She gathered her notes, her movements automatic, her mind elsewhere.
She thought of Taylor’s hands on her, that first night on the couch—how they’d been both gentle and sure, mapping the planes of her back through the thin silk of her blouse before sliding inside to find bare skin. The memory of Taylor’s mouth on her, the focused intensity as Taylor had watched her come apart the first time, deliberately drawing out every shudder made Charlotte’s stomach clenched now. She could still feel the ghost of Taylor’s teeth grazing her inner thigh, the wet heat of her tongue.
But it was so much more than sex.
Charlotte knew that she had real feelings for Taylor, and if she didn’t want to live the rest of her life with regret, she was going to have to do something about that.
26
The sharp, screeching scrape of packing tape tearing off the roll filled the apartment. Taylor pressed the adhesive firmly across the seams of another cardboard box.
She hadn’t wasted a second. The morning after walking across the stage to receive her diploma, she’d started packing up the loft. Staying busy was the only way to keep her brain from circling back to Charlotte.
Now that she wasn’t Charlotte’s student anymore, the silence felt louder, heavy with all the things they hadn’t said.
She wasn’t going to go looking for her. As much as her chest ached to drive over to Charlotte’s house and demand an explanation, Taylor refused to chase a woman who had drawn a hard line between them.
She had to trust that her life was moving in the right direction. She had her degree. She could pack her car, head back to her little beach apartment, get her old bar shifts back, and pick up acoustic gigs on the weekends while she sent out applications for entry-level case management jobs.
She just needed to keep moving forward.
A quiet knock sounded against her door.
Taylor paused, setting the tape gun on top of the box. She figured it was Olivia coming up the rear stairs to say goodbye or check on the key handoff. She walked across the hardwood, unlatched the deadbolt, and pulled the door open.
It wasn’t Olivia.
Charlotte stood there, looking exhausted. She wore a tailored navy blazer over dark pants, her long blond hair falling over her shoulders in soft, slightly unspooled waves. Even with faint shadows bruising the skin under her gray-blue eyes, she took Taylor’s breath away.
“Hi,” Taylor said, her heart thumping a sudden, heavy rhythm against her ribs.
“Hey. Can I come in?”
“Yeah.” Taylor stepped back, sweeping her arm out to give her room to pass.
Charlotte crossed the threshold, her gaze sweeping over the stripped brick walls and the stacked boxes. “You’re leaving?”
“Tomorrow.”
Charlotte swallowed, inhaling a shaky breath.
Taylor pointed toward the couch. “Have a seat.”
They sat down together, leaving a deliberate gap of cushion between them. Charlotte sat on the very edge, her hands clasped tightly in her lap, her fingers twisting against one another.
Charlotte cleared her throat, her head tilting slightly down. “Congratulations.”
“Hmm, thank you.”
Charlotte looked up, her eyes brimming with sudden moisture. “I uh… I just wanted to see you… To tell you how sorry I am.” Her voice trailed off into the quiet room.
Taylor stared at her, not sure where she was going with this.
“These last few months have been the worst of my life,” Charlotte admitted, her voice trembling as she forced herself tomeet Taylor’s gaze. “And I know I was wrong to end things with you, especially with how I did it. I was so scared.”
“You should have talked to me, Charlotte.” Taylor felt the heat of months of locked-down frustration bubbling up into her throat. “But all you did was shut me out.”
“I know.” A wet sound escaped Charlotte’s throat, choked up and raw. “I know. God, I hate how awful I’ve been to you. You have no idea how much I regret that. I knew it when I ended things, and I know it’s still true now.” She paused, her lower lip quivering as a tear spilled over her lashes. “I love you, Taylor. It’s the last thing I expected, but it’s the truth. I’m so crazy about you. That time we spent together over the holidays were some of the best days of my life, and I’m so sorry that I fucked it up.”
