This work contains themes and scenes intended for mature readers (18+). It explores intimacy, emotional complexity, and adult relationships through contemporary romance and erotic realism. Reader discretion is advised.
Jealousy and Clarity
Sister Not Date
After their almost-kiss, awkwardness develops. Claire sees Adriana at a wine bar with a beautiful woman, assumes a date, and drives to gym in jealous panic. She learns it's Adriana's sister.
An Excerpt from this Chapter...
In a tucked-away booth, haloed by warm lamp glow, was Adriana. She was leaning close to another woman, sharing what looked like a secret. The woman was beautiful, with glossy dark hair. As Claire watched, Adriana laughed, a silent, uninhibited laugh that made her whole body shake. The other woman placed a hand on her forearm, a gesture of easy, familiar intimacy.
Claire’s world tilted. It wasn’t jealousy exactly. It was the terror of a door closing before she’d knocked. The sickening realization that the charged moments, near-kiss—all of it might have existed only in her head. She had built a fragile fantasy; reality was a beautiful woman laughing with someone else.
The thought of losing the chance was agony so sharp it stole her breath. She fled the wine bar, drove to the gym on desperate autopilot.
She found Adriana wiping down equipment in the empty, echoing gym. Adriana looked up, movements faltering. “Claire? Did you forget something?”
Claire’s throat was dry. All rehearsed speeches vanished. “I saw you tonight,” she said, voice shaky. “At the bar. With… her.”
Adriana frowned in genuine confusion. “Saw me where?”
“At the wine bar. With her.”
Adriana stared, confusion giving way to incredulous realization. A small, strange smile tugged her mouth. It wasn’t mockery, but disbelief.
She let out a soft, breathy sound. “Claire… That was my sister. My sister, Natalie, is in town. She always insists we go to expensive places so she can feel fancy.”
The words didn’t compute. Sister.
Then they landed. A tidal wave of mortification washed over Claire. She wanted the floor to swallow her whole. She had driven across town in jealous panic to confront Adriana about having wine with her own sister.
But as shame receded, something else rose: dizzying, disorienting relief. It wasn’t another woman. The door wasn’t closed. The relief was so potent it felt like recklessness.
Adriana watched her, that knowing smile. “Are you okay?”
Claire didn’t answer with words. She closed the distance in two quick steps. She lifted her hand, movements shaky yet certain. She placed her palm flat against Adriana’s forearm.
The contact was an explosion in the silence. Adriana’s skin was warm and solid beneath her trembling fingers. This was not accidental. This was the first intentional, deliberate touch between them.