ASHLEY’S POV
I woke up exhausted, the kind of heavy, foggy exhaustion that came from thinking too much and sleeping too little. I had the most erotic dream last night. In it, Lucas had kissed me with a kind of desperate intensity. I could still feel his hands gripping my waist like he needed me to breathe. I remembered the heat, the way his mouth claimed mine, the way I melted into him like I had no choice but to belong there.
But then the dream shifted. Just like in real life, he pulled away. The warmth turned into ice. He walked past me like I meant nothing. He ignored me with no explanation. No apology. No recognition that any moment had ever happened between us.
When I woke up, my heart ached like I’d actually lost something.
I tried pushing the dream aside as I got ready for schoo
