The calm.
The way she sinks into the seat and closes her eyes, feeling safe.
I start the car, guilt burning low and slow in my chest.
I know, if I want to keep her, if I want this to be something real, not a weekend built on a stupid dare, I’m going to have to tell her the truth.
Because she wouldn’t touch me like this if she knew.
I’ll tell her.
Eventually.
But not today.
Today, all I want is the sound of her breath beside me and the last scraps of the world we left inside that cabin. Today, I want just a little more of her.
The highway stretches wide ahead of us, traffic thick and slow, forcing us into pockets of stillness between pockets of movement. She tucks her knees up, wraps her hoodie tighter around herself, and glances over.
“I don’t want to go back,” I say.
It slips out before I can control it.
Her expression softens—barely, but I catch it. “Me neither.” A small smile curves her mouth. “I’ve had a really great time this weekend, Starboy. Now I get what the hype is all about.”
“The hype?” I raise a brow. “About sex?”
She laughs, low and warm. “About you. Also about sex.”
I bite back a grin and focus on the road. It’s too much—the pull in my chest, the heat in my stomach, the way her voice goes all soft around me. I shouldn’t want more. I know this isn’t casual for her.
I do anyway.
When I take a quiet exit that doesn’t lead back to campus, she lifts her head.
“Where are we going?”
“Quick detour,” I say.
“You need a bathroom? Because I don’t think there are any?—”
“That’s not what I need.”
I reach across the console and take her hand, lifting it, threading my fingers with hers for half a second before guiding it down to my lap.
Her breath catches.
“Still sore,” I murmur. “Still tired.” I turn my head and catch her eyes. “But not too tired for another round. You up for it?”
For half a beat, she freezes, eyes widening just slightly. Then it hits—the spark I’ve already learned to recognize: the flare in her pupils, the soft parting of her lips, the faint pink rising at her cheeks. Her pulse stutters in her throat; I can see it from here.
That look. Hungry. Curious. Completely unafraid.
Yeah. She’s game.
The side road is empty. I pull onto the shoulder and shove the gearshift into park.
She wets her lips. “You took an exit for this?”
