Voices and laughter reached us, and we both stiffened. Silently, we parted and adjusted our clothes. It wouldn’t do to get into a fight on my first day in town.
We stood there, in the darkness, a few feet from each other. I knew the moment had been broken. I knew and it hurt. I thought of how to get us back into that lust-induced haze, but it was too late.
“Let’s go, Seba,” Edi said, his voice low and shaky. I followed him out of the gazebo and all the way home. My heart thumped painfully, my muscles burning from how wound up I was.
Edi walked by me, not as close as before, as if he needed that extra distance between us. It had been a fluke, a temporary one, and he probably regretted it now. The idea of him regretting a kiss we shared hurt the most. He’d initiated it, but I still felt g
