Evening crept in slow, the kind where the sky turns purple and the snow outside glows under the cabin lights. I’d spent the afternoon hiding in my room, replaying the kitchen morning with Dirk over and over. His kiss, the way his hands felt on my waist, the honey on his lips. My face still got hot thinking about it. I hadn’t seen him since—we’d both scattered after cleaning up, like we needed space to breathe.
My phone buzzed on the nightstand. A text from Chase:
Game night in the living room. 8pm. Bring your A-game and an embarrassing story. No excuses.
I stared at the screen. Game night. With “some of the brothers,” he’d said. My stomach did a nervous flip. After the dream, after Dirk, after everything—this felt like walking into a lion’s den wearing meat perfume.
But saying no wasn
