Page 27 of Well That Happened

I’m thinking about three guys who are starting to matter to me way more than I planned for.

The room is dim except for the soft glow of my desk lamp, and I’m curled up on top of the covers, still in my jeans, scrolling aimlessly through my phone like it might tell me what to do with all the static under my skin.

I should be winding down. Unplugging. But I’m not.

I’m still wired.

Still thinking about Hunter’s voice. Grayson’s stare.

And Caleb’s hand at the small of my back, grounding me like I might float off the earth otherwise.

There’s a soft knock.

I look up, startled.

“Yeah?” I call, too quietly.

The door cracks open. Caleb steps in, hoodie swapped for a fitted T-shirt that should be illegal this late at night. His hair’s damp. Barefoot. Like he showered and still couldn’t settle.

“Your light’s still on.”

I nod. “Couldn’t sleep.”

He pauses. Then closes the door behind him.

No pressure. Just presence.

“Me either,” he says, voice low.

I sit up as he walks toward the bed. My pulse spikes. He stops at the edge, eyes searching mine.

“You okay?” he asks again.

I nod. “Yeah.”

It’s not entirely a lie.

He lifts a hand to my face—just the backs of his knuckles brushing my cheek. “You sure?”

And I lean into the touch.

That’s all it takes.

He leans down slowly, giving me every second to pull away.

I don’t.

Our lips meet—soft, careful.

Then again. And again. Deeper. Warmer.

And suddenly I’m pulling him closer, hands fisting in his T-shirt, his body hovering over mine as he kisses me like he’s been waiting all night.

His lips are warm and sure, coaxing rather than demanding, but the restraint makes it worse somehow. More intense. He tastes like mint and something sweeter, somethinghim, and I open to it without thinking.

His hands find my waist, sliding under the hem of my shirt like he needs to feel skin—real skin—to know I’m here. One of his hands curves around my hip, the other anchors at the small of my back, pulling me tighter.

His mouth moves down, grazing my jaw, the edge of my throat.

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