Chapter 32
Morning comes slower than usual.
The house is quiet except for the low hum of the coffee maker and the soft creak of Neptune shifting on his bed. My eyes feel tired, reminding me I stayed up much later than I’m used to… I pad into the kitchen in socks, hair still messy from sleep, and breathe in the scent of strong coffee filling the room.
April is already there, leaning against the counter, wearing an oversized sweatshirt, cradling a mug between her hands.
“That smells like it could raise the dead,” she says as I pour myself a cup.
“It needs to,” I murmur, wrapping both hands around the heat. “Why did I drink so much?”
“Because you’re a free bitch. That’s what you kept saying last night anyway.”
She giggles as she pours coffee into a mug and hands it to me. I take a slow sip, the bitterness grounding me, and sink into a chair. Morning light spills through the window, soft and pale.
She sits across from me, and the silence between us feels comforting.
Then April smirks over the rim of her mug. “So.”
I narrow my eyes. “That tone means trouble.”
“That tone means I have observations.”
I groan softly. “Please don’t.”
She ignores me. “Finn is… intense.”
I stare into my coffee, already knowing where this is going.
“He barely let you out of his orbit all night,” she continues. “I mean… the man waslocked in.”
I don’t argue because she’s not wrong. Around Finn, everything feels a little more charged, like I’m standing somewhere I shouldn’t be, but I don’t want to step back.
“And Aiden,” she adds, softer now, “just watched.”
I glance up.
“He wasn’t pushing,” she says. “He looked happy just seeing you happy. That was unexpected.”
My fingers tighten slightly around the mug. There’s a quiet comfort about Aiden. He feels… safe. He kept his distance, but he also stayed close. Last night was clearly not his scene, probably not how he would have chosen to spend his Friday night, especially since he had to work really early this morning, yet he waited until we were ready to leave, just so he could drive behind me all the way home…
April tilts her head, studying me. “You noticed too.”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“You didn’t have to.”
I sigh, leaning back in the chair. “They’re just… different.”
“Obviously.” She rolls her eyes. “But they both clearly want you, May.”
The words settle heavy in my chest.
I stare at the steam curling from my coffee. “I don’t even know what I’m doing.”
April’s expression softens. “Maybe you don’t have to know right now. But youdoneed to ask yourself what you want.”
I don’t answer right away.
