I close my eyes. “I fell for someone.”
Silence again. Not surprised silence, just the kind where she’s letting me talk without pushing.
“He’s not… He’s not ready. For me. For any of it. He’s still figuring himself out, and I guess I thought—” I stop, grinding my teeth. “I don’t know what I thought. But I let it happen anyway. And now I feel like an idiot.”
“Oh, honey.” Her voice goes softer, and I just wish she were here so I could get the hug I know she’d give me. “You’re not an idiot. You’re human.”
“Feels worse than that,” I mutter.
“You cared about someone, and they didn’t—or couldn’t—give you what you needed back. That’s not your fault.”
“I should’ve known better.”
“Maybe. But we don’t always get a say in who we fallfor.” She pauses, then adds, “Everything happens for a reason, Logan. If it’s meant to work out, it will.”
I let out a short laugh. “God, you and your sayings.”
“Hey, I’m contractually obligated as your mother to give unsolicited wisdom.”
I huff something like a laugh, the tension in my chest loosening just a little. “Yeah, well…it helps. Kind of.”
“Then I’ve done my job. But just so you know, I’m proud of you. For being brave enough to care. That matters, even if it hurts right now.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
“Anytime, sweetheart.”
“I’ll let you get back to whatever you were doing. I love you.”
“I love you too. Take care, and I’ll talk to you soon.”
We hang up, and I sit there for another long moment, phone resting face-down on my thigh. The ache’s still there. The confusion. The frustration.
But it feels a little less heavy now.
FOURTEEN
TODD
I stareat the screen like it’s gonna blink first.
Prism’s open in my hand, the chat withSlowBurn69still pinned to the top, even though it’s been radio silence since Monday. No new messages. No emojis. No late-night “be a good boy” texts that used to make my heart race and my stomach flip in equal measure.
Just silence.
I scroll up, rereading the last few exchanges like some sad, desperate asshole. It wasn’t just dirty talk. Not really. There was…something under it. A pulse. A pull. A promise that if I gave in, I wouldn’t regret it.
And I didn’t. Not even for a second.
Not Friday night and everything that happened between us, or even finding out he wasn’t some random stranger on the other side of the app.
Not when I dropped to my knees in the shower and took him into my mouth like I’d been starving for it.
Not when he came apart for me—because of me.
And definitely not afterward, when the high faded andI walked out feeling like maybe this secret thing we were doing could actually work.
But since then, it’s like someone flipped a switch.
