I push myself off him, my adrenaline surging, my heart pounding for a completely different reason now. My chest is bare, my shorts clinging and damp between my thighs, and my lips feel swollen and raw.
Holy shit. What just happened?
I can't think about it right now. Can't examine the way my body is still humming with satisfaction or the way Brandon looked at me in those final moments. Can't acknowledge that everything between us has just changed completely.
I scramble off the bed before smoothing my hair, slipping his T-shirt back over my head with shaky fingers, and grabbing a pair of sweats I see on the chair in the corner of the room. Brandon's still catching his breath behind me, his eyes wide, stunned.
I don't look at him.
I can't.
Because if I do, I'll see everything we just did.
And everything we just risked.
twenty-five
. . .
Stella
“Stay here,”I whisper.
Brandon nods, running both hands through his hair as he tries to catch his breath. He looks as stunned as I feel, his chest still rising and falling rapidly.
Another knock, more insistent this time.
“Coming, Mama!” I call out, doing a quick check in the hallway mirror. My hair is a disaster, and my lips are swollen, but there's nothing I can do about that now.
When I open the door, my mother is standing there, fully dressed, with her suitcase beside her, looking impeccable as always despite the early hour.
“Good morning, sweetheart,” she says, taking in my rumpled appearance with obvious amusement. “I hope I'm not interrupting anything important.”
Heat floods my cheeks. “Of course not. What's going on? Is everything okay?”
“Everything's perfect. I just wanted to say goodbye before my flight.” She glances past me toward the bedroom hallway. “I decided to catch an earlier one. I have a committee meeting this afternoon that I'd hate to miss.”
“I can drive you to the airport,” I offer automatically, though the thought of leaving right now feels impossible.
“Oh, no, darling. There's already a car waiting downstairs.” She pulls me into a hug and whispers in my ear, “I didn't want to interrupt you lovebirds any more than necessary. You two looked so cozy last night.”
If she only knew how cozy we'd been about thirty seconds ago.
“I had such a wonderful time,” she continues. “Brandon is absolutely perfect for you, and seeing you two together just confirms what I already knew. You're meant for each other.”
“Mama—”
“I'll call you when I land,” she says and then kisses my cheek. “Give Brandon my love. And Stella? Don't overthink things. Sometimes, the best relationships are the ones that surprise you.”
The way she says that, coupled with a knowing look, makes me wonder if she knows we were faking this whole relationship all along.
Before I can respond, she's heading to the elevator with her suitcase, leaving me standing in the doorway, trying to process what just happened.
I close the door, lean against it, and take a shaky breath. The apartment is quiet except for the sound of movement from the bedroom. A few moments later, Brandon emerges wearing basketball shorts and a gray t-shirt, his hair still messed up from my fingers, looking unfairly attractive despite, or maybe because of, how rumpled he is.
The sight of him makes my stomach flip as everything from the past half hour comes rushing back. The way he felt against me, the sounds he made, how right it felt until reality crashed in.
“She's gone?” he asks, his voice carefully neutral.
