Chapter 31-Rhett
267 Words
She stayed longer than I thought she would, and that told me she was trying. But she wasn’t in it, not all the way. I could see it in the way her attention drifted, the way she kept reaching for her phone without checking it, like she expected something she didn’t want to see.
When she stood to leave, I didn’t hesitate. I wasn’t asking. I was taking her home.
The walk back told me enough. She didn’t fight it. Didn’t question it. That wasn’t nothing.
The drive told me more. She answered, but not fully. Gave just enough to keep things moving, not enough to explain anything. That wasn’t new.
What was new was why.
By the time we pulled up to her place, I already knew I wasn’t letting it go. Not after what I saw earlier.
When I said her name, she looked at me like she already knew what was coming.
And when she said it was nothing, I knew it wasn’t.
I didn’t push hard. Didn’t need to.
But I didn’t let her hide behind it either.
When I stepped closer, it wasn’t about crowding her. It was about seeing it clearly.
She was scared.
Not obvious. Not panicked.
But it was there.
And that didn’t sit right.
When my eyes dropped to her lips, that wasn’t planned. It just happened. Same as before.
Only this time, it would’ve been easier to cross that line.
She pulled back.
That told me enough.
Not no.
Not yet.
Just not now.
I let her go.
But I didn’t let it drop.
Not even close.
- Writer
