Chapter 6 - The First Night
The moment the door closed behind them, the silence hit.
Ginny Nakamura slowly turned toward the bed.
One bed.
A single, wide, merciless king-sized bed sitting in the center of the room like it had been placed there specifically to ruin her life.
"...you've got to be kidding me," Ginny whispered.
Behind her, Jayna Stewart dropped her duffel bag onto the floor and let out a low whistle. "Wow. They didn't even try to pretend there was another option."
Ginny pointed at the bed like it had personally offended her. "There's only one."
Jayna crossed her arms, leaning against the dresser, her dimples faintly visible as her lips twitched. "That's... usually how beds work, Ginny."
Ginny shot her a look. "Don't start."
"Oh, I already started the moment you told your entire graduating class we were engaged, baby."
Ginny groaned, dragging her hands down her face. "Stop calling me that when no one's here!"
Jayna stepped closer, her voice dropping, teasing but softer now. "Why? It sounded pretty convincing earlier."
Ginny's cheeks heated instantly.
She hated how easily Jayna could do that.
They changed in awkward, careful silence—each of them pointedly facing away from the other.
Ginny changed fast, pulling on an oversized shirt and soft shorts, pretending she couldn't feel Jayna's presence behind her—couldn't hear the rustle of clothes, the quiet exhale, the subtle shift of weight.
Get it together, she told herself.
It's fake. It's just three days. You've got this.
Jayna cleared her throat. "Bathroom's free."
Ginny nodded too quickly. "Right. Yeah. Thanks."
She practically escaped inside, bracing her hands on the sink and staring at her reflection.
Her lips still remembered that drunken kiss.
That stupid, impulsive, reckless kiss she never followed up on.
And now she was sharing a bed with the same woman she'd kissed and ghosted.
Perfect.
When she came out, Jayna was already in bed.
On the left side.
Like she had already decided that was hers.
Ginny hesitated at the foot of the mattress, clutching her pillow like a shield.
Jayna glanced up at her, eyes amused. "You planning to stand there all night?"
Ginny huffed. "I'm thinking."
"About?"
"How to survive this week without having a heart attack."
Jayna chuckled. "Dramatic."
Ginny climbed into the bed, stiff and careful, keeping as much distance as physically possible between them.
There was still... not enough space.
The mattress dipped slightly as they both adjusted.
Ginny placed her pillow between them like a barricade.
Jayna looked at it.
Then at her.
"...seriously?"
"It's a boundary."
"It's a pillow."
"It's a symbolic boundary."
Jayna snorted and turned off the bedside lamp.
Darkness swallowed the room.
And suddenly everything felt louder.
The hum of the air conditioner.
The rustle of sheets.
Jayna's breathing.
Ginny's heartbeat.
They lay there in silence.
Rigid.
Aware.
Too aware.
Ginny stared into the darkness, willing her body to relax.
This was fine.
This was normal.
This was—
Jayna shifted.
The mattress moved.
And then—
Both of them froze.
Instantly.
Completely.
Ginny's breath caught in her throat.
Jayna's body went still beside her.
There was a beat of silence that stretched too long, too thick, too charged.
Neither of them moved.
Neither of them breathed properly.
Ginny could feel the heat of Jayna's skin through the thin fabric.
It burned.
Jayna swallowed audibly.
"...sorry," Ginny whispered, her voice tight and barely there.
"...yeah," Jayna replied just as quietly.
But neither of them moved away.
Seconds passed.
Too many.
The air felt heavy.
Their legs were still touching.
And now it felt intentional.
Ginny told her body to move.
Move, idiot.
She didn't.
Instead, her toes flexed slightly—
and brushed more firmly against Jayna's leg.
Jayna inhaled sharply.
Ginny's eyes widened in the dark.
Jayna's hand shifted under the blanket at the same time—
and the back of her fingers grazed Ginny's wrist.
This time worse.
This time louder.
Ginny's pulse pounded in her ears so hard she was sure Jayna could hear it.
Jayna didn't pull away.
Neither did Ginny.
The contact was light.
Barely there.
But it felt like a live wire.
"Ginny," Jayna murmured softly into the darkness.
Ginny swallowed. "Yeah?"
A pause.
A dangerous one.
"...this is going to be a problem."
Ginny let out a shaky breath. "...I know."
Another silence.
Their bodies still barely touching.
Neither willing to break it.
Neither willing to deepen it.
Both trapped right in the middle.
Ginny squeezed her eyes shut.
It's fake.
It's fake.
It's fake.
But the way her body reacted to Jayna's touch didn't feel fake at all.
And judging by the way Jayna hadn't moved even an inch away...
Maybe it wasn't fake for her either.
They stayed like that for what felt like forever.
Not speaking.
Not moving.
Just... aware.
Of the heat.
Of the closeness.
Of the line they were standing on.
And when Ginny finally drifted into a restless sleep, one thought stayed lodged in her chest: