He peels his crop top off first, slowly like he knows every inch revealed is another line I’ll have to cross.

The light from the window catches on the lines of his collarbone.

My throat tightens. God. I’m really going through with this.

My heartbeat drums in my ear, loud enough to drown out the air conditioner. Anticipation, desire, or guilt…I can’t even tell them apart.

He steps closer, slipping out of his bikini. The straps fall loose at his sides. It’s absurd and disarming all at once… that bright scrap of fabric clinging to a body that shouldn’t look this good in it.

His gaze never leaves mine. It...