Page 19

CHAPTER 19

DYLAN

I wake slowly, relishing after the kind of deep, satisfied sleep that only comes after being thoroughly wrecked. My body feels heavy, languid, still buzzing with the remnants of exhaustion and pleasure.

The room is quiet. The city lights peek through the curtains, casting soft shadows across the tangled sheets. The distant hum of the hotel’s AC fills the silence, a steady backdrop to the soft rhythm of Kai’s breathing behind me.

I shift slightly, and feel it. The warmth of Kai’s body, solid and steady, the slow rise and fall of his chest pressed lightly against my back. His arm, draped lazily over my waist, holding me in that absentminded way people do when they’re still caught in the haze of sleep.

For a second—just one—I let myself sink into it. The feeling of belonging. Of being held without expectation. It’s been too long since I’ve felt this. Too long since I’ve woken up next to someone and wanted to stay wrapped in their warmth.

I almost turn toward him. Maybe just to see if he’s awake. Maybe just to say one more thing. Maybe just to let myself have one more minute of this.

And then the weight of what this is—and what it isn’t—settles in my chest.

I’m leaving in a couple of days. This was just sex.

Kai isn’t my person. I don’t do messy.

I don’t do feelings.

Especially not with someone like him.

And if I stay? If I wake him up—if I let him pull me back under for another round?

It’s going to start feeling like something it shouldn’t.

I exhale quietly, gently lifting his arm. He stirs slightly, his fingers flexing against my hip, but he doesn’t wake. I pause, giving myself one last selfish second to memorize this—how he looks in sleep, how he feels against me, how stupidly good it is to be tangled up in him.

Then I slip out of bed, moving silently.

My clothes are everywhere. My crop top is draped over a chair. My skirt is barely hanging onto the nightstand. My bra is… somewhere. I untwist some of the sheets and find it tangled up in them. I move quickly, pulling on my clothes, slipping my feet into my shoes, each movement practiced, mechanical. Like the routine of someone who’s done this before.

Because I have.

Because this is how you keep things simple.

Still, I steal one last glance at him.

Kai is completely relaxed, his dark hair tousled, his lips slightly parted in sleep. His usual cocky smirk is gone, replaced by something unguarded, softer. He looks different like this. Less of the cocky, arrogant rugby player who infuriates me. More… human.

Still incredibly—almost unbearably—hot.

I don’t let myself think too hard as I grab my things and quietly open the door.

I pause. Just for a second.

That strange, unexpected twinge settles in my stomach.

One night. No strings. That’s all it was.

I repeat it to myself like a mantra. Like it’ll keep me from looking back.

And then I step into the hall, closing the door behind me.

Leaving Kai sleeping, unaware that I’m already gone.