Julia – POV
The morning light filtered softly through Tyler's curtains, brushing warmth over my face before I even opened my eyes. But it wasn't the light that woke me—it was the feeling of fingers gently tracing along my arm, up to my shoulder, like someone memorizing the shape of me.
I opened my eyes slowly. Tyler was already awake, lying beside me with his head propped on his arm. His other hand was playing with a strand of my hair, curling it gently around his finger.
"Hey," he said in a low, raspy morning voice, eyes crinkling with that lazy smile I hadn't realized I missed so much.
"Hey," I whispered back, my voice too small for how full my heart felt.
He leaned down and kissed me—just once, soft and lingering—before pulling back to rest his forehead against mine. "You good?"
I nodded, more than good. His fingers found mine and we laced them together. He rubbed small circles over the back of my hand with his thumb.
I should've been afraid, and maybe I was. A little. But there was peace in his touch. In the steady rhythm of his breathing. In how he looked at me like I was something worth waiting for.
Still, I couldn't stop the flicker of guilt—or was it confusion?—creeping up behind the happiness. Antwan. I could still feel the press of his lips from that night at my gate, the way his eyes softened when he looked at me. I liked him. I couldn't lie about that. But I didn't want to ruin this moment. Not yet.
So I stayed quiet.
Instead, I let my fingers grip Tyler's hand a little tighter and kissed his cheek.
"Can we just stay like this a little longer?"
His answer was a kiss on my knuckles and a whispered, "As long as you want."
I was lost in my thoughts
I never imagined it would feel like that.
Not just the sex—though God, that was unforgettable—but the way he looked at me after. The way he touched me, like I was made of something breakable, something precious. Like he wasn't just with me, but there with me. Heart and soul.
Laying in Tyler's arms, the sunlight slipping through the blinds and warming my bare skin, I felt everything and nothing all at once. His fingers traced idle circles on my hip like he had nowhere else to be, like I was enough to keep him still. That thought alone made something ache deep inside me.
How could someone like him look at me like this?
Tyler—the boy with the sharp tongue and careless grin, the one who acted like the world couldn't touch him. But I'd seen past that. I always had. He wasn't heartless. He wasn't dangerous. He was wounded. Loyal to a fault. Protective in a way that made you feel like home. He made me feel like I mattered. That last night wasn't just about lust. It was about being chosen. Being seen.
And still, I couldn't stop the knot tightening in my chest.
Because what if he was wrong about me? What if both of them were?
Antwan… sweet, thoughtful Antwan. He was sunlight on tired days. Always asking, always listening. He kissed me like he knew I was fragile. Like he respected every broken part of me.
How was I supposed to choose between two boys who held different pieces of my heart?
But deeper than that—deeper than the fear of hurting either of them—was the darker whisper:
What if I don't deserve either of them?
I didn't know how to be good, not really. I didn't know how to be safe for anyone. I was a mess of bad timing and worse decisions, i had been hurt badly already i was not worth anyone love care or time and yet… here Tyler was, holding me like I was something soft. Something worthy.
I blinked away the burn in my eyes.
He played with my fingers as if he didn't feel my shaking. Or maybe he did, and just didn't let go.
And I didn't have the courage to say what I was thinking. That even if I knew who I wanted in this moment, I was terrified it would fall apart. That I would ruin it.
So instead, I let him hold me. Let myself believe, for one more quiet morning, that maybe I was enough.
For him or antwan or maybe both
Even if I didn't fully believe it yet.