Page 152 of Aviatrix

There’s a beat where they have a staring contest, as if challenging each other silently.

I don’t have time for this battle between egos.

I wave Lark off and wait for the door to shut before crawling over Eli and rummaging through his duffel. I need clothes. And since I don’t have any in here, Eli’s are the next best.

I don’t realize he’s behind me until his hand lands softly on my back. “Quay.”

I pause and turn. “Yeah?”

He swallows, studying my face. “Are you okay?”

Lark walked in on us after we spent all night… yeah. I’m a little shook up, but I don’t have the throughput to process right this moment.

“I’m fine,” I say quickly. “I just… I want to see my mom.”

“Do you want me to come with you?”

Do I? God, yes. But with Lark there—and my mom, who still adores the Colonel—it’s complicated.

This is messy.

“I should go alone,” I tell him.

Eli nods, but I catch the flicker of disappointment in his eyes before he steps back.

“You should rest,” I say, softer now. “I’ll come back once she’s settled.”

He nods again, slower this time.

But before he can walk away, I reach for his hand and pull him toward me. My palm warms his cheek as I hold his gaze.

“Thank you.”

“For what?” he asks, fingers grazing my waist.

“For last night.”

“Tell me last night wasn’t just one night, Quay.”

He wants to know if that’s all it was. And maybe, I naively believed it could be. A moment stolen in the middle of chaos. Something to hold onto before it all falls apart.

But it’s not enough.

“It doesn’t have to be,” I whisper.

His mouth lifts just slightly. “I don’t want it to be.”

I rise on my toes and kiss him.

“Good. I don’t want it to be either.”

He kisses me back, his mouth warm and confident. For a moment, I let the world slip away. But then, I reluctantly pull away.

“I’ll be right back,” I promise him.

“I’m heading to the mess hall for breakfast,” Eli replies. “I need to check in with the General. Take your time with your mom. You haven’t seen her in a while. We’ll meet up later.”

Later.