Signals Crossed

27

The room had gone quiet again except for the soft hum of the television.

Some old movie her mother loved played across the screen, bathing the room in flickering gold and blue light.

But neither of them was really watching anymore.

Mel lay curled against Ad's side beneath the blankets while his arm rested around her shoulders. Every once in a while he'd absentmindedly trace his fingers along her sleeve or brush her hair back from her face when it fell forward.

It should've felt normal.

And part of it did.

That was the dangerous part.

Because they'd spent most of their lives touching each other without thinking. Wrestling, leaning against one another, falling asleep during movies, holding onto each other after hard days.

But now—

now every little thing carried weight.

At least for him.

Ad stared at the TV while his thoughts spiraled uselessly.

Mel had liked him since who knows how long.

The realization still messed with his head sometimes.

All those years while he was roughhousing with her and treating her like one of the guys, she'd been quietly wanting him to see her differently.

And he'd had no clue.

Not one.

Meanwhile now?

Now he couldn't stop seeing her differently even when he wanted to.

That terrified him more than he'd ever admit out loud.

Because Ad understood himself when it came to girls usually. Flirting was easy. Kissing was easy. Casual was easy. Girls couldn't hold his attention...not like her.

Casual was his thing. But with Mel?

Nothing about this felt casual.

Mel mattered too much.

One wrong move and he could lose the most important person in his life.

And tonight especially—

she was vulnerable.

Grieving.

Emotional.

The absolute last thing he wanted was to confuse her or take advantage of the closeness between them just because she needed comfort and he was curious.

So he kept reminding himself:
Friendship first.
Protect her first.

Even when every instinct in him was getting harder to ignore.

Beside him, Mel shifted slightly closer.

Ad's heartbeat immediately picked up.

Her head rested against his chest now, one hand loosely curled against his shirt while the movie played on unnoticed.

Then slowly—

her fingers slid downward along his chest.

The movement was light enough that maybe it was innocent.

Maybe she was just adjusting.

Ad tried not to react.

Tried not to overthink it.

But then her hand drifted lower.

His entire body tensed subtly.

Okay.