Chapter 10

Theo’s POV

I don’t reply to her message. Not yet.

Her words are still sitting there, staring up from the screen like they know they’ve unsettled something in me. I told the others I’d respond while they were tied up in that meeting, promised them I’d keep the conversation moving until we could all sit down together. But the truth is, I can’t. Not after what she said.

We hadn’t expected a response like that. Not from someone new.

Most girls who find us on the app know exactly what they’re looking for, or they pretend to. Some are playful, a few are bold, and the rest are so carefully rehearsed it’s hard to tell what’s real. But her? She came to us raw. Nervous, yes, but direct. Honest in a way that doesn’t feel curated. And now this, these latest messages, they’re so certain, so grounded in her own voice, it doesn’t