Page 35 of Rhys: and the girl who was always his

Give her space.

Say something calm and rational.

But I don’t.

Because I’ve been holding this in for too long, and it’s clawing its way out.

“God, Ally,” I mutter, and then, before either of us can talk ourselves out of it—I kiss her.

Not soft. Not careful. Not even close.

It’s messy. Desperate.

The kind of kiss that feels like a free fall.

Like if we don’t grab on to each other right now, we’ll both crash.

She gasps against my mouth, frozen for a second. But then her hands fist in my shirt, and she pulls me closer, responding with a force that makes my knees go weak. Her lips are warm and wild, moving against mine like we’ve done this a hundred times, like weshould’vedone this a hundred times.

I back her into the counter, one hand on her cheek, the other gripping her hip like she might vanish if I let go. Her body arches against mine, and my pulse hammers in my throat.

This isn’t safe. It isn’t simple.

But it’s real.

And I’ll take real over perfect any day.

Then—

“Jesus Christ,” a voice cuts through the kitchen.

We rip apart like we’ve been electrocuted.

Ashley stands in the doorway. One brow arched, arms crossed, amusement written all over her face like she just walked in on her favourite soap opera.

“Well,” she says, “that explainseverything.”

Ally’s eyes go wide, her lips still kiss-swollen, and she swipes the back of her hand across her mouth like it’ll erase what just happened. “How long were you standing there?”

Ashley shrugs. “Long enough to know you two are absolute shit at hiding your feelings.”

I exhale, dragging a hand down my face. “You gonna tell the others?”

She smirks. “Not my style. But I have a feeling we’re past the point of keeping this quiet.”

“Why do I feel like there’s a ‘but’ coming?” Ally asks warily, grabbing her chips again like they’re going to save her from this conversation, too.

Ashley steps aside.

And then Caitlin walks in.

Everything freezes.

My jaw tightens. Ally just blinks.

“Holy shit,” she breathes, it’s the first time we’ve seen them together.

Caitlin grins, looping an arm around Ashley’s shoulder. “Hi.”

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