“God, you guys are ridiculous,” I mutter, reminding myself how to breathe.
When I finally stand, Nik lets out a low whistle of his own.
“Well, look at you, hot stuff.”
“Shut up,” I say, but my face flushes anyway.
“Aw, don’t be like that. You know we love you,” Axel chimes in from the bed, stretching his arms above his head, his muscles flexing, shirt riding up just enough to distract.
“Yeah, yeah. I guess I love you idiots, too,” I mumble, smiling despite myself.
Nik holds out his arms for a hug, and I let him pull me in. His grown in beard is soft against my cheek, and I feel Axel watching from the bed, unreadable.
Nik drops a kiss on my cheek, murmuring, “You smell good.”
“Easy,” Axel warns, voice tightening.
Nik turns his head slowly, eyes locking with Axel’s across the room. “You jealous?”
Axel’s mouth curves, but the smile doesn’t reach his eyes. “Of you? Never.”
But the air between them hums with something taut and unspoken. Something that makes the back of my neck prickle. Nik’s hands linger on my waist a second longer than necessarybefore he pulls away, and Axel’s fingers twitch where they rest on my bedspread, like he’s fighting the urge to intervene. Or join.
Whatever’s between them hums beneath the surface. I don’t know if it’s rivalry, history, or something else entirely, but I feel it all the same. And it’s definitely not one-sided.
The moment ends when Axel clears his throat and says, “Did you hear about Johnny?”
Just like that, my stomach drops, and the tension gives way to something else entirely. Something much harder to face.
“No? What about him?” Nik bites, clearly intrigued.
Axel glances at me, hesitation flickering in his eyes before he speaks. “He’s bringing a girl to dinner.”
I school my expression, but inside, something breaks open. A quiet, sharp ache that burrows beneath the skin.
“What?” Nik’s brows shoot up. “When did he meet someone?”
“No clue,” Axel replies with a shrug, though his eyes trace back to me.
“If he’s introducing her at Thanksgiving dinner, it’s gotta be serious,” Nik adds, totally unaware he’s twisting the knife.
“I guess we’ll find out,” Axel says. Then to me, softer, “You ready?”
I force a smile and hope it passes for casual. “Almost. You guys head down. I just need to reapply deodorant.”
It’s a terrible lie, but they don’t question it. As soon as the door clicks shut behind them, I dart into the bathroom and lock it. My hands grip the edge of the sink as I stare at my reflection.
You shouldn’t care. He made his choice. He walked away.
But I do care. And that’s the worst part.
I can’t forget the way he listened to me like I was something precious. The way our kiss sparked the kind offireworks you only hear about in the movies. And then, nothing. Silence. Distance. Like I never mattered at all.
He left. When I needed him the most, he was already gone.
“Pull it together,” I whisper to the mirror. “You’re better than this.”
I smooth my sweater, touch up my makeup, and make sure I look fierce, not fragile. One last breath, and I head downstairs.
