Chapter 18

It had been two weeks since Mark left the apartment, and I’d barely seen him since. He’d only come by once, and even then, it was a fleeting visit. Life had grown heavier lately; school was becoming more demanding, work was draining me, and with exams around the corner, the days seemed to blur into an endless cycle of lectures, revisions, and exhaustion.

Through it all, Dam and I stayed close, maybe too close. Nights bled into mornings spent tangled in sheets, in whichever room we happened to collapse in. We couldn’t seem to get enough of each other. Our chemistry had spilled beyond the confines of the bedroom, onto the couch, against the counter, even in the kitchen. Just last night, while he was making dinner as usual, a playful glance turned into a kiss, and before I knew it, he had me pressed against the counter, our laughter melting into something breathless and desperate. It was wild… and intoxicating.

This afternoon, I’d just come home from class, sprawled out on my bed, too ti