The kind of love that makes you believe in things you swore you never would.
The kind of love that echoes when they aren’t around.
The kind of love that stays.
She swallowed hard, stepping between his knees. Chase’s hands found her hips instantly, his touch firm, grounding, like he needed to hold onto her just as much as she needed to be held.
His breath was warm against her skin, his lips just inches from hers, but he didn’t close the distance.
Neither of them did.
They just stayed there, suspended in the kind of silence that could break a person.
Her fingers trembled as she lifted them to his face, tracing the strong lines of his jaw, the roughness of his stubble, the tension locked in his muscles.
She wanted to memorize him.
Every feature. Every curve. Every breath. Because soon, she would have to live with only the memory of this.
“Savannah—”
His voice was low, hoarse, like he was on the verge of breaking.
She swallowed, her fingers tightening on his skin.
"I don’t want to go," she whispered, the words slipping out before she could stop them. Bare. Vulnerable. True.
Chase’s grip on her hips tightened just slightly, like he wanted to pull her closer but knew he couldn’t hold her here forever. His eyes burned into hers, dark and full of something undeniable, inescapable.
"Then don’t,” he said, so simply, so easily.
Like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Like it was that easy.
A single tear slid down her cheek, and Chase caught it with his thumb, brushing it away before cupping her face.
He kissed her then.
Soft. Slow. Deep.
Like he was trying to tell her everything he couldn’t say.
Like he was begging her to hear him, to feel him, to understand that this was real.
Savannah let out a soft, shaky breath, her fingers sliding into his hair, holding onto him like she could keep this moment frozen in time.
Because tomorrow,
Tomorrow would come.
It always did.
And this?
This was the last night.
Her last chance to let herself feel it all.
