“Something like that.”
Silence settles over us. Minutes pass as Hannah’s breaths deepen, finding a steady rhythm like she’s finally dozed off. I allow myself one final perusal of her face, noting the soft turn of her nose, the full lips, the swell of her cheeks, before my eyes grow heavy with sleep.
“Rowan?”
My lids lift slowly to find her gaze on me. “Yeah?”
“I have to ask...” Her mouth opens on an inhale, closes, then opens again like she’s summoning the courage to go on. “You said earlier it’s hard for you to get out here, but…how oftenareyou able to visit?”
A sharp pang reverberates in my chest, talons clenched around my vocal cords. “It’s…rare.”
She nods but doesn’t reply. My pulse pounds. We’ve laid ourselves bare tonight—shared secrets, insecurities, and fears with an ease that’s difficult to find withmost people.
Why stop there? I may not be able to visit, but she can at least know how I’m feeling.
“Hannah?”
“Hmm?”
I hesitate, doubting whether or not I should do this. Be this honest with her. She doesn’t say anything to rush me in the silence, but the way her eyes cling to mine is enough to urge me on.
“When I was a kid, I used to get in my feels a lot, especially after my dad died. So my mom started this thing every night—like a conversation starter, to help me open up. And the rule was you could say whatever you wanted as long as it was honest. The more honest the better.”
“I like that,” she says sincerely.
“I’ll ask you and then I want you to ask me, okay?”
“Okay.”
A pause. “Tell me something real.”
She takes a breath, releases it slowly as she pulls one hand from under her head and rests it in the narrow space between our chests. “It feels like I’ve known you my whole life.”
“Now ask me,” I say, the request scraping like sandpaper. My gaze holds hers while I slide my hand down until our fingers brush.
“Tell me something real, Rowan.”
I extend my pinky and wrap it around hers. “I really wish I’d met you under different circumstances.”
There’s nothing left to say. I know she feels the same. And when we wake up in a few hours, the real world will dictate that we move on as though tonight never happened. Because life hasn’t given us a choice in the matter.
But we’ll never forget itdidhappen. And it was perfect.
32
comfies have a vibe
Hannah - now
Rowan
How about those eggs tho?
Me
9.5 on flavor.
7 on texture.