Held tighter.
Fucked like the world was ending—like the walls were caving in, like the moment their bodies parted, everything would crumble.
And maybe it would.
Maybe this—whatever this was—wasn’t something she could just walk away from without taking pieces of him with her.
They memorized every second before it was gone.
Every touch. Every sound. Every look that said what neither of them dared to say out loud.
They stole every moment, savored them, tucked them away in the deepest parts of their memories like a secret they weren’t ready to share with the world.
And every evening, when the sun bled across the horizon, they found themselves back at the dock.
It had become theirs—their sanctuary, untouched by the outside world, protected from the inevitability waiting just beyond the tide.
Here, time didn’t feel as heavy.
Here, they could breathe.
Here, they could ignore the fact that the sun would rise in three days and she would leave and Chase would wake up without her beside him.
The water stretched before them, endless and calm, the kind of calm that mocked the storm unraveling inside her.
Some nights, they sat side by side, sharing a bottle of wine, their voices hushed, lost in conversation that didn’t involve what came next.
Other nights, Savannah sat between his legs, resting against his chest, wrapped in the kind of warmth she was already mourning.
And tonight?
Tonight was one of those nights.
Chase’s arms were draped around her, his hands resting against her stomach as he pressed a slow, lingering kiss against her shoulder, his lips dragging just enough to make her shiver.
She closed her eyes, exhaling softly, committing the feeling of him—all of him—to memory.
The scent of salt and faded cologne clinging to his skin.
The slow, steady rise and fall of his chest against her back.
The rough drag of his fingertips over the bare skin beneath her shirt, like he needed to feel her.
Like if he held on tight enough, maybe she wouldn’t slip through his fingers like the days already had.
Savannah traced small patterns over his forearm, swallowing against the knot in her throat.
She didn’t want to break the silence.
Didn’t want to break the spell.
But the words still came, quiet and aching.
“You ever think about leaving?” she murmured, staring out at the horizon, watching the sky darken.
Chase didn’t answer right away.
His chin rested lightly against her temple, his arms tightening around her in a way that made her chest ache.
