Chapter 15 — “Stay With Me”
740 Words
Arden opened the door stiffly, shoulders tense, jaw locked tight.
Lily rose slowly from the couch, still breathless, still feeling the ghost of his lips on her neck.
At the door sat a small delivery bag with a handwritten note taped to the top.
He bent to pick it up.
Lily stepped forward. “What is it?”
Arden didn’t want to answer. She could tell by the tight curve of his mouth. He held out the note, his expression darkening with each passing second.
She took it gently and read aloud:
“Sorry again for canceling. Thought you might like this.
– Louis”
Her stomach sank.
Arden’s went rigid.
He set the package on the counter a little too hard.
“Of course,” he muttered under his breath. “Of course it’s from him.”
“Arden—”
“I need to go,” he said, turning toward the hallway. “Before I say something I shouldn’t.”
Her heart dropped.
He wasn’t angry at her.
He was angry because he cared too much.
She reached out, fingers brushing his wrist.
“Please don’t go.”
He stopped.
“I can’t stay in that room right now,” he whispered, voice strained. “After what almost happened.”
She stepped closer.
So close their breaths met.
“That’s exactly why I want you to stay.”
His eyes snapped to hers, wide and vulnerable, as if her words had shaken something loose inside him.
“Lily… we can’t keep doing this.”
“We’re already doing it,” she whispered. “And I don’t want to pretend anymore.”
He swallowed hard, shoulders rising and falling with a deep, unstable breath.
“What are you asking me?”
She hesitated only a second before saying it:
“Stay with me tonight.”
His eyes softened.
Then darkened.
“Lily…”
“I’m not asking for anything else,” she said gently. “Just stay. Please.”
There it was.
Please.
The word that undid him every time.
He looked away, fighting a battle she could see on his face. A long, painful moment passed.
Then, quietly—
“…Okay.”
---
Later That Night
They lay on her bed, both on top of the covers, the room dim except for the warm bedside lamp. Lily faced him, curled slightly toward his side. Arden lay stiffly at first, hands folded like he was afraid to touch her.
“You’re being weird,” she whispered.
“I’m trying to behave.”
“Don’t behave too much.”
A breath of a laugh escaped him, and the tension in the room softened.
Slowly—cautiously—he relaxed one arm around her waist.
Not pulling her in, just… resting it there.
Warm and steady.
She moved closer, her head resting gently on his chest. His breath hitched, but he didn’t move away.
After a moment, she felt his fingers brush the back of her arm.
Then her shoulder.
Then lightly down her spine.
Not improper.
Just soft, comforting touches that warmed her entire body.
“Is this okay?” he murmured.
“Yes,” she whispered instantly.
His hand settled at her hip, the touch gentle but protective. Lily’s fingers found his shirt, curling into the fabric. She felt his heart beating too fast beneath her cheek.
“You’re nervous,” she teased lightly.
“I’m lying in bed with the girl I’m not supposed to want,” he whispered into her hair. “Of course I’m nervous.”
She lifted her head slightly to look at him.
“And do you want me?”
He didn’t speak.
He didn’t need to.
His hand traced the curve of her waist again—slow, delicate, almost reverent.
“Yes,” he breathed. “More than I should.”
Her face warmed, her pulse racing. She rested her head back against him, and they let the silence settle.
He kept touching her.
Little strokes down her arm.
A thumb brushing her hip.
A soft circle traced at the small of her back.
Gentle.
Comforting.
Warm enough to melt her.
Her eyes grew heavy.
His breathing steadied.
Slowly… slowly… they both drifted into sleep.
Her hand still curled against his chest.
His arm still wrapped around her waist.
Two hearts beating too close to pretend anymore.
And for the first time since they moved in together—
neither of them dreamed alone.
- Writer
