Page 51 of Gap Control

"This is the first time I've let myself be seen like this," I said quietly. "I didn't think I'd want to be."

"I see you, and I still want more."

The corners of my eyes itched, and I tried to blink it away, pretending I didn't know what it was.

We didn't reach for each other across the table. We didn't kiss, but we'd crossed a line, and neither of us wanted to go back.

Not to pretending or covering.

By the time we paid the check—cash, split without a word—the diner was quiet. The teenagers were gone. The trucker had his head down on the counter, coffee still steaming beside him.

TJ pulled up his hood as we stepped outside. "I forgot how much colder it gets after midnight."

"I didn't." I tugged my sleeves past my wrists, stuffing my hands in my coat pockets.

We stood on the sidewalk with the streetlight buzzing faintly above us. There was a crack in the sidewalk between our feet. One of those little gaps that frost turns into a canyon by March.

TJ rocked back on his heels. "Guess I'll see you tomorrow."

"You will."

He hesitated, reached into his coat pocket, and pulled out a wrapped mint from the diner. He held it out to me.

"This is a peace offering in case I screw up something tomorrow."

I took it. "You planning on it?"

He smiled. "Not on purpose."

I slipped the mint into my pocket. It felt dumb and perfectly TJ.

"Thanks for tonight," I said. "All of it."

"Anytime."

I watched him walk toward his car. He didn't rush. He glanced back once before opening the door.

That was it. No kiss. No moment you'd script in a movie.

This time, I didn't run. I wanted to stay.

Chapter eleven

TJ

Brady pressed a branded cap into my hands like it was a live grenade.

"Here. Wear this. You're less recognizable with accessories."

"I'm standing under a banner with my face on it."

"Then smile less."

"I thought we were leaning in."

He leveled me with a look. "Leaning in doesn't mean tongue."

I opened my mouth. Closed it. Thought better of asking follow-up questions about what exactly was allowed in today's fake-but-technically-real boyfriend agenda.

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