Nicole..
The first thing I felt was warmth. Zach’s arm draped heavy and protective across my waist, pinning me gently to the bed. Morning light slipped through the blinds in narrow stripes, painting the room in soft gold.
Clothes lay scattered on the floor — a messy, silent testimony of the night before. My body ached, but it wasn’t unpleasant; it was a reminder of how completely we had surrendered to each other.
For a moment, I let myself savor it. His steady breathing against my back. The slow circles his fingers drew on my skin even in his sleep. The safety of his presence.
But reality crept in, quiet and uninvited.
I remembered the flicker in his eyes yesterday, the way his voice had cracked when I asked where he’d been. The tension he’d tried to mask. Whatever he told me last nig
