That explained a lot.
And somehow made even less sense.
I slid off the desk slowly.
Now we were both standing again.
Closer than before without meaning to be.
“I don’t think you actually control as much as you think you do,” I said.
That got a slight shift in his expression.
Not anger.
Recognition.
“Maybe not,” he said.
That was the first crack.
Small.
But real.
And I noticed it immediately.
Because he didn’t correct me.
He didn’t defend it.
He just left it there.
Between us.
Mason
She stepped slightly toward the bed again.
Not retreating.
Just moving.
The room adjusted with her.
I noticed I wasn’t stepping away this time.
That was the problem.
I was staying in place.
Letting proximity exist without correcting it.
Rowan stopped near the edge of her bed.
Then looked back at me.
“Do you ever just… let things happen?” she asked.
