“You are.”
That earned a quiet exhalefrom him.
Not frustration.
Just acknowledgement.
“I’m thinking,” he corrected.
“Same thing tonight,” I said.
That made him look at me.
Longer than usual.
Not sharp.
Not defensive.
Just steady.
Like he was deciding whether to say something he didn’t normally allow himself to say.
Then he moved.
Not toward me.
Just across the room.
Slow.
Controlled.
From window to desk.
But in this room, even that felt like distance collapsing.
I didn’t move away.
That was mistake number one.
Mason
She was closer to the desk again.
Same place she kept drifting back to.
Not intentionally.
Just naturally occupying space where there was space.
I passed behind her without thinking too much about it.
That was mistake number two.
The room wasn’t big enough for “without thinking.”
She shifted slightly as I passed.
