My eyes blink open. The early morning light is already stretching through the blinds.
She left. I check the bedside table and flick on my phone.
No note. No text. Not even a sound.Damn, am I that heavy of a sleeper?
I lie there for a minute, staring at the ceiling, trying to play it cool.
No big deal. No promises. No expectations. We didn’tsayanything. Didn’tdefineanything. It was just tension. A release.
She was getting me out of her system. That’s all.
Still.
She could’ve stayed for breakfast.
I make a mean bacon sandwich. Hell, she could’ve at least stolen one of my hoodies on the way out. Most girls would.
I sit up slowly, rubbing the back of my neck. I thought being with her wouldburnaway this desire. That whatever this was,tension, curiosity, obsession,would settle once we crossed that line.
But instead, I feel... worse. Not in a bad way.
In amoreway. Like I’ve opened a door I didn’t know was locked, and now I don’t ever want to shut it.
My room still smells faintly like her—vanilla and leather. God, why am I sitting here feeling sad she’s not here? I’ve done casual and I’ve done plenty hookups and “this doesn’t mean anything.”
Hell, I invented the casual, no-strings playbook.
But my relationship with Delilah Greer was never casual. Not even when she hated me.
I pull on some sweats,pad down the hall, and find Ethan face-deep in a bowl of cereal like it’s his last meal.
He glances up. “What’s up with you, Casanova?”
“She left.”
“Damn,” he says around a mouthful of Lucky Charms. “Like, left-left?”
“Gone. No text. No note. Nothing.”
He frowns. “You okay?”
I shrug. Try for a smile. Miss by a mile. “Why wouldn’t I be? It’s not like I caught feelings or anything.”
Ethan pauses. Raises his spoon slowly and points it at me.
“You caught feelings.”
“Nope.”
“You absolutely did. Look at your face. That’s your heartbreak face.”
“This is my post-sex-hunger face.” I reach over, steal a handful of his cereal out of the box.
He lets me, but narrows his eyes. “You’ve never let any other girl come over for dinner. You always invite them into your bed after 10pm. She’s cool, I like her. She’s different, not your usual type.”
I glance at him.
“She’s hot too. Maybe we should double date, you and her, me and Paige. It could be fun,” Ethan says, crunching another mouthful of cereal.
