𝐓𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄- 𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐑 𝐑𝐄𝐈𝐃

𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐘-𝐅𝐈𝐕𝐄

𝐈𝐓 𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐃 𝐒𝐎 𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐑𝐄𝐃𝐈𝐁𝐋𝐘 𝐅𝐀𝐒𝐓. One minute, Alana was agreeing to go back to the hotel with Spencer, then the next, she'd had him up against the door before he could even turn the lock. After spending so much time apart, she'd missed him. Craved him, even. She was selfish for wanting him, just once, before her entire world eventually imploded. Giving herself to him in this way would only make it harder to leave him later, but she was focused on how good it felt now. She could worry about the future later. 

Alana doubted that she'd even have a future after everything she'd done. 

"I didn't invite you back here for this," Spencer assured her, trying to catch his breath. Alana smirked and buried her face into his neck. "I know," Alana said quietly. "Because you didn't invite me. I offered, remember?" Spencer nodded silently, his hands squeezing her hips. She grasped his collar and tugged him in further to the hotel room. Alana was so focused on the feeling of his mouth on hers that she didn't notice when Spencer lost balance for a moment. He tumbled onto the bed, trapping Alana underneath him. 

No. 

Her entire body went tense, and she scrambled to get her hands free as she slid out from under him, reminding herself that Spencer was not Corey. She wasn't trapped, and she could stop whenever she wanted to. 

"Alana?" Spencer said quietly, kneeling on the bed beside her, watching her chest rise and fall rapidly. She turned her head back toward him, that mask slipping into place once more. Alana smiled and propped herself up on her elbows. "Sorry, I don't know what just happened there," she said breathlessly. She reached up for him and positioned him on the bed so she could straddle him. "I believe this is where we left off, though," she mumbled, starting to undo his shirt buttons. 

"Stop," Spencer said softly. One word that had Alana freezing entirely. She removed her hands from his body and looked down at him. Had she done something wrong? Did he not want her anymore? Alana opened her mouth to ask him these questions, but he stopped her with a smile. Spencer reached up and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "What just happened?"

"It's nothing," Alana assured him with a smile, and Spencer frowned at her. The crease between his eyebrows was more prominent as he pursed his lips together. He was most definitely contemplating how to breach the subject without crossing a line or offending her. Quite frankly, Alana wasn't sure how to talk about it with anyone. "It's stupid." After all these years, she still felt like a puppet, and Corey was the one pulling the strings. 

"No, it's not," Spencer said, eyes softening. "Alana, you know that I'd never hurt you, right? If I did something to make you uncomfortable-" 

"I know," Alana assured him quickly. This was her problem. Spencer was perfect, as always. "You didn't do anything. It's just-" Alana paused, unsure of how to tell Spencer the truth without telling him everything. 

"It's just?" Spencer said slowly, prompting her to continue. 

"You were on top of me," Alana said quietly, turning her head so she wouldn't have to watch him put the pieces together. "And I felt like I couldn't move, and I guess I just...panicked." She wasn't sure how to tell him that her body reacted before her brain could catch up. That for a moment, she couldn't tell if it was Spencer on top of her, or Corey, or Jackson. In that moment, it all felt the same for her. Too familiar. 

Spencer was quiet, but Alana could feel the shift in him—like a thousand neurons fired behind those careful brown eyes. He wasn't just hearing her; he was analyzing, decoding, profiling. It wasn't judgment. It was Spencer doing what Spencer did best—understanding people in ways they couldn't even understand themselves.