EXIT
LAURA – STILL IN THE PAST OR… DREAMS MAYBE?
I shook my head, trying to steady myself. “Josh-”
“Don’t,” he cut me off. “Don’t say whatever bullshit excuse you‘ ve been telling yourself. Not tonight. It was a long ass flight, and I just… just listen.”
I stared at him, my heart slamming against my ribs.
“I tried to let you go,” he admitted, his voice rough. “I told myself you wanted this, that you were better off without me. That I was better off without you.” He exhaled sharply. “But none of it was fucking true, Laura.”
I swallowed hard, and my throat suddenly dried.
His eyes burned into mine. “Tell me you don’t feel this.”
The weight of his words settled in my chest, heavy and suffocating.
I wanted to lie.
I wanted to tell him that I had moved on, that I was happy, that he was just a ghost of something I barely remembered.
But I couldn’t.
Because the truth was, standing here, with his hand wrapped around my wrist and his voice scraping against my skin like fire
0.00%
111
14:49
EXIT
288 Vouchers
I had never stopped feeling this.
I had never stopped feeling him.
And maybe, just maybe-.
I never would.
The music pulsed around us, but barely heard it.
Josh took a step closer, and I let him.
His free hand lifted, his fingers skimming my jaw, tilting my chin up just slightly.
“Say it,” he murmured.
I stared at him, my entire body trembling. “Say what?”
“That you still love me.”
I sucked in a sharp breath.
I should have pushed him away.
I should have walked out of this club, out of his reach, out of this moment before it swallowed me whole.
But instead–I stepped back like a coward. A sudden yank was pulling me forward, and before I could stop him, his lips crashed against mine.
Everything around us disappeared.
I wanted so badly to feel this with him, to let my heartache go
22.50%
14:49
EXIT
288 Vouchers
and just… fuck. No. It hurt. It hurt so bad I’ve been living in a different country. I was not doing this again. I pushed JOsh away and ran for an exit.
The night air was crisp against my skin, a stark contrast to the heat that still clung to my body from the club. My heart was pounding, my mind spinning–not just from the alcohol, but from him. From everything he’d said. From the way he kissed me like he was making up for every second we’d been apart.
Josh stood in front of me, hands shoved deep into his pockets, eyes searching mine like he was afraid I’d bolt. He wasn’t wrong to worry.
I should have walked away.
I should have told him that this, we, were a terrible idea.
But I didn’t want to lie.
Not to him.
Not to myself.
“I was a complete fucking idiot,” he said, his voice rough with regret. “I know that. I know I hurt you. And I don’t expect you to just forget everything because I finally pulled my head out of my ass. But Laura…” He exhaled sharply, taking a step closer. “I do want you to know that I see it now. That I see you. And I want this. I want us.”
His words twisted something deep inside me.
I had spent so much time pretending that Paris was enough, that this life I had built here was what I wanted. But the truth?
40.76%
14:49
EXIT
1288 Vouchers
I felt stuck. Life was moving forward without me, and I was standing in the middle of the street, watching it all pass by.
I didn’t want to be in Paris anymore.
I didn’t want to be alone anymore
And I sure as hell didn’t want to keep pretending that I didn’t still love Josh.
My throat tightened, and I turned slightly, glancing up at the sky, trying to steady the spinning in my head. The night stretched above us, dark and endless, the city alive with lights and movement, but none of it felt real
Only this moment.
Only him.
I felt Josh shift closer before he spoke again.
“You can’t go back to your apartment,” he said, and when I looked at him, he gave me a knowing look. “Because I promise you, you don’t want to be in the middle of those two tonight.”
I blinked, pulling my phone out of my purse and checking my messages.
Jess: Luke and I are leaving. Talk later?
I huffed out a breath. Of course. I should have seen that
coming.
Josh cleared his throat, dragging a hand through his hair. “I got a hotel around the corner. You can sleep there.”
69.31%
14:49
EXIT
1 288 Vouchers
I glanced back at him, and something in my chest squeezed.
I swallowed hard.
“I don’t-” My voice wavered. “this doesn’t mean anything, Josh.”
He nodded once, slowly. “It doesn’t have to.”
My heart did something stupid in my chest, and before I could overthink it, I nodded. “Okay.”
