I stared up at the ceiling, the faint glow of the city filtering through the blinds, the quiet hum of Berlin settling into the background.
All I could think about was Stefan. How he’d let me decide.
I shifted onto my side, exhaling slowly.
Goodnight, Kieran.
Pleasant dreams, Kieran.
I dragged a hand over my face.Why didn’t I make a move?Except I already knew the answer.
Because I’d wanted to. Too much.
I let out a breath of pure frustration, then turned onto my back again. I could still see it, the way he’d stared at my mouth. I could feel the weight of that pause.
The pull towards him.
The moment could’ve tipped right then and there?—
And then I’d stopped it.
I turned onto my side again, pulling the covers closer without really needing them.
Tomorrow.
I knew what would happen, or at least I knew what Iwantedto happen.
That alone was enough to make my heartbeat quicken.
I let out a slow breath, staring into the dim light. “I’m in trouble,” I muttered to myself.
But that wasn’t the truth. Maybe for the first time ever, I felt as though I was exactly where I was supposed to be.
Even if I had no idea what came next.
Stefan
By the time I reached my apartment, the city had settled into that late-night rhythm I knew well, quieter but never still.
I let myself in, closing the door with a softclickbehind me. Jacket off. Shoes kicked aside. A glass of water poured and left untouched on the counter.
Routine.
I moved through it automatically, but my mind wasn’t on it.
It hadn’t been for a while.
I leaned back against the counter, exhaling slowly. The day had not gone as expected. That, in itself, wasn’t unusual. What was, though?
How little I minded.
My thoughts shifted to Kieran.
I’d met men like him before. Curious, careful men, standing on the edge of something they didn’t yet understand.
Kieran was different. Not because he was uncertain, but because he was honest about it.
That’s rare.