Chapter 5

After dinner, the Uber ride back to the Katseye house was a study in restraint – or the lack of it.

You and Dani sat in the far back of the van-style ride share, her hand resting high on your thigh, her body angled toward yours like she wasn’t even pretending to behave. The other girls sat up front and in the middle row, pretending not to notice – or at least pretending they didn’t care.

But the looks were there.

Sophia gave you a long exaggerated sigh. “You guys do realise we can see the rear view mirror, right?”

“Just be glad she’s not straddling me,” Dani muttered, her voice low in your ear, her fingers tracing idle, dangerous shapes just under the hem of your dress.

You elbowed her lightly. “That’s because we’re in public.”

“So… as soon as we’re home?”

You didn’t answer. You didn’t have to. The smirk on her lips said she knew.

*

The Katseye house was chaos incarnate.

Shoes piled by the door. Jackets thrown over the backs of mismatched chairs. An open pizza box from two nights ago still on the counter. The place looked lived-in, like a creative tornado had passed through – but somehow, it still felt like home.

You’d been there dozens of times before. You even had a spare toothbrush in Dani and Manon’s bathroom. But tonight felt different.

Tonight, the tension between you two had stretched thin – like one wrong move might snap it entirely.

You kicked off your shoes while Dani pulled off her jacket, tossing it somewhere near the couch. The other girls scattered – Lara and Megan bickering over who left their heir dye in the bathroom sink, Yoonchae raiding the fridge, Sophia crashing immediately on the oversized beanbag chair with her phone.

“God, I’m so full,” Manon groaned, flopping face-first onto the couch. “No one let me eat that much again.”

“No one made you order that second dessert,” Dani called over her shoulder.

“You two were literally touching knees under the table while whispering filth,” Manon said without lifting her head. “I needed sugar support to cope.”

Dani just laughed, then caught your hand and tugged you down the hall toward the shared bedrooms.

“Let me guess,” you said, raising a brow. “Manon’s gonna be thrilled we’re back.”

“She’s passed out,” Dani replied. “And if she’s not, she’ll pretend to be. She’s learned the signs.”

You grinned. “You mean when we walk in together and immediately close the door?”

“That’s one sign,” she said, pushing the door open to her room – dim, cozy, with fairy lights tangled above the bed, posters of rappers and vintage bands on the wall, with a soft mess of blankets that screamed ‘Dani slept here, and she didn’t fold anything.”

She pulled you in and closed the door behind you with a soft click.

Her lips were on yours before you could speak.

The kiss was slow but heavy – full of all the things she’d wanted to do at dinner but hadn’t. Her hands gripped your waist, pulling you closer, until you were pressed against the door, breathless and already lost.

“You were so good tonight,” she murmured between kisses. “All quiet at the table, squirming just enough when I touched you. So damn cute.”

“You’re the worst,” you whispered against her lips, your fingers tangling in the hem of her shirt.

“Mm-mm,” she hummed, tilting your chin up, her eyes locked on yours. “I’m the best. And you know it.”

A loud thud came from the living room, followed by Megan yelling “Lara, that was my water bottle!”

You both froze.

Dani snorted. “God, I forget how loud this house is.”

You giggled, trying to muffle it in her shoulder. “We’re never gonna get privacy in here.”

She pulled back slightly, eyes gleaming. “That just makes it more fun, doesn’t it?”

You opened your mouth to answer – but then there was a sharp knock at the door.

“Please,” came Manon’s groggy voice through the wall. “Just take it to the bathroom if you’re gonna reenact a slow burn romance with bonus smut.”

You buried your face in Dani’s shoulder again, half-laughing, half-horrified. Dani just looked delighted.

“No promises,” she called back.

Manon just groaned. “I’m sleeping in the bathtub.”

*

Later, curled up on Dani’s bed under the fairy lights, the rest of the band’s voices a low hum through the house, she pulled you close, tracing lazy shapes on your back.

“You know,” she said, voice so soft now, “I kind of love it when you’re here. Even if we get yelled at for it.”

You smiled into her neck. “That’s because you like annoying everyone.”

“No,” she said, pressing a kiss to your forehead. “I like annoying them with you.”

And even in a crowded house, sharing a room, surrounded by chaos – it still felt like the two of you were in your own world.

———-

Just a cute continuation on from the last chapter 🙂