Chapter 21
The problem with kissing Lucas Cooper was that Sabrina immediately became aware of him constantly.
It was deeply inconvenient.
By Monday morning she had analyzed the kiss approximately four hundred times and reached several conclusions:
1. Lucas kissed like he had unresolved emotional issues.
2. She was in serious trouble.
3. He was avoiding her.
Which felt extremely unfair considering he was the one who kissed her.
Sabrina glared at her phone from her apartment couch.
Three days.
Three whole days since the overlook.
And while Lucas technically hadn't disappeared completely, his messages had become painfully careful.
Lucas:
Meeting ran late.
Lucas:
Hope your interview went well.
Lucas:
Get home safe.
Emotionally criminal.
Especially compared to the fact that before the kiss they'd somehow ended up talking constantly.
Late-night drives.
Random phone calls.
Inside jokes.
Now everything felt restrained.
Like Lucas had panicked and shoved himself emotionally backward.
Which unfortunately hurt more than Sabrina expected.
A knock sounded against her apartment door.
She opened it to find Chloe holding iced coffees and immediate judgment.
"Oh," Chloe said immediately. "You look miserable."
"How comforting."
"You kissed him, didn't you?"
Sabrina nearly dropped the coffee.
"You are terrifying."
"That's a yes."
Chloe pushed past her into the apartment looking deeply satisfied.
"I knew it."
Sabrina shut the door dramatically behind her.
"It was one kiss."
"Your face says otherwise."
Because unfortunately Chloe was right.
One kiss had changed everything.
Sabrina collapsed onto the couch while Chloe sat beside her.
"So," Chloe said casually, "what's the problem?"
"He's acting weird afterward."
Chloe blinked once.
"Sabrina. That man has looked emotionally constipated since the day I met him."
Sabrina laughed despite herself.
Still, the ache in her chest remained.
"It's different now," she admitted quietly.
Because it was.
Before the kiss, there had still been plausible deniability between them.
Now there wasn't.
Now Sabrina knew exactly how Lucas looked at her when restraint disappeared.
And worse?
She knew he felt it too.
Her phone buzzed suddenly against the couch cushion.
Both girls looked down instantly.
Lucas.
Traitorous butterflies attacked Sabrina's stomach immediately.
Lucas:
Are you home?
Chloe's eyes widened dramatically.
"Oh my God."
Sabrina ignored her and typed back carefully.
Sabrina:
Yes.
Three dots appeared instantly.
Disappeared.
Came back.
Lucas:
Can I come up?
Her heartbeat stuttered violently.
Chloe looked moments away from live-streaming the situation.
"I hate you," Sabrina informed her.
"Open the door." Chloe stood immediately. "I need to witness history."
"You absolutely do not."
A second later another knock sounded.
Both women froze.
Then Chloe whispered:
"Oh, this is premium television."
Sabrina considered murder briefly before walking toward the door.
The second she opened it, her pulse completely betrayed her.
Lucas stood in the hallway wearing a dark hoodie beneath his coat, hair slightly messy like he'd been running his hands through it repeatedly.
He looked tired.
Nervous.
And somehow more dangerous because of it.
His eyes lifted to hers carefully.
"Hi."
Sabrina swallowed once.
"Hi."
For a second neither moved.
Then Lucas noticed Chloe immediately appearing behind Sabrina with absolutely no shame whatsoever.
"Wow," Chloe said softly. "The tension here could kill someone."
Lucas actually laughed quietly at that.
First mistake.
Because the sound of it loosened something painfully warm inside Sabrina's chest instantly.
"I was leaving anyway," Chloe announced dramatically while grabbing her purse. "But if either of you starts crying, text me immediately."
"Leave," Sabrina said flatly.
Chloe pointed finger guns at Lucas on her way out.
"Don't waste her time."
Lucas looked mildly terrified by her.
Reasonable reaction honestly.
The apartment fell quiet after the door shut behind her.
And suddenly it was just them again.
Dangerous.
Lucas looked at Sabrina for a long moment before speaking quietly.
"I've been handling this badly."
Direct.
Honest.
Sabrina crossed her arms lightly.
"A little."
His mouth twitched faintly before fading again.
"I meant what I said in the car."
"Which part?"
"That I panicked."
There it was again.
That honesty she never expected from him anymore.
Lucas stepped inside slowly after she moved aside.
"I haven't been able to stop thinking about you since Friday," he admitted quietly.
Her breath caught instantly.
"But every time something starts feeling real with someone..." He exhaled sharply. "I screw it up before they can."
The vulnerability in his voice hurt.
Because Lucas sounded like someone expecting abandonment before it even happened.
Sabrina softened despite herself.
"You didn't screw anything up."
His eyes searched hers carefully.
"Not yet."
God.
That sentence alone could emotionally destroy people.
Sabrina looked at him for a long second before asking softly:
"Are you trying to push me away?"
Lucas answered immediately.
"No."
Too fast.
Too honest.
And somehow that answer felt bigger than the kiss itself.