“I want to sleep next to you, Noah.”Kai said it with that easy grin of his — the one that made everything sound simple, like the most natural request in the world.No way, I thought immediately, my chest tightening.These were supposed to be my happiest days. And in so many ways they were — Kai, and what was growing between us, and the way he looked at me like I was someone worth looking at. But underneath all of it, quiet and persistent, was the worry. The constant, exhausting worry. Because if he got too close he would want more — more proximity, more openness, more of me — and every lie I had told was becoming heavier by the day.“No,” I said.“Come on, Noah. Please.” He shifted toward me slightly. “I won’t touch you. I just want to be close to you.” He paused. “Why are you always pushing your boyfriend away?”The word landed somewhere in my chest and just sat there.Boyfriend.“I’m your boyfriend,” he said again, softer this time, like he was trying the word on and finding he lik
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