“I know.”
“Then why didn’t we stop?”
He looked at me, his eyes filled with regret.
“I don’t know.”
That was the truth.
We had both known better.
And knowing better hadn’t been enough.
We spent the rest of the night talking, but the conversation was different now.
There were no easy answers.
No comforting words.
No way to undo what had happened.
Before dawn, Jake returned to his room.
I remained awake, staring at the ceiling and wondering how I would look Tom in the eye when he came home.
The Days That Made Everything Worse
The following morning, I expected Jake to avoid me.
Instead, he made coffee and asked whether I wanted some.
The ordinary gesture nearly broke my heart.
“Black?” he asked.
“Yes, please.”
He placed the cup on the counter.
Neither of us mentioned the night before.
We spent the afternoon in the city, visiting a bookstore and a small art gallery. I had suggested the outing because I wanted us to behave normally, but I soon realized how impossible that had become.
