Something tugs at my chest.A mix of disappointment and something else.I want to ask more.What kind of work?What do your days look like when I'm not in them?
But I don't.Because if I ask, she'll ask back.And I'm not ready to answer those questions.
"Weekends are still something," I say quietly."And when you're here, you'll have all of me."
She tilts her head, studying me."That sounds dangerously close to romantic."
I smirk."Only if you want it to be."
She laughs, soft and breathy, then sighs."I don't do romantic, and I don't want to overthink this.I like what we have.So, I don't want to mess it up by trying to label it."
I nod, brushing my thumb along her jaw."Same.Let's just keep doing what feels good.What feels right."
"It feels right," she says, so quietly I almost miss it.
I tuck a strand of hair behind her ear."Then we don't change a damn thing."
She nestles deeper into my chest."I never thought I'd feel this safe with someone again."
I feel the truth of that settle into the room between us, heavy but honest.I want to ask questions, but I also don't want to ruin the night by bringing up what she is holding back.
"You trust me.That's not something I take lightly."
"I know."
Her words lodge in my chest like a brand.I kiss her temple, letting the silence stretch again, but it's not empty.It's full of everything we're not saying.Everything we're still learning to say.
Eventually, I feel her breathing slow, her body relaxing completely.She's drifting.I don't move.I don't want to wake her.
So, I hold her.And I let her hold me too.
And for the first time in a long time, I feel like maybe I don't have to be alone with the pieces of myself I keep buried.
Chapter 10
Skye
Thesummerflewbyin a blur of heat, late-night phone calls, and weekends spent with Gage at Club Red.We never talked about what we were, never tried to define it, and maybe that's what made it work.I could pretend it was simple when we both knew it wasn't.
We never talked much about our lives outside of Club Red.One of the things I know is that he's helping Hunter a little more now that Carter is wedding planning.Also, I know how he got started in the BDSM world, and he knows my story, and about my time with Dante.
But now school's back in session, and reality doesn't care about secrets or what happens in the dark.
Day one of my final year.
I wake with two texts waiting on my phone.
Summer:Good luck on your first day of the last year!So proud of you!
Gemma:You're almost at the finish line.Go kick ass.And then come help me find a dress.
I grin, my heart warming as I reply with a bunch of emojis.Then I hit the group call button.Their faces appear on screen, both of them still in robes with messy buns and coffee mugs.
"There she is!Our senior!"Summer cheers.
"Look at you, all grown up and going to school while I try to decide if champagne goes with eggs," Gemma says, dramatically sipping from her mug.
"Thank you, I needed this," I laugh."I'm kind of a mess.First day nerves."