Lips Like Promises 💋✨

Chapter Five - "The Name on the Screen"

The name still burned in Tasia's mind. Alicia.
She didn't know who she was, but she knew enough. You don't look at a text like that unless it matters.

T slipped her phone back into her clutch and stood, avoiding Tasia's eyes. "I should probably call you a car—"

"Oh, that's how it is?" Tasia cut in, setting her wine glass down a little too hard. "We kiss, your phone lights up with Alicia, and suddenly I'm on the curb?"

T finally looked at her, and there was a flicker of irritation behind her calm. "It's not like that."

"Then what's it like, T? You tell me, 'cause I'm new here."

T took a breath, her voice steady but cool. "Alicia is... complicated."

"Complicated how? Complicated like an ex? Complicated like a situation you 'haven't dealt with yet'?"

Tasia leaned back against the couch, crossing her legs, her eyes sharp. She was still every inch the glamorous singer, but now there was steel behind the gloss.

T ran a hand through her hair. "She's someone I used to be with. It ended. She just... doesn't take endings well."

Tasia laughed, but there was no humor in it. "And you still answer her at midnight?"

"I didn't answer—"

"You looked like you wanted to," Tasia shot back.

For a second, the silence was heavy enough to crush them both. T's jaw tightened. "You think I invite people into my home if I'm not interested? You think I pour wine and sit here with you if I'm still stuck on someone else?"

Tasia's voice softened, but her guard stayed up. "I don't know what to think yet. That's the problem."

They stared at each other, the air charged — not with attraction this time, but with the knowledge that this could end before it ever began.

Finally, T looked away. "Maybe we should call it a night."

Tasia stood, slipping back into her heels. "Maybe we should."

The ride back to her place felt longer than it should have. She didn't check her phone. She didn't even hum to herself like she usually did. She just replayed the night over and over, wondering if the first crack had already shown itself.