Her Decision

By the time it got dark, Laura had run out of energy and excuses.

The apartment was still half-finished—uneven stacks, where she would have preferred clean orderliness—but it no longer justified the bustling activity that had driven her all afternoon. At some point, keeping busy had stopped being productive and started becoming procrastination.

She sat on a chair in the kitchen. The wine was still on the counter. She told herself it didn’t matter. She wasn’t going to open it anyway. Opening it would mean acknowledging Justin’s presence.

But she hadn’t put the bottle away, also.

The only light came from the small lamp in the living area. Shadows stretched across the floor, softening the edges of everything.

She sighed and wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. Fatigue started to settle in. It sounded tempting to wind down the day by chatting with someone over a glass of wine.

Her fingers brushed lightly against the neck of the bottle.

She could ask Justin over.

Or—just ignore it.

Justin’s “see you later” could have been nothing more than a phrase people used without meaning it. She should close the door on it. Literally.

Clean. Simple.

Safe.

A knock.

Laura snapped her eyes open. She must have dozed off for a moment.

She considered not moving. Letting the silence answer for her. Letting him assume she was busy, or already asleep.

But that would only postpone it.

And postponing meant thinking.

Thinking meant spiraling.

Spiraling meant another sleepless night.

And she was tired of that, too.

She exhaled, straightened slightly, and walked to the door.

When she opened it, Justin was leaning back a little, as if giving her space before she had even decided whether she wanted it.

“Hey,” he said, with that same easy tone from earlier. “The hubbub ended, and I figured I’d check if you survived the tohubohu.”

He glanced past her into the apartment, noticing the half-unpacked state, and gave her a small smile.

Laura felt her shoulders relax before she could stop herself.

“Barely,” she replied, her voice soft. Her guard lowered.

She hated how quickly it happened.

“I won’t hassle you,” he added, briefly raising his hand with two elegant wine glasses. “Just thought… since I brought that earlier…”

He gestured vaguely.

Laura hesitated.

This was the moment.

The line she had drawn so clearly in her head all day—keep it simple, keep it distant, keep control—suddenly felt insignificant. Downright ridiculous.

“It’s been a long day,” she heard herself say.

It wasn't a refusal.

Justin nodded, as if he understood exactly what that meant.

“Yeah,” he said. “Same here. But a glass of wine usually makes it better.”

Laura’s grip tightened on the door.

Beware. This is how it starts, a part of her whispered.

She looked at him. The relaxed posture. The faint trace of amusement in his expression. The way he didn’t try to step closer, didn’t try to push past the threshold.

He was waiting.

Giving her the decision.

That was what made it so difficult. Because if she said yes, it would be her choice.

Not something done to her.

Something she allowed.

“Okay,” she said and stepped back. “Just one,” she added quickly, raising a single finger, as if that might rebuild some kind of boundary.

Justin’s smile hadn’t changed much—but there was something about it that caught Laura’s attention. Something just beneath the surface that seemed familiar, but she couldn't quite place it.

“Sure.” He stepped inside before she could change her mind.