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I unlock the door, turning the knob slowly, pushing it open as quietly as possible. Once it’s locked behind me, I hang my coat and toe off my boots, pulling my phone out to text Rafael that I got here safely, like he demanded when I left.

I’d told him I couldn’t stay because I had an early run planned with Chelsea and they’d know something was up if I didn’t go home now. But that wasn’t even remotely true. The real reason I had to get out of there was because things were feeling entirely too… real .

I’ve never been in a relationship and have had no real desire to do so.

Which means I’m not certain that this feeling even accurately resembles what it would be like to want that for myself, but just the knowledge that it could be, scared me straight back to my place.

I had to get out of there and let myself breathe without Rafael’s overwhelming presence weaselling further into my being.

It makes me worry that the newness of our situation is nothing more than a mass dopamine rush that I can’t quit chasing.

I shove the worry away and pull up our message thread, blushing when I remember how our last text exchange had gone.

Just got home. Thanks for a fun night.

Sunny D

Anytime sunshine, thanks for coming.

My cheeks heat again, and a fluttering sensation erupts in my chest, that is, until his next message comes through.

Sunny D

Literally ;)

Goodnight.

Sunny D

Night, trouble.

I click the side button, turning the screen off before heading to the staircase. The lights flick on, and a shrill shriek leaves not just my lungs, but Chelsea’s too.

“Chelsea,” Adhira says, pinning her with a glare, “are you bloody serious? You were the one who turned the lights on in the first place!”

“I know, but her screaming scared me!” she yells back at her.

I’m still clutching my chest, sucking in deep breaths as I recover from the ambush.

“What the hell was that for?” I grit out, and three sets of eyes land on me.

“Don’t play dumb, little girl,” Chelsea chides with her hands on her hips.

“Chels, would you stop? That’s weird,” Letty complains, shaking her head. “We want to know where you went tonight and why you’re sneaking in like a burglar.”

I roll my eyes, ignoring the way my gut twists at the lie I’m about to tell. “It’s nothing. I was just with a guy.”

“Well, no shit,” Adhira says, waving a hand from my head to my toes, as if my mere existence is answer enough.

“But it’s clearly a new guy, and someone you don’t want us to know about if you didn’t make him come over here.

You’re usually too lazy to go anywhere, even for dick.

” She’s got a point. An unfortunate one that doesn’t make my life any easier, but a point nonetheless.

“I don’t want him here because his place is nicer, and things feel—” I hesitate, trying to work out the right word for myself. “Different?” The fact that feels like the truth only sends dread dipping lower in my belly, but I mask my expression and work to not give anything else away.

“I don’t buy it, but whatever. I’m tired, and as long as you’re being safe, I’m heading back to bed,” Adhira says, all but excusing herself as she trails up the stairs, wrapped in her mint-green fluffy robe, her dark-chestnut waves a wild, frizzy mess behind her.

Letty and Chelsea don’t let up so easily though.

Where Adhira generally comes across uncaring and sometimes even cold, her last boyfriend referring to her as “a frigid bitch,” to which she never even batted an eye, it’s not true underneath the facade she wears so well.

She’s kind, caring, compassionate—all the things you want in a healthcare provider.

She’s just not warm. Though, neither am I—which may be why we get along so well.

Adhira is a no bullshit kind of person, and as a general rule, likes to stay out of others’ business unless it directly impacts her.

The same cannot be said for Chelsea and Letty, who are still standing in front of the steps, blocking my exit as their eyes bore holes into my skull.

Letty crosses her arms over her chest again, and I let out a defeated groan, nearly sagging to the ground. “Could you stop doing that?” I plead. “You know I can’t say no to those tits.”

She rolls her eyes, but her brow quirks and she bites her lip, an idea rolling through her mind, and I’m sure I won’t like it, judging by the excitement twinkling in her big brown eyes.

“Tell us where you were, honestly, ” she emphasises. “And I’ll let you motorboat these tetas ,” she says, her smirk twisting into a wide grin.

Damn her.

“As much as I’d love nothing more than for you to finally give in and decide that pussy is just as great as dick (it is, by the way),” I remind her, “I’m not falling victim to a one-and-done situation.

I’m liable to fall in love based on this one interaction, and then I’ll never be okay,” I tell her, sighing dramatically.

“I’ll be destined to live out the rest of my days, wishing my best friend would be my perpetual butt buddy so I could give up all the complications that come with men. ”

She scoffs. “You’re fucking ridiculous. Come on, spill,” she commands, as if by telling me what to do, I’ll actually listen. The only person that works with is Rafael, and the thought alone has alarm bells ringing.

“Bossing me around will get you nowhere,” I say, watching as Chelsea’s eyes bounce between us like a ping-pong ball.

“It was worth a shot. I’ve heard how you like to be spoken to in the bedroom. I figured I could at least give it a go,” she says, chuckling.

“Mhmm, and the bedroom is the only place I like to be bossed around. Now, will you please get the hell out of my way so I can get to bed?”

“Come on ,” Chelsea whines, likely because she knows I hate the sound.

If I were to cave, it would be from that before anything else. God, I hate that sound.

“Chels, I love you, but no. All I’ll say is things feel a little too real with this guy, and until I figure out what that means, I’m not willing to have him here.

Besides, until I know for sure I’m safe with this man”— I’ve never felt safer —“I’m not risking him knowing where I live. Where we live.”

She lets out a long sigh, hanging her head. “Fine, off to bed we go,” she says, trudging up the stairs ahead of me and Letty.

Brats, they’re all fucking brats.