bChapter /bb127/bb: /bbLa /bbPOV /b

    :

    b35 /b

    We lie there a little longer beneath the hush of the stars, with Cade’s arm wrapped around me, and my hand resting on his chest. The air’s cooling down now, its scent soft with nightfall and grass, but neither of us moves until we absolutely have to.

    When we finally do, it’s slowly and reluctantly. Cade is the first one to stir when he pulls the nket aside, brushing his fingers over my naked back as he sits up, and I stretch my arms over my head

    before reaching for my discarded clothes.

    There’s a quietfort between us as we get dressed and begin packing up the remains of our

    pic. He folds the nket with a reverence that makes me smile as I gather all our empty

    containers and grab the pic basket to take back to the truck. Then he collects the fairy lights,

    winding them up with practiced care, before picking up thenterns as well.

    By the time we climb into the cab of his truck, we’re both flushed and breathless, feeling

    lighthearted and entirely unbothered.

    Until we open our phones, that is.

    The cab floods with artificial light as both of our screens ze to life, casting an eerie glow around

    us that immediately feels too bright. A moment ago, the world was quiet–just us and the darkness

    outside. Now it’s chaos that’spressed into what feels like a hundred missed notifications.

    My thumb hovers over my locked screen, but eventually I decide to swipe it open. And suddenly,

    we’re in a crisis we blissfully didn’t know we’d caused. Missed calls stack one after another. Various

    texts. Numerous voice notes. All time–stamped with growing urgency.

    In our group chat, there are several from Hunter. One from Xavier. And two from AJ.

    Beside me, Cade lets out a low breath, his brow furrowing as he scrolls through them. “Uh…that escted quickly.”

    I nce at mine again and snort, though ites out a little more sheepish than amused. “Yeah.”

    The early messages are harmless, yful, and curious,

    Hunter: How’s the ikidnapping /iigoing/i?

    iAJ/i: Did ishe /ismile iyet/ii? /i

    Chapter 127: La POV

    iHunter/ii: /iiTell /iiher /iishe /iideserves /iiit/i, iokay/ii? /i

    But then…their tone shifts.

    iAJ/ii: /iiSeriously/ii, /iCade, ianswer /iiyour /idamn iphone/i.

    Hunter: iWhere /iiare /iiyou /iiguys/ii? /i

    iXavier/i: iYou /iihave /iten minutes ibefore /iiwe /iicall /iithe /iicops/ii. /iI’m inot /iieven /iijoking/i.

    Hunter: iWe’re /iigiving /iiyou five /iimore/ii. /ii(/iithat /iiwas /ii45 /iiminutes /iiago/ii./ii) /i

    I suck in a breath through my teeth and whisper, halfughing, half–mortified, “Oh no.”

    Cade’s already dialing Hunter’s number, his thumb flying across the screen a little faster now. “We probably should’ve told someone we were leaving our phones in the car.”

    “You think?” I say, raising an eyebrow at him, though my voice is still light, because what else can

    you do when your chosen family loses their collective minds over your absence?

    b35 /b

    He presses the speaker button, and it barely rings once before Hunter’s voice cuts through the silence, clipped but unmistakably relieved. “You’re alive.” His tone is t, but beneath it, I can hear

    that his obvious tension is finally starting to ease.

    “Hey, Hunter,” I say quickly, leaning closer to the phone that’s resting on the dashboard, like proximity will make up for our radio silence. “Sorry. We–uh–forgot our phones in the truck.”

    “You what?” That’s Xavier, loud and incredulous in the background. We hear fabric rustle, followed by the scrape of a chair, before his voice filters through the speaker again. “Are you kidding me right

    now?”

    There’s a brief scuffle, followed by someone’s muttering, and then AJ’s voice rises through the static, calm but urgent. “Tell me she’s okay.”

    “I’m fine,” I say, my voice taking on a wistful cadence. “Better than fine. It was…really good. We just

    lost track of timei./ii” /i

    There’s a beat of silence on the other end of the line–a pause thick with all the words they probably want to say but are choosing not to–then Hunter exhales, long and heavy. “Okay, Okay, good. That’s good.”

    Chapter 127: La POV

    Beside me, Cade clears his throat, aiming for levity even if the guilt is still fresh in his smile. “No need to call 911, yeah?”

    “Not funny,” Hunter bites out. “Xavier almost threw hisptop across the room.”

    As if to prove his point, we hear a low, deadly mutter through the speaker–Xavier’s voice- grumbling something too soft to make out clearly.

    “Did he just say ‘put her over his knee‘?” I whisper to Cade, wide–eyed.

    Cade grins without taking his eyes off the road. “Yup.”

    I shake my head and smile, already dreading the teasing that’s toe.

    “You two drive safe,” Hunter says, the sharpness gone from his voice now. It’s softer, but still firm. “We’ll be waiting up till you get here.”

    “Got it,” I say, meaning it. “See you soon.”

    The call ends with a soft beep, and then silence returns to the cab. Only, it’s not really silent

    anymore. It’s filled with relief, theughter that’s still lingering on our lips, and something else too…something warm and close andsting.

    We drive with our windows cracked open slightly, the cool night air brushing against our skin, the

    scent of Cade’s sandalwood cologne and the carnival’s funnel cake sugar clinging to the hoodie he

    loaned me earlier. Our fingers are tangled between us on the center console, resting there in that easy space that doesn’t need fixing or exnation.

    35

    At one point, Cade lifts our hands and presses a gentle kiss to the back of mine. It’s not rushed. And

    it’s not just sweet. It’s reverent and lingering.

    I lean my head against the headrest and turn my face towards him, a tender smile ying around my mouth, as the world quietens around us. “They’re going to give us so much hell when we get home,”

    I murmur.

    He chuckles, low and easy, before ncing at me. “Totally worth it, though.”

    And as the truck turns onto our street, and we see the porch light glowing in the distance like a beacon waiting to scold and wee us all at once, I can’t help but agree with him.