Page 25 of Wet Paint

His breathing had slowed, steady against the crown of my head. I stayed curled into him, my cheek pressed to his chest, listening to the rhythm of his heart. One of his hands was splayed across my back, the other tracing lazy, absentminded circles on my hip. Neither of us spoke for a while. We didn’t need to.

Outside, the rain picked up, tapping harder against the windows, and thunder rumbled somewhere in the distance. But inside, everything was still. Warm. Safe.

I shifted slightly to get more comfortable, and he adjusted with me, pulling a blanket from the back of the couch and draping it over us.

“You good?” he murmured, his voice soft and sleepy now.

“Yeah,” I whispered, tightening my arm around his middle. “Really good.”

His lips brushed against my temple. “You sure?”

I nodded, feeling the rise and fall of his chest beneath my cheek. “I could stay like this forever.”

He chuckled lightly, the sound rumbling through his chest. “You can. I’m not moving.”

We lay there for a long time, bodies warm beneath the blanket, letting the storm play its soundtrack in the background. It was the kind of quiet I hadn’t known I needed. No words. No hiding. Just the weight of him holding me together.

Eventually, his hand found mine beneath the blanket, and he laced our fingers.

And for the first time in a long time, I let myself feel completely still. Completely his.

Chapter 9

IVY

My week had been going great until Eleyna walked straight into the studio and up to me. She was walking too quickly for it to be a coincidence. Her eyes locked on mine with purpose, and I knew before she even said a word: this wasn’t going to be a casual run-in.

She walked toward me with too much confidence for someone who usually kept her head down around campus. That shaky little laugh and sweet-as-sugar expression she used with Will? Gone. Now she looked smug.

“Figured you’d be here,” she said, crossing her arms, and looking around the studio before her eyes met mine again. “No Will?”

I bit the inside of my cheek and tightened the grip around the brush I had just dipped into yellow paint. “It’s Thursday. He’s in class.”

“Right.” She pursed her lips, looking at the almost empty canvas behind me. “Pretty. What’s that going to be?”

I didn’t feel like talking to her about my paintings. Not when she looked at me in that condescending way. “What do you need, Eleyna?”

“I wanted to talk to you about something,” she said, looking way too damn amused. “Something important.”

I said nothing. Just waited. My stomach was already beginning to twist.

She smiled tightly. “I don’t want to sugarcoat it. I saw you with Professor Novak.”

The words hung in the air between us, heavier than they should’ve been. I stared at her, trying to decide if it was better to deny it or stay silent.

“You know, last Friday, by the vending machines out there,” she added, her voice calm now, almost polite. “You were…close. Very close.”

Still, I said nothing. My fingers curled around the brush even more until my nails dug into my palms.

“I couldn’t really see your faces because Will was standing with his back toward me, but then…you kissed. Like, actually kissed.” She looked disgusted, as if she never dreamed of kissing him.

What a hypocrite.

“Eleyna.”

“Don’t worry,” she said, interrupting me with a stupid grin. “I’m pretty sure you won’t be kicked out. He will, though. Probably.”

I blinked. “You went to the Dean? You snitched?”

---