I pull her close. Kiss her once. Quick and soft. She melts into me for just a second before pulling back.
"Upstairs," she whispers.
We take the stairs slow. Careful. I know which steps creak. Third from the bottom. Seventh from the top. We avoid them both.
At the landing, we pause outside our doors. Her room. My room. The bathroom that connects them.
"Goodnight," she mouths.
"Goodnight," I mouth back.
She slips into her room. I slip into mine. Both doors close with barely a sound.
In bed, I stare at the bathroom door that connects to Lucy's room. Listen to the quiet sounds of her moving around. Getting ready for bed. The water running. Then silence.
My phone buzzes.
Lucy: "We made it."
Me: "Like a couple of professionals."
Lucy: "Tonight was perfect."
Me: "Yeah. It was."
Lucy: "Goodnight, Ryder."
Me: "Goodnight, Lucy."
I set the phone down. Roll onto my side. Close my eyes and see her face. Feel her hands. Hear her voice saying "I'm here."
For now, she's mine. I'm hers. Secret or not, complicated or not, temporary or not.
And tomorrow we'll figure out how to make this work in daylight.
But tonight was perfect.
Tonight was ours.
Lucy
I wake up in my own bed with Ryder's texts still glowing on my phone.
Last night at the cabin feels like a fever dream. His hands. His mouth. The way he looked at me like I was something precious. The way we fit together, clumsy and perfect at once.
My body still hums with the memory of it.
I roll over and stare at the bathroom door that connects to his room. He's on the other side of that wall, maybe thirty feet away. Close enough to touch, if I were brave enough to cross that threshold in daylight.
But daylight changes things. Makes them real. Makes them risky.
My phone lights up on the nightstand.
Ryder: "You awake?"
Me: "Unfortunately."
Ryder: "Regrets?"
