“Thirty. Maybe forty.”
Enough time to matter. Not enough to relax.
Amanda’s hands dropped to her sides. She looked between us, then toward the door, then back at me.
“You’re leaving,” she said.
Not a question.
“Yeah.”
Her throat bobbed. “Tonight.”
“Yes.”
She nodded once, like she was bracing herself. “Okay.”
I hated that she didn’t argue.
Ghost lingered a beat longer, saying nothing. The silence stretched just long enough to feel deliberate. Like he was debating saying more.
“I’ll call when we lock it in,” he said finally.
Then he was gone.
The door shut softly behind him.
The quiet that followed pressed in on us.
Amanda rubbed her hands together like she didn’t know what to do with them. “I should go.”
“No,” I said.
She paused. Looked at me.
“You don’t have time,” she said. “You need to gear up.”
I stepped closer again. Slower this time. Deliberate.
“I need something to hold onto while I’m out there,” I said.
Her breath caught.
For a second, she just stared at me like she was weighing something heavy and fragile all at once. Then she grabbed my shirt and pulled me down into another kiss.
This one wasn’t explosive.
It was urgent.
I broke it just long enough to press my forehead to hers. “Come with me.”
Her eyes widened. “Where?”
“My room,” I said. “I need to gear up. You don’t leave my sight.”
She nodded once.
I grabbed my jacket off the bench and took her hand, threading my fingers through hers. She squeezed like she was afraid I’d let go.
