The door closes between us with a soft click that somehow sounds louder than if she'd slammed it. I hear the water start running as the tub fills, and I sink down onto the couch, elbows on my knees, and run my hands through my hair. I replay every word, every look, every crack in her armor, and what I keep circling back to is this: she never said she didn't want me.
She said it was always going to end badly. She said we can't be real with each other. She said our families hate each other for a reason. She threw up every excuse, every defense, every rational argument for why this can't work. But she never once said she didn't want it to.
I lean back against the couch, closing my eyes. Tonight, she fought me instead of shutting down completely. That's progress, and I have time. Three hundred and sixty-three days of closed doors, careful distance, and walls she thinks are impenetrable. A year of her trying to convince us both that this is just business, just a contract. But here's what I know: Asha Fairfield doesn't run from things that don't matter. She doesn't cry over things she doesn't care about. She doesn't fight this hard for something she's not terrified of losing.
And tonight, for the first time in years, she fought.
Tomorrow, she'll go back to being cold and distant. She'll avoid eye contact over breakfast and pretend tonight never happened, but I'll know the truth. I'll know that somewhere underneath all that fear and fury, there's a girl who took off her mask for me once. A girl who showed up to watch me ride. A girl who came to Lexington looking for something she was too scared to name. A girl who just spent twenty minutes fighting with me about why we can't work instead of simply walking away.
A girl who never said she didn't want me. And that's enough. For now.
CHAPTER NINE
TRIGGER
The knock at the door comes too early, sharp and insistent against wood.
I'm still half-asleep on the couch, my neck screaming from the awkward angle, when something hits me square in the face, soft but startling enough to jolt me fully awake.
"What the—" I start, but Asha's frantic whisper cuts me off.
"Get. Up." She's sitting up in bed, her hair a mess around her shoulders, eyes wide with panic. She's pointing at the door, then at me, then at the bed, her movements quick and urgent.
Another knock. "Hello? Anyone awake in there?"
"Just a second!" Asha calls out, her voice suddenly bright and cheery. She grabs another pillow, winding up like she's about to launch it at my head.
I hold up my hands in surrender, finally processing what's happening. "Alright, alright."
"Now, Trigger!" she whisper-yells across the room, her face flushed. "Get over here. Rohan's at the door!"
"You could've just said that instead of assaulting me with a pillow," I mutter, shoving the blanket off and running a handthrough my hair. I'm in my boxers, and I don’t miss the way her gaze flicks down to my chest before quickly looking away.
"I did say it!" She makes a frustrated gesture. "Just get in this bed before he thinks?—"
"Before he thinks what? That we had a fight and I slept on the couch?" I cross the room in three strides, unable to resist the jab even as I'm moving.
"Exactly," she hisses, throwing back the covers on my side. "Get. In."
I climb into the bed, the mattress dipping under my weight, and she immediately shifts closer, eliminating the space between us.
"Put your arm around me," she whispers urgently, her breath hot against my neck as she tucks herself against my side. "And for God's sake, try to look like you didn't spend the night on the couch."
"Hard to do when I did spend the night on the couch," I murmur back, but I wrap my arm around her shoulders anyway, pulling her closer.
She shifts against me, her hip pressing into my side, and then she goes completely rigid. Her eyes widen as she feels exactly what morning and her proximity have done to me.
"Are you—" she starts, her face flooding with color.
"It’s morning," I say simply, unable to keep the hint of amusement out of my voice. "Among other things."
"Oh my God." She tries to pull away, but I tighten my arm around her shoulders.
"You're the one who demanded I get in this bed," I point out, my lips quirking into a smirk. "What exactly did you think was going to happen when you pressed your half-naked body against mine?"
"I wasn't…I didn't…" She's sputtering now, and her face is reddening faster by the second. "Can you just...think about something else?"
"I'm trying, but you squirming around isn't helping." I let my hand slide down to her hip, holding her still. "So, unless you want to make this worse, I suggest you stop moving."
