The moment after the kiss felt too loud.
Too much laughter. Too much heat pressing against my skin. Too many thoughts buzzing in my head that I couldn't untangle — at least not out here with eyes on me.
"I'm gonna grab something from the kitchen," I said to no one in particular, already standing.
I didn't wait for a response. Just walked barefoot across the patio, the cool tile inside biting against my warm skin as I stepped through the sliding door.
The house felt quiet — like it always did when the sun was pouring in and the air conditioning hummed low. I went straight to the fridge, yanked it open like the cold air might clear my head. It didn't.
I grabbed a peach from the drawer. Was just rinsing it off at the sink when I heard the door slide closed behind me.
I didn't have to turn around.
I knew it was him.
Callum didn't say anything at first. Just stood there, silent and solid in the doorway like something barely held together.
I kept my voice casual. "Didn't think you liked peaches."
"I don't."
I turned slowly. He was standing just a few feet away now. Closer than I expected.
His eyes weren't guarded like usual. They were burning. Quiet and fierce and absolutely unreadable.
"Something wrong?" I asked softly.
He blinked. Once. Twice. Like he wasn't sure if he was going to say what he was thinking — or just leave again.
Then his voice came out low. Steady. Rough around the edges.
"Was that real?"
My heart stopped. "What?"
"The kiss," he said, eyes locked on mine. "Was it real… or for me?"
I didn't answer right away.
Because both felt true.
I glanced down at the peach in my hands. "I don't know what you want me to say."
"Say the truth."
I looked up at him again. "You left. You didn't write. You didn't call. You just disappeared. And now you're standing here asking about one kiss like the last four years didn't happen."
He flinched slightly, but didn't move.
"I never stopped thinking about you, Cara."
"Then why did you leave?"
He didn't answer.
Didn't have to.
The weight of the silence between us said enough.
I took a small step forward, still holding the peach, still feeling like my pulse was everywhere at once. "You don't get to ask questions like that if you're not going to give me answers too."
He looked at me — really looked — and something shifted in his jaw. "Maybe I don't deserve to ask. But I still needed to know."
I swallowed. "And now that you do?"
His eyes dropped to my mouth. Then back up.
But instead of saying anything, he just shook his head once and walked past me, the air between us thick with everything we hadn't said.
I let out a shaky breath as the screen door slid open again behind him.
And then I was alone.
Still holding the peach.
Still wondering if that kiss had finally broken something we couldn't ignore.