Amina lay flat on the hotel bed, covers drawn up to her chin, face buried beneath them as if she could hide from her own blush. She was fully dressed again — jeans, hoodie back on — but her skin still tingled with the memory of the video she'd sent.
She groaned into the pillow. What the hell was that? Who even does that?
For a stranger, no less.
The door creaked, and her roommate strolled in, hair damp, face flushed from the heat outside. She dropped her shopping bags by the dresser with a sigh.
"There you are," she said, hands on her hips. "Why are you wasting the trip of a lifetime shut up in bed like you do back home?"
Amina peeked out from under the blanket, eyes narrowed. "I've gone out several times, thank you. Maybe if you didn't keep ditching me for the local dick, you'd actually notice."
Her friend gasped, grinning like she'd been caught. "Excuse me for enjoying myself! Maybe if you were getting some local dick too, you wouldn't need a babysitter."
Amina hesitated, the blush creeping higher. Then she smirked, tugging the blanket down just enough to reveal her face. "I don't think it was local... but I did get some fantastic dick last night."
Her friend froze. "...Oh my god. You WHAT?!"
Elsewhere,
Deon shoved his hands in his pockets as he walked, the Okinawa sun pressing down hotter than it should've. Frustration rode his shoulders like extra weight.
Frustrated with Sierra. Frustrated with himself.
He hated that he still felt it — that pull. She was his best friend's wife. Keyon's woman. Off-limits since forever. And yet...
His chest tightened, and just like that he was back there.
⸻
Flashback – Days Before the Wedding
They were slouched on Sierra's couch, half-empty bottles sweating on the table. Strong liquor, the kind you only reached for when you wanted to forget.
Sierra tipped her glass back, eyes glassy, words tumbling fast. "I mean, how can I go through with it, Deon? With Keyon. The superstar of high school marries the head cheerleader of high school. I'm becoming a cliché."
Deon leaned back, trying to focus on the ceiling instead of the woman beside him. "Nah. I mean, yeah, but nah."
She gave a bitter laugh. "I even followed him to college. How stupid can you get? You know he cheated on me, right?"
Deon stiffened. "...Oh word?"
Yeah. He'd known. He just never thought she'd say it out loud.
"I wouldn't think he's the type," he lied, the words tasting sour.
Sierra shook her head, laughing without humor. "Yeah, well, he is. And he did it a lot. With a lot of girls. And I still stayed with him. Am I stupid?"
Deon watched her swirl the liquid in her glass, her hands trembling just enough to show she wasn't just drunk. She was breaking.
Yeah. A little, he thought.
"Nah," he said instead, voice low. "You're just in love."
She laughed again, but this time it cracked halfway through.
⸻
Back to Present – Okinawa Streets
Deon blew out a breath, running a hand over his face as the memory clawed at him.
"Just in love," he muttered under his breath. "And look how far that got you."
The city buzzed around him — neon signs, food stalls, voices — but all he could hear was her laugh from that night, and all he could feel was the weight of everything they hadn't said.
He couldn't let himself think about Sierra. That never ended well. He couldn't slip back into the high school virgin who shut himself in his room, pining day after day for a girl who only kept him around as a plan B. He'd been smart enough to see that much, but not wise enough to cut his ties and move on.
She had him ensnared from the start. From cutie in childhood to an absolute knockout by high school. Time changes all things... except Changes himself. He chuckled bitterly at that. So many good memories. So many bitter ones. Enough to fill a lifetime.
But then high school ended, and she followed his best friend to college. The same best friend he'd promised to follow too — but in the end, he went his own way. Like he'd always planned to. Far away from the girl who ripped out his heart, and the man who stomped on it at every opportunity.
He couldn't hate them. Well, hating Keyon would be easy. But Sierra? Nah. Never. He could be mad at her, sure, like now. But the love ran too deep. It came from somewhere buried, chemical, unstoppable. Just being near her was enough to put his brain in overdrive.
Deon sighed, stumbling into a nearby souvenir shop. He drifted between rows of cheap charms and keychains, thumbing a carved trinket without really seeing it. A few wary glances flicked his way, but he ignored them. He'd gotten the same back home. Prejudice traveled well. Couldn't even blame them. He'd caught himself staring at folks he thought didn't "belong" in his neighborhood too.
After a while, he drifted back out onto the street, the sunlight stabbing his eyes. His phone buzzed.
A text.
Amina.
Hey... 😊
Amina sat up in bed, then immediately flopped back into the pillows with a groan, only to roll onto her stomach and kick her feet like some giddy teenage girl. How long had it been since she felt this way over a guy? Had she ever?
Her phone lay on the blanket beside her, screen dark. She stared at it anyway. She'd already sent the "hey 😊." And now... nothing. Two whole minutes had crawled by.
She chewed her lip. The anticipation was killing her.
Finally, she did what any totally rational girl would do: she typed out another text.
Last night was crazy, huh?
Send.
The second her thumb left the screen, regret slammed her chest. Her stomach clenched like she'd swallowed a stone.
"Oh my god," she muttered, burying her face in the pillow. "Who even says that?"
She groaned louder, muffled by the pillow, already picturing him reading it and rolling his eyes.
Instead, he responded with a laugh emoji. And a "nah I don't think crazy is the word I'd use."
Oh really she thought. "Then what word would you use?" She sent back. This was fun. Just sending and waiting for responses was fun. The swirl of emotions she was feeling had her feeling like she was on a cloud. She could feel the smile pulling at the corners of her mouth but she couldn't help. His response came soon after her own. "Magic" he replied. One word that felt like millions. That's summed it up perfectly. She felt the same. "Me too"she sent back. "I still feel the electricity on my skin."
His replies were faster now. "Yeah it's a hell of a charge. But to be honest I think my battery is getting low."
Seeming deep inside her revved to life at that message. Her fingers were moving before her thoughts could fully form. "Need a recharge."
She responded at lightening speed.
Deon's typing bubble appeared almost instantly after her last text.
"Funny you mention it. I think I know a good outlet."
Amina's toes curled under the blanket. She reread it twice, heat blooming in her chest.
She bit her lip, thumbs hovering, then fired back before nerves could stop her: "Careful. I'm the type to overload circuits."
Three dots. Pause. Her heart hammered. Then—
"Guess I'll just have to risk it. Worth it for the spark."
She let out a laugh, clutching the phone to her chest for a second like some lovesick fool. Then she typed slow this time, steadying her breath.
"Guess we'll see how much current you can handle."
Send.
The phone buzzed almost immediately. "Challenge accepted."