Chapter 14 - Night Balcony Talk
The noise from the poolside bar had finally died down.
No more “Batch 20XX!” chants.
No more drunk classmates demanding kiss demos from the “engaged couple.”
No more flash photography catching Jayna’s hand at Ginny’s waist.
Just silence.
And the ocean.
Ginny Nakamura stood on the narrow hotel balcony, arms folded tightly across her chest, staring at the dark shoreline below.
This reunion was supposed to be one night.
Smile. Show up successful. Leave.
Instead, she had announced she was engaged.
To Jayna Stewart.
The same Jayna she had kissed at a tipsy Christmas party three months ago.
The same Jayna she never called after.
God. She wanted to evaporate.
The sliding door opened behind her.
“You always run to balconies when you’re spiraling?”
Jayna’s voice was calm. Mildly amused.
Too calm.
Ginny didn’t turn around. “I’m not spiraling.”
“Ginny,” Jayna said gently, “you told thirty-seven former classmates we’re planning a beach wedding.”
Ginny squeezed her eyes shut. “They wouldn’t stop asking why I’m still single.”
“So you panicked.”
“Yes.”
“And my name just… flew out of your mouth?”
“…Yes.”
A pause.
Then the door slid shut.
Jayna stepped beside her.
Close enough that their arms nearly touched.
The night breeze moved between them.
“So,” Jayna said lightly, “I’m curious.”
Ginny braced herself. “About?”
“Why me?”
There it was.
The question Ginny had been avoiding all week.
Ever since Jayna surprisingly agreed to the arrangement.
Shared room. Shared bed. Fake affection on demand.
Jayna could’ve said no.
She didn’t.
---
Ginny stared at the horizon.
Because looking at Jayna right now would be dangerous.
“You were there,” she said weakly.
Jayna huffed. “Wow. I feel special.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Then what did you mean?”
Ginny’s throat tightened.
The truth sat heavy on her tongue.
“You were the only person from that night I couldn’t pretend didn’t happen.”
Silence.
The teasing energy disappeared.
Jayna shifted slightly toward her.
“The kiss?”
Ginny nodded.
The memory flashed between them instantly.
The office after-party. Too much champagne. Laughter. Music.
Jayna’s hand steadying her waist.
Ginny leaning in first.
Soft lips. Slow heat.
Not sloppy.
Not meaningless.
And then—
Ginny disappearing the next day.
---
“You never called,” Jayna said quietly.
Not accusing.
Just factual.
Ginny swallowed hard. “I know.”
“I thought I imagined it. The way you looked at me.”
“You didn’t.”
“Then why did you ghost me?”
The ocean crashed below them.
Ginny’s pulse pounded in her ears.
“Because it didn’t feel casual,” she admitted.
Jayna stilled.
“I don’t do intense,” Ginny continued. “I do organized. Controlled. Predictable.”
Jayna’s voice softened. “And I’m not predictable?”
Ginny let out a breathless laugh. “You kissed me back like you meant it.”
“And that scared you?”
“Yes.”
Honest.
Raw.
Ugly.
True.
---
A long pause stretched between them.
The tension no longer playful.
Something heavier now.
Real.
“So instead of talking to me,” Jayna said slowly, “you pretend we’re engaged in front of everyone we went to college with.”
Ginny covered her face briefly. “When you say it like that—”
“Because that’s exactly what you did.”
“I know.”
Jayna studied her.
“You could’ve chosen literally anyone.”
“I didn’t want to.”
That slipped out.
Unfiltered.
Jayna’s breath caught slightly.
Ginny finally turned to face her.
“I didn’t want it to be anyone else.”
There.
Said.
The air shifted.
Dangerously.
---
Jayna stepped closer.
Not touching.
But close enough that Ginny could feel her warmth.
“You’re reckless when you’re scared,” Jayna murmured.
Ginny gave a weak smile. “You have no idea.”
“Oh, I’m starting to.”
Silence again.
But this one felt electric.
---
“Tell me something,” Jayna said softly.
Ginny’s heart thudded.
“When I touch you downstairs,” Jayna continued, “when I hold your hand in front of them… are you pretending?”
Ginny’s breath grew shallow.
Because that was the real problem.
The fake PDA didn’t feel fake.
Her pulse spiked every time Jayna’s thumb brushed her knuckles.
Her stomach flipped when Jayna pulled her close for photos.
It wasn’t acting.
It was survival.
“I forget,” Ginny whispered.
Jayna’s eyes darkened slightly. “Forget what?”
“That it’s not real.”
The confession hung between them.
Heavy.
Honest.
Jayna’s jaw tightened.
“Ginny…”
“I know,” she said quickly. “This is supposed to be a week. Just until the reunion events end.”
“And then?”
Ginny had no answer.
That terrified her most.
---
Jayna lifted her hand slowly.
Paused inches from Ginny’s waist.
“Tell me to stop,” she said quietly.
The same tone from three months ago.
Soft.
Intent.
Ginny’s heart slammed against her ribs.
She should stop this.
They share a room.
They have five more days.
This could explode spectacularly.
But instead of stepping back—
Ginny leaned in.
Just slightly.
Jayna’s fingers made contact with her waist.
Warm.
Steady.
Not performative.
Their faces were close now.
No classmates watching.
No phones out.
Just them.
The unfinished kiss hovering like a loaded gun.
“Are we pretending right now?” Jayna asked softly.
Ginny’s lips parted.
“I don’t think so.”
The air tightened.
Their noses almost brushing.
Breaths mingling.
Jayna’s thumb pressed slightly into her hip.
And then—
Loud laughter echoed from the pool below.
Someone shouted, “Where’s the engaged couple?!”
Reality snapped back violently.
Jayna pulled her hand away.
Both of them breathing harder than they should be.
“Five more days,” Jayna muttered.
Ginny nodded.
“Five days.”
But as Jayna slid the door open to go back inside, Ginny knew one thing with painful clarity—
The lie wasn’t the dangerous part anymore.
It was how much she didn’t want it to end.