Elena returned to Seattle with a tan and a suitcase full of silence. She didn't tell Maya about Ben. She didn't tell anyone. It had been a pause - nothing more. A chance to breathe before the inevitable weight of reality settled again.
It took three days before Daniel reached out.
A single text: "Are you back?"
She stared at it for a full hour before replying: "Yes."
And that was all it took. One message cracked the distance they had tried to build. That weekend, they met at a bookstore across town where no one would recognize them. It was supposed to be innocent - just to talk.
But the moment their eyes met, all the restraint dissolved.
They left through the back door. A short walk. A room above a quiet wine bar. No words. Just hands, mouths, years of longing crashing into hours of stolen time.
It was different this time.
Not reckless.
Intentional.
They knew what they were doing.
And still - they did it anyway.