Chapter Five

Leo's P.O.V

“I can’t. My brother’s here. He’ll get mad.”

Nick, standing off to the side, looked at her like she’d just offended him. “Why would I get mad, Nora? I’ve seen you in a bathing suit. Same thing.”

She laughed, shook her head like she was already regretting this. “Fine. But I did warn you.”

And then—

She lifted her shirt.

And everything froze.

All at once.

Amelia squealed. “Oh my god, you got ink?! Let me see!”

My breath caught.

Because it wasn’t just ink.

It was hers.

Dark lines that started under her breast, curved down her ribs, trailing to her hip—like art meant to be discovered in whispers.

My pulse slammed through me.

Nick blinked, then stepped forward like he had to make sure he saw it right.

“You got ink without me?” he said, half-offended, half-shocked. “That’s rude.”

Nora burst out laughing, shirt still in her hand, hair a little wild from the breeze off the water.

“Nick, it’s not like I was going to invite you to come watch me take my top off.”

He grimaced. “Fair point. Still rude, though.”

Amelia was already circling her like a hawk, trying to get a closer look. “Oh my god, it’s hot. When did you do this?”

Nora just smiled, mysterious and wicked. “Wouldn’t you like to know.”

And all I could do was stand there, silent, watching the moonlight dance across ink and skin—wondering what other secrets she hadn’t let anyone see.

I cleared my throat.

Nick’s head snapped up, “There you are, man!” he called, water already soaking the bottom of his jeans. “Come in with us!”

Nora turned too, eyes catching mine—wide, startled, like she hadn’t expected me to be standing behind her.

The shirt still hung loose in her hand, her skin glowing under firelight and moon, shadows tracing the ink.

I pulled my shirt over my head, slow. Her eyes dropped—dragged over my chest, down my stomach, drinking in every line like she didn’t mean to.

Then she bit her bottom lip.

Don’t do that, sweetheart.

“Eyes are up here,” I said, smirking.

Her gaze snapped back to mine, cheeks flushing, but she didn’t look away.

“...You getting in?” I asked, voice low, just for her.

She nodded, slow and sure.

Then hooked her thumbs in the waistband of those ripped little shorts—

—and slid them down her legs.

My breath caught.

Damn.

That piece of lace she had on didn’t hide a damn thing. Black. Barely there. Clinging like it was painted on.

She straightened, tossing her shorts aside, and caught me staring.

Of course she did.

She smiled, all confidence and sin. “Eyes are up here, Leo.”

I laughed, low in my chest. Couldn’t help it. “Touché.”

We stepped into the water together, cool and biting at first, then smooth—wrapping around us like silk.

Amelia and Nick were farther out, laughing, yelling, splashing each other like kids who had no idea how heavy the real world could get.

Nora drifted away from me without a word.

Then she leaned back.

Arms spread, body floating.

Her hair fanned out around her like ink in the water, eyes fixed on the stars above. Lips parted just slightly, like she was breathing in something deeper than air.

She looked weightless. Untouchable.

A quiet in the middle of the chaos.

I stayed where I was, half-submerged, watching her float like she belonged to the night.

I moved through the water, slow and quiet, until I was beside her.

She didn’t look at me. Just kept floating, eyes on the stars, body glowing silver beneath the moon. Every inch of her was effortless and dangerous—long legs just beneath the surface, stomach rising with each breath, that black lace barely clinging to her curves.

Perfect.

“What’s going through that head of yours?” I asked, voice low, rougher than I meant.

She blinked, didn’t answer right away.

Like she was deciding whether to let me in—

She stood, water trailing down her skin in slow, gleaming lines, lace clinging tighter now, dark and transparent beneath the moonlight.

But it was her eyes that held me.

She faced me, breathing deep, then let out a sigh that sounded like it had been building for weeks.

“Everything,” she said, voice soft. “Life. We graduated. This is it.”

I didn’t speak.

She kept going.

“My brother and Amelia leave for college. They have a plan. They know what’s next. I don’t.”

She looked down for a second, then back up.

“And you… you’re here now, but everyone’s leaving.”

There was a break in her voice she tried to hide.

But it cracked anyway.

And I felt every sharp edge of it.

“Who said I was leaving?”

My voice cut through the quiet between us. Low. Steady.

Her eyes flicked up, startled—like she hadn’t expected me to hear that part. Like maybe she hadn’t meant to say it out loud.

She opened her mouth, then closed it.

I stepped closer, water lapping at our waists, the space between us shrinking.

“I didn’t say I was going anywhere, Nora.”

I watched her chest rise and fall, slow and uncertain.

“You’re not the only one trying to figure out what comes next.”

And I wasn’t.

Not with her standing there, looking at me like maybe—just maybe—she wanted me to stay.

Then she whispered, “It’s you.”

“What?” I breathed.

Her eyes were on mine, wide, vulnerable, fierce in that way only she could be—like saying it scared her, but not saying it scared her more.

“You asked who it was,” she said, voice barely holding steady. “The guy I couldn’t say out loud.”

I stopped breathing.

“It’s you, Leo.”

Everything stopped.

The lake. The night. Me.

Then she kept going, her voice quieter but steadier now, like the words had been waiting too long to stay hidden.

“It’s always been you,” she said. “Since the first day my brother introduced us.”

She looked away for half a second, then back, like she couldn’t let herself look anywhere else.

“But I could never let myself have you,” she whispered. “Because I didn’t want to hurt him. My brother… he’s everything to me.”

I didn’t move. Couldn’t.

“And you…” Her voice cracked just enough to gut me. “You’ll eventually leave. And so will I.”

She stood there, chest rising and falling, eyes wet but never blinking.

Like she'd just handed me her heart and was waiting for me to drop it.

She bit her bottom lip again—nervous, unsure, fighting everything she’d just said.

And before I even realized I’d moved, my hand lifted.

Fingers brushed her chin, slow, deliberate.

I slid my thumb across her lip, pulling it free from between her teeth.

“Don’t,” I whispered.

Her breath hitched.

My hand stayed there, resting just beneath her jaw, skin warm and soft and real.

“I’m right here, Nora.”

And for the first time, I let her see everything in my eyes.