“There is no one in here!”she shot back.
I peeked through my fingers.
She wasn’t wrong.
Still.
“Okay, yes,” I said finally, dropping my hands.“I went home with Jude.Or, to his room.The clubhouse pretty much is his home.”
Her mouth fell open in exaggerated shock.“I cannot believe I’m hearing this.”
“Can you not act like I just committed a crime?”I muttered.
“This is not a crime,” she said.“This is amoment.”
I let out a breath, shaking my head.“I don’t even know what it is,” I admitted.
That got her attention.The teasing softened.“Okay,” she said, stepping closer again.“Talk to me.”
I leaned back against the counter, staring up at the ceiling for a second before looking back at her.“It just… happened,” I said.“We were there, and then we weren’t, and then I was in his room, and now I’m here wearing his shirt, and I don’t know what that means.”
Lark watched me carefully.“Did it feel wrong?”she asked.
“No,” I said immediately.
Too fast.Too sure.
Her lips curved slightly.“Okay,” she said.“Did it feel right?”
I hesitated because that was a different question.
“Yeah,” I said finally.“It did.So good.”
Lark nodded slowly.“Then that’s your answer.”
“It’s not that simple,” I said.
“It kind of is,” she countered.
I shook my head.“No, it’s not.Because—” I stopped.Because what?Because it was Jude?Because I had spent years wanting him?Because this didn’t feel like something that should just fall into place overnight?“Because I don’t know if this is real,” I finished.
Lark’s expression softened.“Ever,” she said gently.“You were just in the middle of a disaster with a guy who turned out to be a complete asshole, and then someone who has always been in your life stepped in and showed you exactly who he is.”
I swallowed.“That doesn’t make it not real.”I looked down at my hands, twisting the rag between my fingers.“It feels too… sudden,” I said.
“Or,” she said, “it’s been building for a long time and you’re just now catching up to it.”
That hit.
Harder than I expected.
Because she wasn’t wrong.
I just hadn’t been ready to see it before.
“I don’t know what he’s thinking,” I admitted.
Lark snorted.“Please.”
