“I thought you liked your distance,” I say.
He huffs a soft, humorless sound. “You’re the exception.”
My chest aches in a way that feels like a bruise and a promise at the same time.
I step back, breaking the contact. The air feels colder without him. I swipe my card, pull the heavy door open, and step into the harsh lobby light.
The door closes behind me with a solid, mechanicalthunk.
Through the glass, I see him check it—eyes dropping to the latch to make sure it held—before he looks back up at me.
He stays outside.
I walk across the lobby and hit the elevator button. When the doors slide open, I step in, my heart still racing.
My phone buzzes.
Declan:You in?
I smile, small and stupid, at the screen.
Me:Not yet. Elevator.
The doors close. The numbers crawl up. When they ding at my floor, I step out into the hallway, footsteps muffled on the thin carpet.
My room is exactly how I left it. Lamp on low. Bed unmade. Journal half-open on the desk.
I shut the door, lock it, and lean back against it for a second, breathing.
Then I text him back.
Me:In.
I hit send and listen, just for a second, to the quiet tick of the radiator and the faint hum of the campus outside my window.
For once, the silence doesn’t feel empty.
It feels like a held breath.
Like possibility.
Chapter 16
Declan
I’mtapingthesamehands she had under her shirt last night.
The thought hits halfway through the second wrap—a hard, stupid punch to the ribs. White athletic tape winds over bruised knuckles, around fingers that were digging into cold metal and then into the warm skin of her back. Inching under her T-shirt while she was straddling my lap, mouth on mine like she was starving for it.
Now I bind them up like a problem that needs containing.
Pull. Wrap. Smooth.
The tape bites my skin, tight enough that my fingers tingle. I flex once. Not much give. Good. They look almost civilized like this. Neutral. Not like the hands that had her pressed againstme in the players’ box, her knees framing my hips, her breath breaking against my tongue.
My phone rattles across the counter.
Beatrice:8 o’clock sharp. Board wants to meet you before dinner. Don’t make your father wait.
