𝑳𝑬𝑺𝑺𝑶𝑵𝑺 & 𝑳𝑨𝒀𝑼𝑷𝑺

𝑻𝑯𝑰𝑹𝑻𝒀 𝑵𝑰𝑵𝑬; 𝑻𝑶 𝑩𝑬 𝑫𝑬𝑻𝑬𝑹𝑴𝑰𝑵𝑬𝑫

Sloane stirred in the soft light of the morning, her body nestled beneath the covers, warm and tangled with Paige's. The remnants of the night before—the alcohol, the confessions, the kiss—lingered in the stillness of the room. She blinked, her head aching slightly from the aftermath of the party, but more than that, her heart felt full. She turned her head slightly to see Paige beside her, still asleep, her hand loosely draped across Sloane's stomach.

A smile tugged at Sloane's lips, but there was a nervous flutter in her chest. Drunk words are sober thoughts, they say, and the two of them had said so much the night before. She wasn't sure how things would be in the daylight with all the clarity that comes after the haze of alcohol. But part of her hoped they had meant it—that Paige had meant it.

As if sensing Sloane's gaze, Paige stirred, her eyes fluttering open. They locked onto Sloane's, a soft smile forming as she stretched slightly. "Morning," Paige mumbled, her voice still raspy with sleep.

"Morning," Sloane replied, her voice quiet but warm. She hesitated for a beat before asking, "Do you remember last night?"

Paige's smile faltered for a second, but she didn't look away. Instead, she rolled onto her side, propping herself up on an elbow as she looked at Sloane. "Yeah, I remember," she said, her voice steady, though there was an underlying tension there. "And... I meant everything I said. Every word."

Sloane's heart skipped. She let out a small breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding before she had a big smile on her face. "I did too," she admitted softly. "I want to get back together with you."

Paige's expression softened, her fingers brushing a strand of Sloane's hair back. "I want to be with you too," she said, her tone sincere. "But we need to talk. I don't want us to just fall back into the same patterns."

Sloane nodded, grateful that Paige was the one to bring it up, taking accountability. "Yeah, we definitely need to talk," she agreed. "There's a lot we didn't deal with last time."

Paige sighed, leaning back against the pillows. "I was really scared, Sloane," she admitted quietly. "I didn't know how to tell you how I was feeling, and I hated that it made everything so much worse. I was afraid of how things would change after college, and instead of facing it, I just... shut down."

Sloane listened carefully, her heart aching at Paige's vulnerability. "I know you were scared," she said softly. "And I was too. I was scared of losing you, scared of pushing too hard and driving you away."

Paige's gaze dropped to her hands for a moment before she looked back at Sloane. "And now, I'm even more scared about the future. What if I get drafted somewhere far away? I don't want to lose you, but I've been so afraid that after college, we'd just... end."

Sloane reached out, her fingers gently interlacing with Paige's. "I get that," she said. "But we can't let that fear stop us from being together now. If we keep worrying about what might happen, we'll miss out on everything we have right in front of us."

Paige nodded, her grip tightening slightly around Sloane's hand. "I know. And I don't want to miss out on this anymore. I want to enjoy what we have now... and if it comes down to long distance, we'll figure it out."

"We'll make it work," Sloane agreed. "I don't care how far apart we are, We can do long distance if we have to."and I don't want you to not talk to me about things okay?"

Paige smiled and nodded her head as she looked at her, her eyes full of emotion. "So... Are we back together?"

Sloane smiled softly, her thumb brushing over Paige's knuckles. "Yeah. I think we are."

Paige let out a breath, as if a weight had lifted from her shoulders, and she leaned in, pressing her forehead against Sloane's. "I love you, Sloane," she whispered.

"I love you more," Sloane whispered back, her heart swelling with the words that felt so right to be able to say again. Paige pressed a long kiss to her lips.

They stayed like that for a few moments, just breathing in each other's presence, until the sound of bustling outside the room reminded them that the world was still moving. Paige groaned, rolling over to check her phone. "We should probably start packing," she said reluctantly. "The girls are probably already getting ready to leave."

Sloane nodded, though she wasn't in a rush to leave the warmth of the bed or the comfort of being back in Paige's company. But the reality of the group trip meant they had to get moving. "Yeah, we should."

They dragged themselves out of bed, getting dressed and gathering their things. As they made their way to the common area, they found Nika, KK, Haven, Aubrey, Caroline, and Ines all in various stages of packing and getting ready to head home.

"Took you two long enough!" Nika teased, giving them both a knowing look. Sloane just rolled her eyes playfully while Paige smirked.

"Alright, everyone ready?" Paige asked, shifting into her more practical team-captain mode as she helped gather everyone's things.

Once everything was packed and the group had checked out of their Air bnb they made their way to the airport. The hustle of check-ins and security was chaotic, but eventually, they all settled at the gate, waiting for their flight.

When it came time to board, Sloane and Paige found themselves sitting next to each other on the plane. As they buckled in, Paige glanced over at Sloane, her hand finding hers again.

"You okay?" Sloane asked, smiling softly.

"Yeah," Paige said, squeezing her hand.

Sloane leaned her head against Paige's shoulder, the comfort of their renewed connection making everything else fall away. For now, they didn't need to worry about the future. They had each other, and that was enough.

A/N: would u guys be mad if this was the last chapter 😅

GO READ MY NIKA BOOK NOW

love u all

-lea