I look up, catching Isaac’s eye this time.
“You’re up.”
“For what?”
“You know the rules,” he says, shuffling the cards now. “If you’re too quiet, you’re getting roped in for a hand or two.”
“No idle minds,” Dominic adds with a grin.
I groan under my breath. “Not tonight.”
“Oh, come on,” Dominic counters, crossing his arms. “You’re the host, which means you don’t get to skip out.”
“We’ve all suffered Dom’s bad jokes long enough. It’s your turn.”
At that, Dominic scoffs and nudges Eve, but he’s good-natured about it.
I shake my head. “Absolutely not.”
“Coward,” Isaac says flatly.
“Careful,” I mutter.
He just smirks, not even remotely phased. “Then prove me wrong.”
The others laugh quietly at the challenge, and the tension eases just a fraction more, even if it’s at my expense. I hesitate, then sigh. “Fine.”
As much as I don’t feel like entertaining the usual antics, I push myself up and step closer to the fire until I’m within reach to join their game.
“You won’t regret it,” Isaac says as he starts to deal, more pleased now.
“I already do.”
The others chuckle, and even Naia’s attention shifts slightly. She’s not fully engaged, but watching, and it’s enough for me to feel it.
For a moment, I wonder what she’s thinking, and what this all looks like from her side.
I wonder if any of this feels sustainable to her, or if it all just looks like something she doesn’t belong in. The thought lingers longer than it should.
Urging myself to focus on the game, I let them drag me into it. But even as I do, and even as the conversation picks up again while the fire crackles louder and laughter breaks through it, some of my attention stays locked on her. It’s constant, and something I can’t shake regardless of how hard I try.
No matter how present I try to be for the others, she’s still there at the edge of it, holding her ground and bracing herself for anything.
A small, persistent part of me wants to pull her out of that space and to close the distance. I want to get her alone to talk and figure this out as soon as possible… not later, when things calm down. I want it now.
But I don’t move, and I don’t try to push any boundaries yet. I almost lost control around her the other day, and I have the feeling she won’t take kindly to it if I do it again.
Instead, I stay where I am and let the night play out. I let the others have this moment since I can’t say how long this brief reprieve will last, even if my mind isn’t fully in it.
Everything feels like it’s hanging in a fragile balance, and for now, this is the closest thing to normal we’ve had in a while.
Chapter 20 - Naia
I didn’t expect this…the bonfire, the laughter, the way they all fall into something so easy.
I’m just outside of it, close enough to feel the heat of the flames against my skin and for Zane to keep an eye on me, but far enough that no one has to pretend I belong in the middle of it. At least, that’s what I tell myself.
But the longer I sit here, the harder it is to ignore what’s happening around me and how it’s so unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before.
