Chapter 28 #2
We stand together for a moment longer than necessary, close, but not touching, the noise of the bar fading into the background. I’m acutely aware of how easy it would be to lean in, to say something I’m not ready to unpack.
Instead, I nod toward the table. “Ready to rejoin?”
She smiles. “Lead the way, Moneybags.”
I groan. “You cannot keep calling me that.”
She laughs, stepping past me. “Watch me.”
As I follow her back, I realize something that unsettles me more than any teasing accusation Sawyer threw earlier.
I don’t feel like I’m balancing two lives tonight. It feels like one. And I don’t know what to do with that.
Melissa fits seamlessly. She laughs at Dean’s dry humor, rolls her eyes at Sawyer’s ego, and leans into me slightly when the bar noise picks up. It feels natural—dangerously so.
At some point, Sawyer turns his attention fully to Kayla.
“So,” he says, leaning back, “what do you do?”
“I write romance novels,” she replies unapologetically.
Sawyer’s eyes light up. “Perfect. You should write one about me.”
Melissa snorts into her drink.
Kayla tilts her head, studying Sawyer like a specimen. “No offense, but you don’t strike me as hero material.”
Sawyer presses a hand to his chest. “That hurts.”
“You’re cocky,” she continues. “I bet you flirt like it’s a competitive sport. And I’m guessing commitment makes you itchy.”
Dean laughs outright.
Sawyer grins wider. “All excellent qualities.”
“For a side character,” Kayla replies sweetly.
I nearly lose it.
Sawyer points at her. “You wound me.”
“Good,” she says. “Builds character.”
The banter crackles, sharp and fast-paced.
Dean excuses himself to grab another round, leaving Sawyer leaning closer to Kayla.
“So,” Sawyer says, “what kind of heroes do you write?”
Kayla smiles. “Men who aren’t afraid of emotional intimacy.”
Sawyer whistles. “Sounds fictional.”
“Exactly,” she says.
Melissa laughs, glancing at me. “She’s brutal.”
Sawyer shrugs. “I can take it.”
“I doubt that,” Kayla replies.
As the night wears on, the energy at the table shifts.
The initial edge of meeting new people dulls into something easier, more familiar. Kayla and Sawyer are locked in a verbal sparring match that shows no signs of slowing. Dean watches with obvious amusement as Sawyer tries to maintain the upper hand.
Melissa drifts closer to me as the crowd thickens, her knee brushing mine beneath the table. The contact is casual, unconscious, but it sends a sharp awareness through me all the same.
I rest my forearm along the edge of the table, deliberately not touching her, and somehow, that restraint feels louder than contact would.
This is the part I didn’t anticipate. Not wanting more but wanting normal.
Sawyer excuses himself to the bathroom, leaving Dean and Kayla deep in conversation about writing schedules and deadlines.
Melissa leans toward me slightly, lowering her voice as she murmurs, “They’re kind of perfect,” nodding toward Dean and Kayla.
“They’re chaos,” I reply.
She smiles. “Same thing.”
I watch her for a moment longer than necessary. The way she listens. The way she doesn’t need to fill silence to prove she belongs. There’s a steadiness to her that makes me feel unanchored in the best and worst ways.
Dean catches my eye again. This time, he raises a brow.
I know what he’s asking. I shake my head once, subtly. He doesn’t look convinced.
Sawyer returns a moment later, sliding back into his seat with exaggerated confidence. “Did I miss anything?”
Kayla tilts her head. “We were discussing how you’d never survive as a romantic lead.”
Sawyer scoffs. “Please. Women love confidence.”
“They love depth,” she counters.
“Same thing.”
“It really isn’t.”
Dean laughs. “I’m staying out of this.”
Melissa chuckles, her shoulder brushing mine again as she does. I feel it everywhere.
At some point, Kayla checks her phone, then nudges Melissa gently. “We should probably head out.”
The words hit harder than they should.
Melissa hesitates. Not dramatically, but enough that I notice. She looks at me, searching my face for something I don’t let myself give.
I want to ask her to stay. I want to say, Come home with me, like it’s the most natural thing in the world. But I know what’s right.
“I’ll walk you out,” I say, already standing.
Sawyer’s grin returns instantly. “Of course you will.”
I shoot him a look. “Behave.”
He lifts his hands. “I’m just saying …”
Dean cuts in smoothly. “Text him when you get home.”
Melissa smiles. “Will do.”
Outside, the night air is cooler, quieter. The noise of the bar fades behind us, replaced by the hum of the city and the distant sound of traffic.
Kayla steps ahead a few paces, deliberately giving us space.
Melissa stops, turning toward me, hands tucked into her jacket pockets. “I had fun tonight.”
“So did I.”
Her smile is soft. Genuine. “Your friends are … exactly what I expected.”
“That’s not reassuring.”
She laughs. “I mean that in the best way.”
I step closer, lowering my voice. “Thank you for coming.”
“Thank you for inviting me.”
There’s a pause. A moment where the space between us feels heavier than it should.
She leans in first, pressing a brief, warm kiss to my mouth. It’s not hurried. Not hungry. Just … grounding.
“I’ll text you when we get home,” she says.
“Please do.”
She turns to rejoin Kayla, and I watch them walk down the sidewalk together, their laughter drifting back toward me.
I don’t follow, but every instinct in my body screams to.
I stand there longer than necessary, hands shoved into my pockets, watching until they disappear into the crowd.
Sawyer’s voice carries faintly from inside the bar. “You let her leave?”
I don’t turn around. “Yes.”
“Wow,” he says, stepping up beside me. “You’re really screwed.”
I finally look at him. “Why do you say that?”
He shrugs. “Because you wanted to stop her. You wanted to ask her to spend the night. And you didn’t.”
That hits heavier than anything else tonight.
I head back inside, the noise and lights closing around me again, but the absence beside me is unmistakable.
And for the first time, I understand something I’ve been avoiding all night. This isn’t merely attraction. It’s restraint. And I don’t know how long I can keep choosing it.