I tried to tune out the static.

  Chloe’s fifteen?minute text marathons made my head spin. She clung to that “brilliant idea” of hers like it was a lifeline, and when she kept trying to call, I slammed the power button and watched the screen go black. Soren and I were in the middle of- something, so she’d just have to wait.

  I tried to pull myself back into the moment, feeling the weight of Soren’s hand on the back of my neck as he leaned me in. I wasn’t about to let Chloe shatter that calm.

  Then my phone buzzed again, the vibration rattling against the nightstand. She wouldn’t quit.

  “Why don’t you just answer?” Soren demanded, his voice a mix of irritation and pleading. He seemed more annoyed with Chloe than normal tonight.

  “I need boundaries.”

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  He let out a soft growl in my ear, a low, impatient rumble that made my heart race. Every interruption was a tiny crack in my patience, and it was spreading.

  I finally sighed and hit “answer.”

  “Hey,” I said, trying to keep it light. “What’s up?”

  She launched into a tirade about how I never respond, how Liam said he’d help if I said yes, and how Noah would jump in too. “Why do you need all of us?” I asked, a little exasperated.

  Chloe’s voice, sharp and condescending, cut through the conversation. “It’ll be more interesting if it’s a group thing,” she said. “People get bored watching one person do all the dares. With a crew, we can keep it fresh and get more ideas.”

  I could feel the weight of her expectations. “If I say yes, will you stop calling?”

  “Of course,” she replied, as if that settled everything.

  I hung up before she could spin any more excuses. I needed to get back to my own life, to the quiet that let my thoughts breathe.

  Just as Soren was about to pull me into another kiss, my phone lit up again, this time with Liam’s number. I ignored it; he didn’t seem as relentless as Chloe. When the ringtone finally faded, a single “ding” announced a text. One that could wait until the morning.