For a long moment, we just stood there, breathing hard, foreheads pressed together.
"Tonight," I said finally, forcing myself to step back. "After Casey's asleep. We have to talk about this."
"And say what?" Her voice was still shaky. "That we accidentally had incredible anonymous sex, and now we have to figure out what it means?"
"That's exactly what we say." I straightened my shirt, trying to get myself under control. "Because I'm not pretending this didn't happen. And neither are you."
For a long moment, she just stared at me. Then she nodded, a jerky motion. "Tonight. But just talking, Easton. We need to figure this out."
"Agreed." Though after that kiss, talking was the last thing on my mind. "Tonight."
She slipped past me, grabbed the medication she'd come for, and fled.
I stayed there for another minute, my hands braced on the shelves, trying to process what had just happened.
Sadie. It had been Sadie all along.
The woman I'd been trying not to want was the same woman who'd trusted me with her body, her pleasure, her submission. Who'd fit against me like she was made for it.
Saturday night hadn't been practice for letting someone in.
It had been me letting in the only woman I'd ever wanted.
And now that I knew the truth?
I wasn't letting her run again.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Easton
Istood in front of my bathroom mirror, adjusting my collar for the third time.
Dinner with Sadie. Tonight. In thirty minutes.
After that kiss in the supply closet, where the air was thick with anticipation, I should have been planning what to say, but I was still reeling. Now to navigate this conversation without making things worse.
What does this mean for us? Can we do this?
Instead, I was obsessing over whether this cologne was too much.
I grabbed the bottle, hesitated, then put it back on the counter. The scent reminded me of something. Some night a long time ago that felt important but stayed just out of reach.
My phone buzzed. A notification from the Shadow Wolves youth team parent group chat. Someone had posted photos from last week's practice.
I opened it, scrolling through. Casey in her gear, focused and fierce. Casey was laughing at something one of the other kids said. Casey looked up at the camera with those blue eyes.
I stopped.
Stared at the photo.
Reallylookedat her face for the first time.
Those eyes. That exact shade of blue. The way they tilted up slightly at the corners. The way one side of her smile hitched higher than the other when she was really happy.
I'd seen that smile in the mirror every day of my life.
My hands started shaking.
