Sunlight filtered through the thin curtains, soft and golden, painting stripes across the floor.
Leo woke slowly, eyes blinking open, the world coming into focus in pieces. The ceiling. The window. The sound of zippers and rustling fabric.
And then he remembered.
Last night.
Alex.
The beach. The confession. The kiss.
A smile spread across his face before he could stop it small, private, impossible to contain.
"Well, look who's finally awake," Jonas said from across the room, cramming a shirt into his duffel bag. "Thought you were gonna sleep through departure."
Leo sat up slowly, running a hand through his hair. "What time is it?"
"Almost eight," Derek replied, folding a pair of jeans with zero precision. "We've got like thirty minutes before the vans leave."
Thirty minutes.
Leo's chest tightened, but the smile didn't fade. Not completely.
He swung his legs out of bed, stretching, feeling the pleasant ache of too little sleep and too much emotion.
