"That's it," I repeated, my voice flat.
"Yeah."
I set the ice pack on the table and stood, ignoring the protest from my ribs."Then what was that in the parking lot?"
"A mistake."
"That mistake felt pretty intentional to me."
His jaw tightened but he didn't turn around."That doesn't change what it was."
Heat flooded my chest, and it wasn’t the good kind.It was the angry kind that swept over me when someone decided what I wanted without asking."You don't get to decide that on your own."
"I'm not?—"
"Yes, you are."I crossed the kitchen and stopped behind him."You kissed me.I kissed you back.We're both adults who made a choice.You don't get to call it a mistake and walk away like I don't have a say."
He turned then, his eyes dark and conflicted."I'm not good at this."
"Good at what?"
"This."He gestured between us."Whatever the hell this is."
"Neither am I."I held his gaze."But I'm also not going to pretend it didn't happen."
"Lilah—"
"I'm not asking you for anything.I'm not asking you to fix my life or rescue me or make promises you can't keep."I paused to suck in a breath."But don't kiss me like that and then act like it meant nothing."
His jaw clenched, then unclenched.For a long moment, neither of us spoke.Then he reached up and cupped my cheek like he'd decided to stop fighting whatever was going on in his head.
"You’re right.It didn't mean nothing."
My breath caught.
"But I don't know what the hell to do with it."His thumb brushed my cheekbone."You're leaving in a few weeks.I'm staying here.We both know how this ends."
"Maybe."I leaned into his touch."Or maybe we stop worrying about endings and see what happens."
"That's not how I work."
"Then maybe it's time you tried something different."
His mouth curved.Not quite a smile but close."You're trouble."
"You're stubborn."
"Yeah."His hand dropped and he stepped back, putting distance between us again."Seems like we have that in common."
The loss of contact stung more than it should have.I picked up the ice pack and pressed it against my side again, using the cold to ground myself.
"I'm going to finish my afternoon work," Dawson said."You're going to stay here and ice that bruise.Twenty minutes minimum."
"And then?"
"Then you're going to take it easy the rest of the day."His gaze held mine."Tomorrow we'll figure out the rest."
He left before I could argue.The door closed behind him, and I stood alone in the quiet kitchen with melting ice against my ribs and questions I couldn't answer running through my head.
