I shift my weight, trying to shake off whatever this is. “You sound older than nineteen.”
“Maybe I am.”
I chuckle under my breath. “Your dad would hate hearing that.”
She smiles again, softer this time. “He doesn’t need to know everything.”
That lands heavier than it should. I glance toward the door, then back at her.
Still watching me. Still… there.
And for some reason, I’m still here too.I should leave.I know I should.
But instead, I hear myself say, “So… hiding out here all night?”
Her eyes flicker with something—surprise, maybe. Or satisfaction.
“Maybe,” she says. “Depends.”
“On what?”
She lifts one shoulder in a small shrug. “On whether I have company.”
There it is again. That pull. Subtle. Very dangerous.
I exhale slowly, shaking my head like I can clear it. “Willow?—”
“Relax,” she interrupts lightly. “We’re just talking.”
Just talking.Right. I glance at the door one more time. Then back at her. And this time… I don’t move. That’s the first mistake.
The second is letting the silence stretch just a little too long. Because in that silence, everything shifts. Willow takes another step toward me. It’s small. Barely noticeable if you’re not looking for it.
Every inch she closes feels like something tightening in my chest. Like a line being pulled taut that I didn’t even realize was there.
“Careful,” I say, forcing a half-smile, trying to inject some kind of lightness into the moment. “You’re getting dangerously close to making this conversation interesting.”
Her lips curve, amused. “Oh, it already is.”
I shake my head, a quiet huff of laughter slipping out before I can stop it. “You always this bold, or is it just me?”
“Just you,” she says, without hesitation.
I drag a hand down my face, trying to reset myself, trying to remember where I am, who she is, who her father is?—
“Garrison,” she says again, softer this time.
Closer. Too close.
I drop my hand. She’s right there now. Close enough that I can see the tiny flecks of gold in her eyes. Close enough that I can feel the warmth of her, the faint brush of her breath.
Close enough that I should step back. But I don’t.
“Yeah?” My voice is rougher than I intend.
She studies me for a second like she’s deciding something.
And then she smiles.
