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The late afternoonsunlight filtered through the sheer curtains of the two-story townhouse, casting shadows across the hardwood floors. It was small — cozy, as her mom had phrased it. She’d even lit her favorite candle, the scent of citrus and greenery filled the room, making it feel like it could one day be hers.

Her parents had offered to keep the girls for the night to let her stay over at the townhouse and get her bearings — to make an “informed” decision as they’d worded it. She had spent the first few hours of the day putting clean linens on the bed, cleaning, and shifting the couch in the living room into a configuration she liked better.

Kiera stood in the middle of it all, feeling the surrealness of starting over settle around her shoulders. It wasn’t the sprawling family home she’d once shared with Alex. There was no suburban backyard or impressive foyer. It also wasn’t her childhood home, so tied to her parents and who she’d been that she’d never had the space to figure out a different version of herself there. But this townhouse felt like freedom — a breath of fresh air after months of suffocating uncertainty.

A knock at the door snapped her from her thoughts.

Kiera froze at the knock, her heart stuttering. She wasn’t expecting anyone — the only possibility would be her parents or Aunt Jade, and neither seemed likely. She crossed the room slowly, brushing crumbs off her sweatshirt, still barefoot, stillunsure if she even would be staying here. When she opened the door and saw Izzy standing there, everything inside her tilted.

For a second, she couldn’t speak. Her brain needed time to catch up to what her eyes already knew. Izzy — hair wind-tousled, cheeks pink, looking both sure of herself and completely out of breath — stood with one hand in her pocket and the other loosely holding something that looked like takeout. Like it was just any other afternoon.

Kiera’s stomach flipped. Not from nerves exactly — more like recognition. Like something she’d been holding back finally surged forward, uninvited and undeniable. She hadn’t realized how much she’d missed Izzy’s face until it was right in front of her. Now that it was, she had no idea what to do with all the feelings rushing in at once.

“Hi,” Izzy said, her smile shy.

“Hi,” Kiera said, though she was unable to hide her confusion.

“I stopped by your house, but your parents gave me this address,” Izzy said. “I grabbed some food on my way over.”

Kiera raised a brow. “What kind of food?”

“Now I know where Eliza gets her intensity from,” Izzy joked. “It’s Thai. I got you drunken noodles.”

Kiera stepped back. “Well, lucky for you, drunken noodles is the password.”

Izzy grinned, looking around as she crossed the threshold into the entry, pausing in the kitchen. “So, um, what is this place? Did your parents’ kombucha operation finally get off the ground and you're hiding in this safe house from a rival booch gang?”

Kiera couldn’t help herself. She moved, wrapping her arms around Izzy in a hug bordering on strangulation. She heard the rustle of Izzy setting the takeout down on the kitchen counterbehind her, and then Izzy’s hands were on her back, in her hair, reassuring. Here. Izzy was here.

“I missed you,” Kiera whispered.

“I missed you, too,” Izzy said with a small laugh. “Should we, um, talk or maybe we could just silently eat this food, or…”

Kiera leaned back, looking into Izzy’s face.

Izzy's eyes were dark, her gaze drifting to Kiera's mouth. Kiera’s breath caught, her heart thudding against her ribs. The quiet stretched out, charged with possibility. She reached out slowly, her fingers brushing against Izzy’s hand. Izzy didn’t pull away — if anything, she leaned in, just enough to close the space.

Kiera swallowed, scanning Izzy’s face for any flicker of hesitation. When she found none, she leaned forward and kissed her. It was careful, tentative — a question more than an answer. Izzy let out a soft, uneven breath against her lips, and Kiera felt her nerves melt into something warmer, steadier.

The room faded around them, like everything outside this moment had gone quiet. Izzy looked up at her, eyes wide and unreadable. Neither of them moved. Time felt suspended, held by the thread of what they weren’t saying yet.

Kiera stepped in. “I… I don’t know how to say this so I’m just going to try,” she whispered, voice low, shaking just enough to betray how much this mattered. “I just — God, Izzy, I want you so fucking bad.”

Izzy’s lips parted like she might respond, but nothing came out. Kiera didn’t wait. She lifted a hand to Izzy’s jaw, her fingers trembling as she leaned in and kissed her again — deeper this time, with every ounce of emotion she hadn’t said out loud.

Izzy’s hands found her waist, pulling her close until their bodies met. The warmth of Izzy settled into Kiera’s skin, into her chest, everywhere. Kiera pressed in, her breath catching as Izzy’s thigh slipped between hers, slow and deliberate. Her whole bodysparked at the contact — a jolt of heat rolling through her, sharp and sweet.

The counter dug into her back, but she barely noticed. Izzy’s mouth was on hers again, surer now, and Kiera kissed her back like she couldn’t help it. Her fingers slid into Izzy’s hair, holding tight, grounding herself in the dizzying rush of it all.

She moved against her, chasing that friction, that closeness, her breath growing more uneven with every second. Izzy exhaled roughly, her grip tightening at Kiera’s waist, guiding her closer, deeper into the kiss. Everything else — the silence of the house, the unanswered questions, the job offer sitting in her inbox — disappeared.

Hands roamed — over ribs, up backs, gripping hips. Kiera’s breath stuttered as Izzy’s teeth grazed her lower lip. She responded without thinking, chasing that edge, deepening the kiss until her knees nearly gave out. Every touch felt amplified, drawn tight with want.

She moved against Izzy’s thigh again, a low sound catching in her throat. Izzy’s hand slipped beneath her sweatshirt, fingers brushing hot against her skin, and Kiera gasped into her mouth.

And then a beat later she pulled back, chest rising and falling, lips still parted. "Wait," she said, breathless but suddenly remembering the very real world around them. Izzy’s eyes went wide with worry. "We should… put the noodles in the fridge. Before we get distracted, and it goes bad.”

Izzy blinked, still dazed, and then broke into a laugh, resting her forehead against Kiera’s shoulder. “Right. Priorities.” She stepped back to open the fridge and unceremoniously tossed the bag inside.