That sends a flutter through me I pretend not to notice.
∞∞∞
Twenty minutes later, I’m dressed, hair up, and trying to ignore the fact my heart is thudding too fast.
In the kitchen, Sean hands me a protein bar and a to go mug that smells like hazelnut heaven.
“You’re a saint,” I say, smiling when he places a gentle kiss on my forehead.
“And you’re trouble,” he whispers back, grinning. He cups my face, stroking my cheek with his thumb, before bringing his lips to mine. By the time he pulls away, I’m trembling.
“Have fun,” he tells me with a final peck.
I turn to find Axel and Nik watching us. They don’t look jealous or putout, just interested, as I approach them with flushed cheeks. I know I have nothing to be embarrassed about, but we haven’t defined… any of this. I don’t want to censor my feelings or reactions to any of them. So, I decide right then, I won’t. They can take me as I am, baggage and Sean and all, or they can leave.
“Don’t break her,” Sean calls over the rim of his mug as I take Axel’s outstretched hand.
“No promises!” Axel yells back, already dragging me toward the elevator.
∞∞∞
They won’t tell me where we’re going. They just keep exchanging smirks and cryptic glances in the front seat while I sit in the back, arms crossed, pretending I’m not dying of curiosity. And maybe nerves.
We pull up to an unmarked brick building just outside Nashville.
“Where are we?” I finally break, full of anticipation.
“Home,” Axel answers casually.
“You brought me to your lair?” I ask as we step out.
He shrugs. “This was Nik’s choice. Call it a tour.”
Inside, the place smells like pine and wood stain. It’s cooler than I expected. Edgier. More like them.
Axel vanishes to raid the kitchen or blast music or do whatever Axel does in his natural habitat. Nik stays close, watching me as I slowly walk the perimeter of the workshop, fingertips skimming shelves, tools, half-finished pieces.
“You did it. You followed your dream,” I say, in awe, taking in the hand crafted, wooden objects. “This is where it all happens, huh?”
He nods once. “Where I come when I can’t breathe anywhere else.”
I turn to him. “Can I ask you something?”
He steps closer. “Anything.”
“Why bring me here?”
His gaze doesn’t waver. “Because this is where I’m the most myself. The most honest. And I wanted you to see that version of me.”
The air stretches taut between us.
“There are a lot of things you don’t know about me, but thisisme.”
I understand what he’s saying. His work is a piece of him that he willing gives to the world. Every time he picks up a knife, he carves a piece of his soul into the wood.
When he reaches for me, slow and certain, I don’t stop him. I lean into it. Because I want to know what it feels like to fall into something real again.
Nik closes the distance until there’s barely space between us. His blue eyes are darker in this light, like somethingunspoken lives behind them and it’s just now starting to surface.
