Not reckless. Not naïve.
Just hopeful.
Tomorrow would change things.
But tonight, not yet was enough.
CHAPTER FIVE
bennett
Bennett woke up with a decision already sitting in his chest. Not a well-formed decision. No plan or checklist. More like a pressure point. A truth he could feel whenever he tried to ignore it.
This isn’t finished.
He stared at the ceiling for a moment, listening to the quiet of the room. Jasper’s breathing was even, but lighter now, like he was close to waking.
Bennett stayed still anyway.
He did not trust himself with movement.
Eventually, Jasper shifted beside him, rolling onto his back with a soft exhale. Bennett kept his gaze fixed above, as if staring at the ceiling could save him.
“Morning,” Jasper said, voice rough with sleep.
Bennett answered too quickly. “It is.”
Jasper turned his head slightly. Bennett could feel his attention without looking.
“You sound like you have been awake for hours,” Jasper said.
“I haven’t.”
Jasper hummed, unconvinced. “Did you sleep?”
“Yes.”
“That was not the tone of a man who slept.”
Bennett reached for the edge of the blanket and threw it back with more force than necessary. “I’m getting coffee.”
Jasper sat up, rubbing his face. “I’ll come with you.”
“No.”
“Yes,” Jasper replied, calm and irritating. “You are not escaping into productivity alone. We are a team now.”
“We are not.”
Jasper’s mouth tilted. “You said we’re not finished.”
Bennett froze.
He should have denied it. He should have pretended he had been talking about the project, about logistics, about anything else.
Instead, he picked up his phone from the nightstand and stared at the blank screen like it had answers.
“That,” Bennett said, carefully, “was not a formal statement.”
