Page 27 of Bliss: Part 1
Dash gave me a look, then nodded to the door.
I gave him a nod back, then looked at Odin, smiling tightly. “We’ll go upstairs.”
Odin didn’t respond. He left the kitchen without suspecting anything.
Dash followed me into my room and closed the door behind him, letting out a heavy sigh as if being away from the others was a relief.
We looked at each other but didn’t speak. We just got on my bed and leaned back against my pillows, letting our legs tangle in the most natural way. Nothing was awkward or strange between us, not even after the things we did.
And for the next hour, we kept sitting there, occasionally asking each other random questions, the answers forgotten as fast as they came. Still, the memories from the last twenty-four hours clung stubbornly to me.
Dash’s hands.
Rhys’s mouth.
Ashby’s voice in the dark.
I closed my eyes and focused on my breathing until the tightness in my chest fully eased. For now, everything felt still. But I knew it wouldn’t stay that way.
Not if anything else happened between us.
***
I woke up with my cheek pressed against Dash’s shoulder, his hand still wrapped loosely around mine. I didn’t remember falling asleep like that, but I loved waking up like this. The room was dark, and the only noises I heard were the faint sound of a TV somewhere in the house.
Dash’s chest rose and fell in a slow and even rhythm. He was asleep, but when I shifted, his fingers twitched around mine. Then his eyes opened.
We looked at each other for a long second, not saying anything. There was a softness in the way his lips curved into a sleepy smile, like waking up next to me wasn’t something he ever wanted to question. I smiled back, wishing moments like these were forever.
Neither of us moved to get up. But then a louder burst of noise floated up through the floorboards. It came from the basement.
“The others are downstairs,” I said quietly.
He nodded once, and without saying a word, we both got up. We didn’t have to say it, but we knew exactly where we were headed.
I slipped on a hoodie over my tank top and followed him quietly down the stairs. The house smelled like leftover dinner, instantly making my stomach growl. But I wasn’t really hungry.
In the basement, the lights were dimmed and the TV was glowing, casting flickers of color across the walls. Ashby and Rhys were playing something loud and fast-paced, their faces lit by the screen. Tripp sat in the recliner, feet up, thumbing through his phone with no real interest in the game.
Nobody looked at us when we walked in. Nobody had to.
Dash and I took the couch, settling in on the far side. He sat close enough that our arms touched, but didn’t make a move beyond that. I didn’t need him to. Just sitting next to him felt like an anchor. Safe and protected.
The only sounds were the game, the occasional click of a controller, and Rhys muttering a curse under his breath when Ashby beat him.
There was something strange about this night. It wasn’t tension, exactly. Just a strange quiet that still felt good. Like all the energy between us had shifted into something softer. Something unspoken. Something thick and warm and impossible to name. And the wordswe all knowlingered in the air.
But we didn’t speak about it.
Didn’t mention it.
And for some reason, I had the feeling that Tripp already knew everything too but wasn’t bothered enough to talk about it.
I looked over at him, watched him for a while as he kept his gaze on his phone. There was no difference in his eyes. They were still the same, but then…Tripp was always good at masking his emotions and thoughts.
His eyes flicked up and met mine, and instead of looking away, I kept my gaze on his.
A lump formed in my throat, and I swallowed hard, trying my best not to give away what I was thinking.
