And then her hair. Tousled, it fell over her shoulder like she had forgotten it existed.
She didn’t move to cover herself. Didn’t do anything but stand there and give me the choice to look or not.
I had already made the mistake.
The heat came fast, sharp enough that my jaw locked and my hands flexed once at my sides before I forced them still, forced everything in me still.
She took a breath then and said, “Ready.”
After gathering my composure, I took her hand and helped her into the water. She hissed softly, then sighed as the heat enclosed her body.
“Oh god, I’m never leaving.” She looked up at me, her chin tilted. “Are you getting in?”
“I don’t have a swimsuit.”
She arched an eyebrow. “Neither do I.”
I hesitated, running through all the reasons why I shouldn’t: Work. Boundaries. Common sense.
None of that seemed to matter at the moment. I took off my shirt and shorts and left my boxers on. The water welcomed me just as much as it had her.
We sat shoulder to shoulder, close but not touching, steam rising between us. She leaned back against the stone and tipped her head up toward the stars.
“You’re different from other people,” she murmured.
I waited.
“You listen,” she added. “In my experience, most people are just waiting for their turn to talk.”
Something warm and unfamiliar settled in my chest. I was used to being useful and efficient, used to keeping quiet when it counted. Listening had always been expected of me. No one had ever complimented me about it, though.
I held her gaze a second longer than I should have.
She shifted, and I felt her pull away just a little, walls sliding into place as the night sobered her. The mystery of her sharpened instead of softened.
Watching her, I told myself to remember this moment exactly as it was.
Because whatever this was, it was worth remembering.
The water pressed in close, heat settling into muscle and bone. Pine Hollow disappeared beyond the stone edge, the world reduced to steam and dark sky and the woman sitting beside me.
Zoey leaned back against the rock, looking completely relaxed. The earlier sharpness was still there but softened at the edges.
People usually noticed me quickly, or at least the size of me and how I filled a space before I ever said a word. They reacted first and listened later, if they bothered at all.
Zoey reacted differently. When she looked at me, I felt seen in a way that had nothing to do with my body. And I had literally known her for an hour.
I told myself it was way too early to trust that feeling.
“That thing you did earlier,” she said, eyes still on the stars. “With the neighbor.”
“I just stood there,” I said.
“Yeah, but it worked. Thank you.”
I smiled and didn’t bother stopping it this time.
The water rippled when she moved her leg and let out another blissful sigh. She caught me watching, and the looks she gave me said she knew exactly what I was doing.
