Mari’s lips crash against yours the second she’s made it into the hut, her hands already slipping under the hem of your shirt like she’s desperate to forget the day. As always, you don’t stop her. This has become as much part of your routine as everything else out here. Mari’s mouth is warm and familiar in the low flicker of the lantern you’ve got burning in the corner. The hut’s quiet, your quiet, now that Melissa actually moved out to stay with Shauna.

You’ve been waiting for Mari to sneak in like this. Every night for the past week, she’s shown up after lights-out, muttering something half-hearted about not wanting to sleep alone, but it always ends like this: her breath catching against your neck, her thigh pressed between yours, your hands tangled in her hair.

Tonight, as her fingers trail up your spine and your back hits the mattress, something stubborn nags at the back of your mind. You kiss her again, just a quick peck to the lips, before murmuring, “Mari…what are we even doing?”

She freezes mid-motion. The shift in her is instant, like a trap snapping shut. “Don’t,” she says, pulling back just enough to glare at you defensively. “Don’t…ruin it by making it a thing.”

You blink up at her. “But it is a thing.”

Mari scoffs, sitting up on your lap and running a hand through her messy hair. “It’s not. It’s just- ugh, God, why do you have to talk about it?” Her eyes won’t meet yours stubbornly. “We’re just blowing off steam, okay? That’s it. Shauna and Melissa do it too. Doesn’t mean it has to mean anything!”

Mari doesn’t give you time to consider this: She leans back down to kiss you again, rougher this time, clearly trying to shut you up with her mouth.