I blink. “For coffee.”
His jaw tightens, and I realize what he meant. He thought I was gone. Something in me softens. Something else stays guarded. “I was gone fifteen minutes.”
He exhales like I just handed him oxygen. I walk past him and set the muffins down on the counter. Blueberry. Hisfavorite. I don’t point that out. He doesn’t comment on it. The silence between us is dense. Not angry. Just loaded.
I reach for the grinder and start pouring the beans in. The sound fills the space. He doesn’t move away. He hovers, close but not touching. Like he wants to bridge the gap but doesn’t trust himself to do it right. The grinder whirs. The smell of fresh coffee blooms into the air.
He finally speaks and it comes out in a rush. “I didn’t mean what I said.”
I keep my eyes on the counter. “You meant something.”
His swallow is audible. “I don’t know how to not freak out.”
There it is. It’s honest. Unpolished. I scoop the grounds into the machine and press brew. The drip starts slow and rhythmic. I echo back what he said earlier. “You thought I left.”
He runs a hand through his hair again. “I woke up and you weren’t here.”
I look at him then. His expression is stripped down. No ego. No cocky grin. Just a guy who realized he might have pushed too far. “I’m still here.”
The words hang between us. He steps closer. Stops himself from closing the distance all the way. “You’re going out today?” He stiffens like he’s bracing.
I nod. “With Sadie and Lily. Wedding dress stuff.”
There it is again; that flicker in his eyes. That internal calculation.
“I’ll be back,” I add gently.
He nods. Pretends that’s fine. Pretends that didn’t just matter too much. I pour us both a coffee. Hand him his mug. Our fingers brush, and then I walk away to change my clothes.
The dress shop smells like lace and perfume and nervous excitement. Lily is glowing. Sadie is decisive. I’m sitting on a velvet couch pretending to care about necklines and fabrics while my brain replays the look on Mikey’s face this morning.
Sadie catches it immediately.
“You’re not here.” She bumps her shoulder into mine when Lily disappears behind a curtain.
“I’m here.” I defend on a shrug. She raises one brow. I sigh and lean back. “He’s spiraling.”
Sadie nods like she expected that.
“He thinks I’m leaving.”
“Well, you will be moving out,” she points out.
“I didn’t take the apartment.”
Her eyes widen and she sits up straight. “You didn’t?”
I shake my head slowly. “Something didn’t feel right. It felt rushed. And-” I swallow. “It felt like I was running before I understood what I was running from.”
Sadie studies me. Then smiles softly. “He doesn’t know.”
“No. I was going to tell him last night, but he pushed me away.”
“Instead of asking, he’s trying to make it hurt less in advance.”
I let that settle. “He told me not to pretend this was permanent.”
Sadie’s mouth curves knowingly. “That’s not someone who doesn’t care. That’s someone who cares too much.”
