“So?” he says. “What did you leave?”
I force a smile. “I told you in the car. My panties.”
His expression does not change.
“So get them.”
I hesitate, brushing my fingers along the edge of the table where I spent hours yesterday plotting my escape. The lie is flimsy now. Transparent.
“I thought I forgot them,” I say. “But now that I’m here…”
“You thought?” One brow lifts. His arms cross over his chest, his posture settling into something patient and dangerous.
“Yes,” I snap, sharper than I mean to. “I wasn’t sure.”
He studies me for a long second. Then he leans back against the wall, gaze never leaving my face.
The room is smaller tonight than it was when I was staying here. It’s almost like it’s pressurized.
“I didn’t forget anything,” I say quietly. “I didn’t bring you here for that.”
“You think I didn’t figure that out?” His voice is low. Even. “You’re playing with things you don’t understand.”
My pulse stutters. He followed me, knowing exactly what it could cost him. The fact that he did it anyway, that he let me lead him here knowing it was a ruse, means more than any of his words.
I drag in a breath, grounding myself against the table. Yesterday, this surface was a lifeline. Now it feels like evidence from another life.
I turn to face him.
“I needed to be here with you again.”
His brows lift slightly. He does not move. “Why?”
The way he says my name tightens something deep in my chest. My hands curl at my sides.
“I don’t like how we said goodbye,” I say. “And I haven’t stopped thinking about you. About this.”
“Coco,” he says, a warning threaded through restraint.
“I know it doesn’t make sense,” I continue, pushing through before I lose nerve. “I know what you did. I haven’t forgotten it. But our last night ended wrong. Like we walked away from something we weren’t finished with.”
He does not answer.
His gaze drops to my mouth, and the silence between us stretches thin.
“And the pictures,” I add, needing to say it. “I don’t even know why I hid them. It was something to control, something that made me feel like I wasn’t just waiting.”
Emotion tightens my throat before I can stop it. I clamp down, refusing to let it spill.
“Tell me you haven’t thought about it,” I say, my voice shaking despite my effort. “Tell me you don’t want this.”
“You don’t know what you’re asking for,” he says, rougher now. His arms uncross, one hand touching his beard, the other going into his pocket.
“Yes, I do.”
I close the distance before he can stop me. I press myself into him, causing him to stumble back slightly. Both of his hands grab my arms just as I lean my lips to his.
The kiss is immediate and reckless, everything I have been holding back slamming into place. His hands come up to my arms, not pushing me away, not pulling me closer. Steadying.
