Jasper swung his legs over the side of the bed. “It didn’t need to be.”
Bennett turned toward the bathroom before his face could betray him. “Shower. Then coffee.”
“Look at you,” Jasper called after him. “Delegating.”
Bennett shut the bathroom door with slightly too much precision.
The shower did not help. It never helped. It only gave him a few minutes where the noise of water filled the space where his thoughts were trying to take over.
He dressed quickly. His hands were steady, but his mind was not.
When he came out, Jasper was already dressed, casual and put together, in a way that made Bennett resent him on principle. He was leaning against the desk, phone in hand, scrolling through updates.
Bennett tried not to watch the way Jasper’s mouth moved when he read. The faint crease between his brows. The way he looked up and met Bennett’s gaze was like he had been expecting it.
“Roads are still closed,” Jasper said.
Bennett exhaled. He told himself it was frustration, not relief. “What about flights?”
“Grounded,” Jasper replied. “At least through tonight.”
Bennett nodded, as if this were purely about travel logistics.
Jasper’s gaze held on him. “You’re doing it again.”
“Doing what?”
“Lying,” Jasper said.
Bennett’s spine stiffened. “I am not lying.”
Jasper pushed off the desk. “You are telling yourself you only care about getting out of here.”
Bennett swallowed. “I do care about getting out of here.”
“That’s true,” Jasper said. “It is just not all of it.”
Bennett’s heartbeat kicked up. His instinct was to snap, to deflect, to turn it into banter and avoid the part where Jasper was right.
Instead, he walked past Jasper toward the door. “Coffee.”
Jasper followed.
The lobby was quieter today.Fewer people. More resignation. The kind of calm that settled when everyone accepted the world would move again when it felt like it.
Bennett reached for the coffee pot. Jasper arrived at the same time. Their hands brushed.
Bennett jerked his away, then hated himself for it.
Jasper paused. “Bennett.”
Bennett stared at the coffee as if it had suddenly become complicated.
Jasper’s voice was gentle. “You don’t have to flinch.”
Bennett forced his hand back to the pot. “I am not flinching.”
Jasper’s mouth curved. “You are flinching.”
