Between us in New York

CHAPTER FOUR: THOUGHTS

The barn looked like something out of a postcard. Stretched across acres of untouched woods, its weathered red panels gleamed in the golden light of late afternoon. A wide porch wrapped around the farmhouse beside it, and the faint sound of cicadas filled the still air. For anyone else, it would have been idyllic. Perfect.

For Gracyn, it felt like a stage.

“See? I told you it’d be worth the drive.” Luke’s hand rested casually on the small of her back as he guided her up the steps. He looked proud, like this place was his own little kingdom, and maybe in some ways, it was. His family’s money dripped from every corner—the polished wood beams, the restored barn, the shiny black SUV parked out front.

“It’s beautiful,” she said, because it was.

He smiled, pleased. “I used to spend summers here as a kid. We’d ride horses, camp by the creek… Dad always said this place kept us grounded.” He unlocked the door, swinging it open to reveal an interior that was anything but rustic. Leather couches, a stone fireplace, and shelves of books lined the walls. It smelled faintly of cedar and something warm, like old memories.

Gracyn stepped inside, her heels clicking against the hardwood. Luke set down their bags, moving with the ease of someone who belonged here. He didn’t notice how her gaze lingered, not on the house itself, but on the silence between them.

They had been together for over a year. A year of dinners, of movie nights, of him picking her up in cars that smelled new, of conversations about plans that always sounded practical, stable. Luke was safe. Good. The kind of guy any girl’s parents would approve of.

So why did she feel like something was missing?

Her mind drifted to Friday night. To flashing lights and a beer pong table. To Jaden’s laugh, his confidence, the way he saw her in a way Luke never quite had. She shook the thought away as if it were a sin.

“You hungry?” Luke asked, heading toward the kitchen.

“A little,” she said, following.

He pulled out a basket he’d packed earlier—wine, crackers, cheeses she couldn’t pronounce. “I figured we could make it simple. Picnic in the barn loft tonight, just us.”

She smiled politely. “That sounds nice.”

And it was. Nice. Everything with Luke was nice.

They ate later under the sloped wooden beams of the loft, sitting cross-legged on an old blanket. The air smelled faintly of hay, and the glow from the lantern made everything soft, golden. Luke poured wine into plastic cups and handed her one.

“To us,” he said, raising his.

She tapped hers against his. “To us.”

He looked at her, eyes warm, steady. “I’m glad you came. We don’t get enough time, just the two of us. Life gets busy, I know, but… I don’t want to take you for granted.”

Her chest tightened. He meant it. Every word. She could feel it in the way he touched her hand, the way his smile was unguarded in that moment. He liked her—no, he more than liked her.

And yet…

“Sometimes I feel like I could spend forever with you out here,” Luke went on, glancing around. “No noise, no pressure. Just you and me.”

She smiled faintly. “It’s peaceful.”

“It’s more than peaceful,” he said, leaning closer. “It’s perfect.”

She lowered her gaze, fingers tracing the rim of her cup. The word echoed inside her: perfect. Perfect man, perfect barn, perfect life waiting for her if she wanted it. So why did her heart feel restless?

“Gracyn,” Luke said softly, “I know I don’t say it enough, but… you mean a lot to me.”

Her throat tightened. She should have felt her stomach flutter, her heart race. But all she felt was the weight of his words pressing against the silence inside her.

“I care about you too,” she said finally. And she did. Just not in the way she wished she could.

Luke smiled anyway, relief flashing across his features. He leaned in, brushing his lips against hers. His kiss was gentle, practiced, safe. She kissed him back, because that’s what was expected, because she didn’t want to hurt him. But her mind betrayed her, flickering with the memory of another almost-moment—Jaden’s hand brushing hers as they walked, his voice saying, I see you.

She pulled back first. “I’m… I’m tired,” she said softly.

Luke nodded, masking his disappointment with a polite smile. “Of course. We’ll turn in early.”

Later, in the guest bedroom, Gracyn lay awake staring at the wooden beams above her. Luke’s steady breathing came from the couch downstairs—he’d insisted she take the bed. Another sweet gesture. Another reason she should have felt lucky.

Instead, all she felt was unsettled.

Her phone buzzed on the nightstand. She reached for it absentmindedly, expecting a notification from a friend or an email she didn’t care about. But when she saw the name glowing on the screen, her breath caught.

Jaden R. has followed you.

Her heart skipped, then stuttered into a rhythm she couldn’t ignore. She stared at the screen far too long before her lips curved into an involuntary smile. Small. Dangerous.

She knew she shouldn’t. She knew this was the beginning of something she couldn’t explain. But she couldn’t stop herself.

Downstairs, Luke slept peacefully, believing in the perfection of them. Upstairs, Gracyn’s heart beat to a different rhythm—one that belonged to someone else?