Celeste studied her. The calmness of the spa made her friend’s confession stand out more starkly. "Why? That makes no sense."
"It makes perfect sense." Amara’s tone was light, but her fingers tightened around the cup. "If I leave first, I can control it. If I stay, I’m just... waiting for the mont he realizes I’m not worth sticking around for."
"That’s not—" Celeste began, but Amara cut her off with a grin.
"Co on, don’t give that look. You know I’m right." She sipped her tea like it was a final word, but her leg bounced under the table, betraying her.
Celeste leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. "You’re not right. You’re just scared."
"I’m realistic," Amara corrected, her voice dropping. "You’ve got Dominic. He’s... one in a million. Guys like that don’t show up twice. I’m not going to gamble with the fact that if I start caring, I’ll lose anyway."
There was a silence between them, broken only by the faint trickle of water from a nearby fountain. Celeste wanted to argue. She wanted to shake her friend until she saw her own worth, but the quiet professionalism of the lounge felt too sacred for a fight.
She reached out, wrapping her fingers over Amara’s hand. "You know, sotis the gamble is the point. You don’t get the win without the risk."
Amara gave a faint smile, her eyes softening for a heartbeat before she leaned back again, breaking the contact. "Maybe. But I’d rather keep my peace than chase sothing that might wreck ."
Celeste didn’t push, but she made a ntal note: she would not let Amara slip back into that shell without at least trying to pry it open.
Amara, as if sensing her thoughts, smirked and raised her glass. "Now, enough about my tragic love life. Let’s toast to you being spoiled rotten today. Dominic’s set the bar high—what’s he going to do next, rent out an island?"
Celeste rolled her eyes with a smile, "No, he won’t do that."
Amara smiled, a little softer this ti, as though she’d just decided sothing. "Elias might be the scariest man I’ve ever been with," she said suddenly, circling back to their earlier topic.
Celeste straightened. Her curiosity imdiately returned. "Scariest how?"
Amara’s gaze went sowhere far away, her expression thoughtful, almost unguarded. "He has no idea what he does to ," she murmured. "He has no idea how he can just... walk into a room, and my whole body rembers him before my mind catches up."
Celeste tilted her head, watching closely.
Amara’s voice dropped a little lower, more to herself than to Celeste. "It’s not just attraction, it’s this pull. Its like gravity decided I’m supposed to orbit him. My heart pounds when he’s close. I can imagine the way his touch would undo , and how it would feel to be completely lost in him." She breathed. "And I crave it, even when I know I shouldn’t. Even when he’s miles away, I can still feel the echo of him in . It’s maddening... and intoxicating... and I love it. I’m not even sexually active, yet I want every inch of him. I want to ride on him until he wriggle beneath due to how good it feels,"
She gave a small, helpless laugh at her own confession, but there was nothing light in her eyes.
Celeste’s jaw actually dropped. Not the polite, oh-you-surprised- kind of drop. This was the full, cinematic kind where her mouth went slack and her eyes widened like she’d just been handed a plot twist nobody saw coming.
Amara noticed, and the corner of her mouth quivered. "You can close your mouth now."
Celeste snapped it shut, still staring. "Amara. That... that was—" She stopped, pressing a hand to her chest. "I feel like I just read a Chapter out of a forbidden romance novel and I’m still trying to process it."
Amara laughed again, softer this ti, but her cheeks held a faint flush. "I didn’t an to make it sound so—"
"Vivid?" Celeste supplied.
"—intense," Amara finished, though she didn’t deny it. "That’s just what I want, but I can’t be this shaless. Not for anything."
Amara rolled her eyes but she was smiling now, the flush on her cheeks still soft but less self-conscious.
Celeste straightened in her chair, giving her a steady, more deliberate look. "You do realize," she began, "that the way you just spoke about him... isn’t the way you talk about sothing you plan to run from."
"That’s exactly why I have to," Amara countered instantly, but the firmness in her tone was a little too quick, and a little too practiced.
Celeste didn’t push. She knew the signs. There was no point shoving a door that soone was holding shut with their whole body. Instead, she reached for her tea, took a slow sip, and said lightly, "Fine. Keep your self-imposed heartbreak prevention strategy. I’ll just be over here, floating on a cloud of cucumber water and Dominic’s extravagant spoiling, while you pretend you don’t want to strangle Elias and kiss him in the sa breath."
Amara gave her a look, but her lips twitched.
The mont was saved by the quiet arrival of a spa attendant, who glided toward them with the serene grace of soone trained to make every guest feel like royalty. "Ladies," she said, "whenever you’re ready, your treatnt rooms are prepared. May I escort you?"
Celeste turned to Amara with a grin. "Shall we, Your Majesty?"
Amara chuckled, but she rose with a slow, lazy stretch. "Lead the way."
The attendant ushered them through a corridor that slled faintly of lavender. The lighting was dim but golden, wrapping them in a cocoon of calm. Sowhere, water trickled gently, the sound instantly smoothing the edges of Celeste’s mind.
They reached a pair of adjoining treatnt rooms, doors slightly ajar. Another staff mber appeared with a tray of neatly folded robes.
"Your first treatnt here will be the mineral soak," the attendant explained, her tone soothing but crisp. "Followed by your choice of massage."
"Excuse ," Celeste muttered, but she was grinning as she disappeared into her changing room.
In the changing room, she took a few pictures, under different categories, and sent them to Dominic.
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