Chapter 85.5: Still Inside Me
He was still inside me. Not physically. Not anymore. But I could feel him. Everywhere. —Liana
Liana
The first thing I felt was heat.
Not from the sun, though it was setting now, painting the room in slow gold.
No. The heat was from him.
His chest, warm against my back. His arms heavy around me. His skin… everywhere.
I blinked.
And then blinked again.
I was naked. Still. And so was he.
We were tangled on my bed, the sheets twisted and halfway off, the air thick with the unmistakable scent of sex.
My body felt strange. Soft and sore in ways I hadn’t expected. My thighs ached. My lips were swollen. My core… pulsed.
Oh my god.
I sat up too fast and immediately regretted it. My muscles protested. Between my legs felt raw, stretched, slick with the lingering after.
I covered my face with both hands.
He was still asleep.
Elias.
Curled behind me, his arm draped over my waist, our legs still tangled like we never let go.
I turned and peeked through my fingers.
Why the hell did he have to be sexy even when unconscious?
I slowly climbed out of bed, wincing when my feet touched the cold floor. I grabbed the nearest shirt—his, of course—and pulled it over my head, then tried to find my underwear.
Failed.
Whatever. I’d just get dressed and—
Thud.
“Ah!” I gasped, clutching my toe. I’d kicked the corner of my dresser, hard.
Behind me, the bed rustled.
I turned just in time to see Elias blink awake, stretch like a damn jungle cat, then smirk.
“You screamed louder earlier.”
I choked. “You need to go.”
He blinked. “What?”
“You need to go, Elias. Now. Alex gets off work at six and it’s almost sunset and I swear to God, if she walks in and sees you in here… she’s going to give me that look and ask if we did anything inappropriate and I cannot go through that again!”
He sat up slowly, dragging a hand through his hair. “I mean, it wouldn’t exactly be a lie—”
“Elias!”
He laughed, standing up, completely unbothered by the fact that he was very naked and I was very not ready to process that again.
“Okay, okay. I’m going.” He pulled on his pants with one hand, then leaned over to kiss my cheek.
I slapped his chest. “No time for that!”
He grinned, clearly enjoying himself. “You’re cute when you panic.”
“I’m not panicking. I’m—just go!”
He was still smiling when he opened the door.
But just before stepping out, he turned back. Voice soft. Serious.
“Get some rest, okay?”
I nodded, heart pounding.
He left.
And the second the door clicked shut, I collapsed onto the bed, face buried in the sheet.
Elias
I didn’t even get a goodbye kiss.
Just a breathless shove toward the door and a muttered, “Go before she sees you.”
She didn’t meet my eyes. Her cheeks were too red. Her hair a mess. Her shirt on backwards.
God, she was cute.
By the time I got to the car, I could still feel her on me.
Her nails on my back.
Her voice in my head.
Her heat around me.
She was everywhere.
And all I wanted was to go back in, buried myself in her again.
Instead, I gripped the steering wheel, stared straight ahead, and tried to remember how to breathe like a normal person.
She’d let me in. All the way.
Her body, her sounds, the way she looked at me when I moved inside her—
It wasn’t just sex.
It felt like she let me into something deeper. Like her body knew me, but her soul chose me.
When I got home, I didn’t bother turning on the lights.
Dropped my keys. Walked to the shower.
Hot water. Cold tile.
Still not enough to ground me.
I closed my eyes and saw her again.
Naked in my arms.
Moaned under me.
Saying my name like it broke her.
But then she’d looked so damn flustered about it.
So quick to get dressed. So quick to push me out.
And it hit me, that wouldn’t have happened if we were at my place.
If she lived with me…
She wouldn’t have to hide. Wouldn’t have to shove me out the door like some secret she wasn’t ready to share.
I could’ve stayed.
Held her through the night.
Kissed her when the sun came up.
Made her breakfast.
Fucked her on the kitchen counter.
Not because I wanted convenience.
Because I wanted her. All of her.
In my space. In my bed. In my mornings and nights and everything between.
All I can think about now is to build something that’s ours.
If I ever get the chance, I’ll make sure she never has to wake up alone again.
