Chapter 3 3

A Night of Mistake

Carolin's POV

The kiss still lingered.

Not just on my lips, but in my chest. A heavy warmth that pulsed every time I closed my eyes.

I kept telling myself it didn't mean anything. That Adrian had just gotten caught in the moment. That I had.

But every time I replayed it-his hand on my cheek, the way he whispered my name like it meant something-I couldn't breathe right.

For the first time in my life, someone looked at me like I wasn't invisible.

And God help me... I liked it.

That should've been the warning sign.

Two days later, he messaged me.

> Adrian: You left so fast after the party.

Me: Thought it was better that way.

Adrian: It wasn't. I've been thinking about you.

Me: Why?

Adrian: Come over, I'll tell you.

I stared at the screen for too long.

Mabel would've warned me. She'd have told me to take a cold shower and walk it off.

But Mabel wasn't there. She was home for the weekend, visiting her grandma. I was here, in my too-small room, surrounded by fairy lights and spiraling thoughts.

So I typed:

> Me: Okay. Send the address.

His apartment was exactly what I imagined.

Modern, minimalist but expensive.

He answered the door barefoot in a gray hoodie, like he hadn't even tried-and still looked good.

"Hey," he said, voice husky.

"Hey," I replied, wishing my heart wasn't pounding like I was walking into fire.

"Come in."

I stepped inside. Every nerve ending in my body felt too loud.

He handed me a soda and motioned toward the sofa. We sat-close, but not touching.

The silence was heavy, awkward in a way I hadn't expected.

"So," I said. "You've been thinking about me?"

He turned to face me, elbow hooked over the back of the couch. "Yeah. I know it probably sounds like a line. But it's not."

I raised a brow. "You sure? Because you've probably said that to half the school."

He winced. "Fair, I was... a jerk. No excuse but I see things differently now."

He looked at me like he meant it.

And suddenly, I hated how much I wanted to believe him.

"Why me, Adrian?" I asked. "Why now?"

He sighed. "Because you make me feel something real. When you sang... it wasn't just a voice. It was like you cracked something open in me. And I couldn't stop thinking about you since."

I stared at him.

Wanting to believe.

Needing to doubt.

And completely lost between the two.

"You kissed me," I whispered.

"I wanted to."

"You still do?"

He didn't answer.

He just leaned in slowly, like giving me time to run.

But I didn't.

Our lips met again-and this time, it wasn't tentative.

It was breathless.

Urgent.

My hands curled into his hoodie, pulling him closer. His fingers grazed my neck, my waist-everywhere I'd once tried to hide.

And something inside me broke.

Years of being overlooked, mocked, dismissed-suddenly I was the center of someone's attention.

Not just seen.

Wanted.

It overwhelmed me.

I didn't stop when his hands slid beneath my sweater.

I didn't stop when we stumbled to the bedroom, or when his hoodie landed on the floor, or when he paused long enough to ask, "Are you sure?"

I just nodded.

Because in that moment, I didn't want to be careful.

I wanted to be held.

To be chosen.

To be more than the limp or the stretch marks or the scars.

I wanted to be his.

Even if just for a night.

The next morning, sunlight streamed through unfamiliar curtains.

I woke up tangled in sheets that smelled like cedar. My head was dizzying, my heart even fuzzier.

Adrian lay beside me, half-asleep, arm draped across my waist.

For a moment, I let myself pretend.

That this was real.

That this meant something.

Then my phone buzzed.

Mabel.

> You good? You didn't answer last night. I'm worried.

Text me when you wake up. Please.

Reality crashed in.

My stomach tightened.

Adrian stirred. "You okay?" he mumbled.

I sat up, pulling the sheet around me. "Yeah. I should go."

He blinked, rubbing his face. "You don't have to. We could get breakfast."

But I was already slipping into my clothes. My body ached in unfamiliar places and my heart ached worse.

"I just... need air," I said.

He stood, watching me like he wanted to say something. But he didn't.

"Last night," I said, "was a mistake."

His jaw tightened. "You sure?"

I hesitated.

Then nodded.

Because I didn't know what else to do.

I cried all the way home.

Not because I regretted what happened.

But because I wasn't sure if he did.

Three weeks passed.

The world didn't end.

The school whispered about my audition video less.

Adrian and I didn't speak.

Not really.

We passed each other in the halls. He looked at me, I looked away.

Sometimes his hand twitched like he wanted to reach out.

But neither of us did.

Mabel noticed the shift. "What happened between you two?"

"Nothing," I said.

She narrowed her eyes. "Carolin..."

"It was one night," I snapped. "That's all."

But her expression softened. "And you're hurting because you wish it was more."

I didn't answer...

Because she wasn't wrong.