My heart sank as I walked out on her. My pulse quickened, throbbing in my ears. I didn’t look back because I knew I would crumble if I did. I knew I would grab her, kiss her, pin her against the wall—but I never wanted to get her in trouble.

Just one careless second. One slip. She could have realized it was me—and everything inside me snapped. Every principle I had told me to stay far away from her, yet I kept crawling back to her like a coward.

If she had pulled off my mask… if she had ...