Liana
I stood in the shower, letting the water run over me. Warm. Steady. Cleansing.
But it didn’t wash him away. Not really.
Not the way my legs still trembled when I shifted my weight.
Not the sore, slow ache that pulsed between my thighs.
Not the way my chest fluttered just remembering his voice in my ear, rough and low and wrecked.
I reached for the soap, but my hand paused halfway down.
Because when the water hit a certain spot…
I felt it.
That faint, sticky trace.
Proof that he’d been there.
Inside me.
Really inside me.
I exhaled slowly.
Not from pain.
Not even from embarrassment.
But because I wasn’t ready to let it go.
He was still inside me.
Not just the way our bodies fit. though god, they had.
But in the way he looked at me like I was something he’d waited his whole life to hold.
In the way he said my name.
In the way he stayed.
And maybe I was still a little afraid of what came next.
Of how much more there could be to lose.
But as I turned off the water, one thought lingered—warm and heavy and impossible to ignore: I didn’t want it to be the last time.
Chapter 86: Keys
I need to try to stand on my own. –Liana
Liana
I was halfway through a piece of toast when Alex casually dropped a bombshell between brushstrokes of nail polish.
“I’m getting married.”
I froze mid-chew. “…What?”
The toast slipped from my fingers and landed face-down on the plate. My brain stuttered.
“Married,” she repeated, blowing on her nails like she hadn’t just said the most un-Alex thing imaginable. “To a person. Legally. With a ring and paperwork and everything.”
I blinked. “You?”
“Yeah, me,” she said, grinning. “Look, I didn’t plan it. I wasn’t even trying to date seriously, but he just—I don’t know. He showed up, we clicked, and somehow we’re already looking at apartments. It just feels right.”
She paused, then glanced at me.
“Don’t worry, you don’t have to rush out. I’ll give you time to find a place. I’ll even help. But I figured you should know.”
I nodded slowly, trying to make my face do something resembling a normal expression. “Yeah. No, that’s… that’s great. Really. I’m happy for you.”
Inside, I was panicking.
Not because she was leaving. Not because I was alone again.
Because now I had to figure out where I belonged.
I made it through breakfast. Then went straight to my room, shut the door, and opened my laptop.
I scrolled. And scrolled.
Everything was too expensive.
The ones I could afford were either falling apart or way too far.
I closed the laptop. Stared at the ceiling.
I didn’t even know how to start apartment hunting.
I didn’t have furniture. I didn’t have a steady income. I didn’t have backup.
I didn’t have a home.
Not really.
I hugged my knees to my chest.
It wasn’t that I wanted someone to fix it for me.
I just wanted to not feel like I was always one step away from being in the way.
Elias
We met up outside a little diner downtown, one of those places with chipped tiles and coffee that tasted like burnt memories.
She was already waiting, leaning against the brick wall, her arms crossed.
Her expression was off. Softer. Quieter.
Sad.
“Hey,” I said as I approached. “Long day?”
She glanced up. Smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Yeah.”
Pause.
Then, with a sigh: “Alex is getting married. I have to find a new place.”
I frowned as I sat down. “You don’t have a place lined up?”
She shook her head. “I mean… I’m looking. It’s not urgent. I still have some time.”
I didn’t say anything for a second.
Then I looked her dead in the eye and said, “Why don’t you just come live with me?”
Her eyes widened. “Live with you?”
I nodded. “Yeah. I want you there. Every day.”
She blinked like I’d just spoken a different language. “Isn’t that… kind of fast?”
“Maybe,” I said. “But I’m not saying it because I feel sorry for you. I’m saying it because I want you there. Not as a guest. Not as someone crashing on my couch. As mine.”
She bit her lip. “I don’t want to be dependent on you. I want to be able to stand on my own.”
I leaned closer. Took her hand.
“You’re not depending on me,” I said softly. “You’re choosing me. That’s different.”
Liana
I didn’t say yes. Not right away.
But when he dropped me off that night, and I stepped out of his car, he leaned over and said it like it wasn’t a question, just a fact.
“The key’s already yours.”
Then he kissed my cheek.
“Anytime you want it.”
