The tenderness of it nearly undid me.
“Can you … sit with me?” I asked softly. “In the bedroom.”
He hesitated for a fraction of a second. Just long enough for me to notice.
Then he nodded. “Yeah. Of course.”
That flicker of hesitation followed us down the hallway like a ghost. Not fear. Something more complicated.
We sat on the edge of the bed, close but not touching. The air felt charged in that quiet, dangerous way where everything mattered.
I folded my hands in my lap, suddenly unsure of myself. “I don’t regret telling you about Jonesy,” I said quickly. “Or the bridge. Or … any of it.”
“You shouldn’t,” he replied. “You were brave.”
“I wasn’t brave,” I said. “I was honest. There’s a difference.”
He looked at me like that mattered.
“I feel closer to you now,” I continued. “Than I ever have. Even when we were kids.”
Something shifted in his expression. Guarded. Careful.
“Sophie …”
I leaned in and kissed him.
Not like before. Not cautious. Not tentative. This time it was deliberate. Soft but certain. My hands lifted to his shoulders, grounding myself in the warmth of him. The kiss wasn’t rushed, wasn’t desperate. It was a question.
My whole body lit up.
For a moment, he kissed me back.
Just enough to answer.
Then he pulled away.
Not sharply. Not unkindly. But firmly enough that my heart dropped.
“Soph,” he said quietly. “We need to slow down.”
The words stung in a way I hadn’t prepared for.
“Why?” I asked, too quickly.
He stood, running a hand through his short hair like he was trying to find the right words. “Because everything you’ve been through in the last twenty-four hours … because you’re vulnerable. Because I don’t want to take something from you that you might regret later.”
“I’m not fragile,” I said. “I know what I want.”
“I know you do,” he said. “That’s not the issue.”
“Then what is?” My voice cracked despite my effort to keep it steady.
He didn’t answer right away.
And that was worse than any explanation.
I stood, too. Moved closer. Placed my hands on his chest like I needed proof that he was real, that this wasn’t rejection, that I hadn’t imagined the intimacy between us.
