Zoom.

The motorcycles blow right by.

Their sound fades into the distance.

They’re gone, and we’re back in silence.

Suki slumps beside me.

The tension drains from my body, leaving me depleted.

We did it. We lost them.

“Thank god,” I whisper, rubbing my face.

My heart pounds in my ears. Our breaths are quick and shallow. The outside world is all heavy rain.

“Do we drive back the way we came?” I whisper.

“Let’s wait,” Suki says. “Give them time to get far away.”

“Okay.” I stare ahead into the blackness, willing my heart to slow down.

I’m on the point of wondering what we’ll do to pass the time when Suki’s soft hand slides around the back of my neck, sending a pleasant shiver down my body.

“Now’s as good a time as any,” she whispers. “You think?”

My breath catches. “Yes.”

I sense her moving toward me, a rush of warmth, her soft breath, the groan of the leather seat.

She kisses me, and I part my lips, welcoming her with eager hands.

God, this is everything I’ve been aching for. Her sweet scent fills me, and her taste is even better. I suck on her lower lip and tongue her gently, needing more. Her skin is soft and cool beneath my hands.

Our adrenaline makes us move faster until we’re rocking feverishly against each other, mouths locked together, grabbing each other’s clothes. She pulls me hard toward her.

I hold her close and kiss her with everything that’s been building inside me all these years. Wayward strands of her hair tickle my face and neck, silky soft.

“Thea,” she says, gasping.

The sound sparks something in me. I struggle with my seatbelt, unbuckling it in a frenzy. I tease her earlobe with my tongue, making her moan, and graze my teeth down the soft skin of her neck.

Needing to be closer, I straddle her lap.

We fumble with each other’s shirts, pausing our kissing for long enough to toss them aside.

Her skin is hot beneath my palms, begging to be kissed and licked. I wrap a fist in her mussed-up hair and run my tongue down her neck, moving lower.

She moans, running her fingers up and down my body. I arch my back, pressing my hips and breasts against her. Her skin feels amazing against mine, soft and warm.

Before I can claim her mouth again, she dips her head and kisses my breast, moving toward my nipple. I gasp as she licks and sucks, tightening my fingers in her hair.

A tremor passes through me. I want her badly.

I reach between her legs and massage her through her sweatpants. “Can I?” I whisper, breathing hard.

“As long as you let me do the same,” she says, and I can feel her smile against my lips.

“Okay.” I slide my hand into her sweatpants, and she gasps.

The feel of her on my fingers is dizzying. I bite my lip, an unbearable burning sensation igniting low inside me.

“Oh, fuck,” she whispers, reaching into my PJ pants to do the same to me.

The way I’m straddling her lap, legs open, her fingers feel so good that it’s hard not to cry out. I brace myself on the seat behind her, rocking my hips with the rhythm of her hand.

We massage each other, hands moving faster, breaths sharp. In the blackness, the whole world is just the sound of her breaths and moans, the feel of her body against me, the taste of her lips and skin. Sweat prickles on my skin as the SUV warms.

“How come it took us so long to admit it?” Suki says, panting.

My brain is slow, dizzy. “Afraid of—wrecking our friendship—maybe.”

“I wouldn’t call this wrecking anything. God, you feel good.” Suki pushes me sideways and gets on top of me, pinning me down on the bench seat. She opens my thighs wider, making me moan.

I undulate my hips, losing control, heat building low inside me. God, I can’t believe this is happening. I have to commit everything about this to memory, because after tonight, who knows what’ll happen.

Suki trembles above me, crying out as I finger her and bite her neck. It’s unbearably sexy to have her lose control like this. My body is responding, trembling, wet, and the noises coming out of my mouth are totally involuntary.

“Yes, yes!” Suki says, gasping. “Right there.”

“Me too.” I tilt my hips, my whole body tightening, until the heat inside me is unbearable.

My body releases and I lock my lips onto hers, stifling my cries. I’m disoriented, detached from this world completely as waves of pleasure ripple through me.

Suki climaxes with me, shuddering, gasping as if trying not to scream.

As we come down, she curses, panting hard, and kisses me twice with tired lips.

I link my fingers in hers, catching my breath, dizzy with ecstasy.

After a moment, she whispers, “When did you know you had feelings for me?”

I’m glad it’s dark because I blush. “I think around the time of the infamous sleepover.”

Suki hesitates. “I think that’s when I knew, too.”

“Seriously?”

“It was nice cuddling that night. I kept imagining kissing you and… more.”

“Wow,” I whisper. “Who would’ve known that a sleepover with Carrie and the tin full of cookies…” I trail off, something sliding into place in my memory.

“Mm,” Suki says sleepily, resting her forehead against mine.

“Suki, your grandma’s cookie tin had an eye symbol on it.”

“What?” she says, her tone sharp.

“Was it the same symbol as the one—”

“The journal! Holy shit.” She lunges for her phone.

I sit up as she uses the flashlight to illuminate the journal on the floor, where the eye is embossed on the cover.

That’s the one. It’s the same symbol as on the tin.

In the glow, I can’t help but trace my gaze over Suki’s naked upper body. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything more beautiful.

She catches my eye, and her face breaks into the most radiant smile in the world. “You’re onto something.”

“Really?”

“The cookie tin came from her sister in Japan—which means I think I know where this book came from.”

I smile back. “Let’s get our shirts on and get out of here. We’ve got plane tickets to book.”

“Yeah?”

I nod. “Wherever you need to go, Suki, I’ll be right there with you.”

New story coming in a few days! Get early access (and read it all at once instead of in pieces) at patreon.com/tianawarner. Your support is a huge help and greatly appreciated!!