I hold up the phone. Her eyebrows pull together.
“You didn’t have to—”
“Yeah, I did. We need to be able to reach you.” I cross the room before she can argue and sit down on the bed beside her. “Here. It’s already set up. All our numbers are in there.”
She takes it carefully, like it might bite her. Turns it over in her hands.
“I don’t really know how to…”
“I’ll show you.”
I shift closer. Lean in so I can see the screen, my arm coming up behind her. Not touching, but close. Close enough that I can smell her shampoo—something soft, a little floral. Close enough that I can feel the warmth of her.
“Okay, so this is the home screen,” I say, and my voice comes out mostly normal. “You swipe up to unlock. Contacts are here—see? That’s all of us. You tap a name to call, or you can text by—”
She leans into me.
Not a lot. Just a fraction. Like her body decided to do it without asking her brain first. Her shoulder presses against my chest and she makes this tiny sound—barely a breath, almost a sigh—and I forget what I was saying.
I forget everything.
“Rane?”
My name in her mouth. She’s turned her head to look at me and her face is right there, inches away, and her eyes drop to my mouth for just a second before snapping back up.
Oh fuck.
“Yeah?” My voice is not normal. My voice is wrecked and I haven’t even done anything.
“You stopped talking.”
“Did I?”
“You were showing me the contacts.”
“Right. Yeah. Contacts.”
I need to move. I need to put space between us before I do something stupid. But she’s still leaning into me and her eyes are still on my face and I can see the pulse jumping in her throat and—
I stand up so fast I almost knock her over.
“That’s—you’ve got it. You’re good. The guys are all in there, so if you need anything, just—yeah.”
Smooth, Rane. Really smooth.
She blinks up at me, confusion flickering across her face. “Are you okay?”
“Great. I’m great. Just remembered I have to—there’s a thing. Downstairs. I should go do the thing.”
I’m already backing toward the door. My heel catches on something—might be my own stupid feet—and I stumble, catching myself on the doorframe.
Her lips twitch. Just a little.
“Thanks for the phone,” she says.
“Yep. Welcome. Enjoy.”
I escape into the hallway and pull the door mostly shut behind me, then stand there for a second with my hand on the wall, trying to remember how to breathe.
