelings thing right now.”

Noah studied her for a long moment. Then he nodded once, like he was filing the information away.

“Okay,” he said. “No feelings. Just this.” He gestured between their bodies. “Whenever you want it. Door unlocked or door locked—your call. I’ll take whatever you’ll give me.”

Something in her chest twisted at how easily he said it.

Noah reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. The gesture was almost careful.

“But fair warning,” he added, voice dropping. “I’m going to make it really hard for you to keep pretending this is nothing.”

Maya’s pulse kicked.

He leaned in and kissed her once, soft and slow, before standing and pulling his clothes back on. She watched every movement in silence.

At the door he paused and looked back.

“Same time tomorrow?” he asked.

Maya swallowed. “Maybe.”

Noah’s smile was pure heat and quiet confidence.

“I’ll take a maybe.”

He left without another word. The door clicked shut behind him.

Maya stayed on the mattress, sheet still clutched to her chest, the smell of him lingering on her skin. She told herself she would lock the door tomorrow.

She already knew she wouldn’t.

---