Lucas hesitates. His fingers tighten around his fork, and he bites his lip before finally answering,
“I… I don’t know. I haven’t tried sushi before.”
My eyes narrow slightly.
“So yesterday was supposed to be your first time?”
He nods.
I don’t say anything, but something inside me twists. He had been excited. He probably wouldn’t admit it, but he wanted to try it.
He lowers his gaze again and continues eating.
I let him finish most of his meal before speaking again. “Your friend called your phone multiple times,” I say, “I had no choice but to pick up.”
His head snaps up, eyes wide. I reach into my pocket and pull out his phone, setting it on the counter in front of him.
“I told him you were fine. That you slept here.” I pause, watching his reaction. “He didn’t sound convinced. You should probably call him.”
“Oh.” His fingers hover over the phone, hesitant, before he finally picks it up.
I study him for another moment before straightening.
“I’ll drop you off at your place.”
He glances up at me again, his expression unreadable. Then he nods.
***
The drive is quiet, not just the usual silence that settles between us, but something heavier. It wraps around the car, thick and suffocating, pressing down on my chest like a weight I can’t shake off.
I glance at him out of the corner of my eye. His throat is still slightly red from my grip last night. The mark I left on his neck stands out even more now in the daylight, a deep bruise against his pale skin. Something about it makes my pulse quicken.
I don’t say anything, though. I just focus on the road, gripping the steering wheel a little too tightly.
When I finally pull up in front of his apartment, I shift into park but don’t kill the engine. He exhales softly, like he’s been holding his breath the entire ride. Then he unbuckles hisseatbelt, his movements slow and hesitant. Then, after a brief pause, he glances at me, his lashes lowering slightly.
“…Thanks,” he mumbles softly.
The way he looks at me, the way his voice sounds—hesitant, unsure. His skin still bears the mark I left on him, that bruise on his neck a reminder of yesterday.
How he trembled and gasped, and the way his body wrapped around me so perfectly. A sharp, burning need claws through my chest. I want to kiss him again, I want to crush my mouth to his, and drown in him until he stops trying to run from whatever this is.
I want—
I grip the steering wheel. Tight.Control yourself.
I exhale, “About the kiss yesterday—”
“I don’t want to talk about it.” His voice cuts through the air like a blade.
I stare at him for a long moment, studying every inch of his face, but he doesn’t say anything else. He just sits there, shoulders tense, lips pressed together like he’s bracing for something.
“Are you sure?” I ask, watching him carefully.
There’s a beat of silence. Then he swallows, nodding.
I search his face, looking for something, anything, but all I see is hesitation, tension coiled tight in his shoulders. He won’t even glance in my direction. Frustration stirs deep in my chest, dark and suffocating. But I push it down.
