Page 45 of One Room Vacancy
Doesn’t look away.
And neither do I.
The moment stretches, tight and humming, until:
“Jesus Christ,” Liam mutters as he walks past us. “Just fuck already.”
I roll my eyes, but before I can say anything, Savannah, sweet, oblivious, glowing, starts to chime in.
“Oh, they al?—”
My head snaps in her direction, and she catches the look before I even have to say it.
She shuts her mouth with a soft, polite sip of her ginger ale. “Right,” she says lightly. “Never mind.”
Gabe’s still watching me, still standing close.
I take another slow sip of my drink.
Then someone yells for shots, and the moment breaks.
Just like that, the energy shifts, the spell snaps.
Music blares. Someone knocks over a glass. Gen’s halfway into a debate with the bartender about what actually counts as top-shelf. Jackson’s standing behind her with a hand on her lower back, watching the whole thing unfold like he’s used to this exact brand of chaos.
Hannah disappears into the crowd, probably on her way to drag Liam away from whatever volume war he’s about to startwith the sound system. Wes is tucked in beside Savannah, one hand resting on her knee, the other keeping her ginger ale steady, like she might shatter if he lets her go.
And then the opening notes of “Africa” by Toto hit the speakers.
“Oh,come on,” I hear Hannah groan somewhere behind me.
Liam’s voice cuts above the noise, loud, proud, and way too into it, already shouting the lyrics like the whole bar is his personal karaoke stage.
“He’s waited all night for this,” Savannah says, shaking her head.
“I swear it’s wired into his DNA,” Gen mutters.
That’s when I slip out the back.
The patio’s mostly empty, everyone else drawn to the noise and nostalgia inside. The air’s still warm, but quieter, the bass just a muted thump against the wall.
I lean against the railing, exhale slowly, and let myself breathe.
Then the door swings open.
I know it’s him before I even look.
But I don’t get the chance to turn, because a second later, I’m spun around and pinned against the brick, his hands braced on either side of my head, his body a heat I can feel everywhere, his green eyes now dark and unflinching.
“You have no idea what you’re doing to me,” Gabe says, voice low and wrecked.
I blink up at him slowly, tilt my head like I’m thinking.
Then I shrug.
“Maybe you’re just easy.”
He exhales hard through his nose, like he’s trying not to lose it.
