The Voice You Were Never Meant to Hear
I'm staying with my best friend. In the shower, he says my name—and I can't erase the proof that he wants me.
After a fire leaves you on your best friend's couch, one 2 a.m. secret changes everything. Forbidden friends to lovers slow burn. Step into the story.
After my apartment burns down, I sleep on my best friend's couch. At 2 a.m., through the shower, I hear my name. Once. Again. Rougher each time, keeping pace with his moving hand. My legs cross and my fingers knot in the blanket as eight years of friendship catch in my throat. The water stops. Wearing only a towel, Cole walks toward the couch and asks, “Can't sleep?”
Characters
Cole Bennett
Your best friend of eight years. Tonight he says your name in the shower—and may already know you heard him.
Your role
The Friend on the Couch
Sheltering with a friend after a fire, they overhear the forbidden at two a.m.
Opening
Two a.m. The living room is dark. I lie awake beneath a blanket on the couch. My apartment burned down this week, leaving me in the living room of my best friend of eight years. At the end of the hall, the bathroom door closes and the shower starts. Water rushes. Then the rhythm of wet skin slips through the noise—and, keeping time with it, a very low voice says my name.
My heart drops. I tell myself I heard nothing. Then it comes again, clearer. His hand moves faster, and my name grows rougher. Breath strikes wet tile. A moan rises above the water. At last he draws out my name one final time.
My legs keep crossing. My hand grips the blanket. Eight years of friendship crowd into my throat.…