Blue's heat hits my back. Her voice brushes my ear, soft and reckless. "You don't like being watched?"
My balls tighten. It's why I have to fight the urge to give in to her. She loves chaos disguised as play, and the more time I spend with her, the more I realize I love it, and maybe more than she does.
I slide my hand in her hair, tug her head back, and murmur against her ear as she gasps, "Bedroom. This isn't a game."
Her challenging gaze hits mine, then she presses her hand against my chest. "Okay. You win."
Relieved, I release her.
Instead of obeying, she tightens her grip around the blanket and peeks through the eyehole. She shrieks, "Cloud!"
Panic hits me. She's being too loud, but how does she know who Cloud is?
In my moment of confusion, she slides past me and whips the door open. She chirps, "Cloud!"
My pulse slams hard enough to rattle my ribs.
How does she know her name?
Cloud's face lights up instantly. "Oh my God, hi!" Her gaze drops, then sweeps back up, zeroing in on Blue wrapped in nothing but my blanket. Instead of alarm, she wiggles her eyebrows and beams. "Did I interrupt something?"
I freeze where I stand, every scenario detonating at once in my head.
Blue steps fully into the doorway, clutching the blanket at her chest like she's modest out of habit, not necessity.
Cloud laughs and lifts her hand, holding up a dead phone like proof of a crime. "I dropped my phone in the sink. Fully submerged. Gone."
"Oh no! That sucks!" Blue sympathizes.
"Yes." Cloud shakes her head. "I swear my life is a string of preventable accidents."
"Aw. I'm sorry!" Blue offers.
Cloud winces. "By any chance, do you have any rice? I heard it can get the water out of your phone?"
Blue turns toward me. "Red, do we have any?"
We.
I stare at them, tongue-tied.
Blue puts her hand on my cheek. "Babe? Do we have rice?"
I snap out of it. "Um. I think so. "
"Great. Come on in," Blue says, opening the door wider.
My hand lifts on instinct, then stalls halfway, fingers curling uselessly as my pulse kicks hard enough to blur the edges of theroom. The air feels thinner near the door, as if someone had cracked a window in winter.
Cloud steps inside, peering at Blue with open curiosity and zero judgment. "I'm so happy you live here."
Blue smiles easily. "It's a great building."
My stomach drops.
What the fuck is going on here?
Cloud nods enthusiastically. "Right? And now I finally have a yoga buddy." She tilts her head. "Morning flow. Seven a.m. You in?"
