The Gold Star

In the dim glow of a single lamp, Gia and Alex huddle on the worn couch, blanket draped like a shroud over their illicit bond. Two years of stolen nights in this suffocating small town, where their passion defies the pious stares. Gia's hitched to Gabriel Dwight, the golden boy deputy mayor—high school hero, track star, now primed to claim her swelling belly as his legacy. She flings the blanket aside, exposing her rounded stomach, then slyly inches her bare feet into Alex's lap, toes teasing with forbidden intent. Alex scrolls feverishly through East Coast listings on her laptop, jaw set in grim resolve, eyes flicking past Gia's playful prods. A baby name book lies open beside them, pages whispering escape. Finally, Alex snaps the screen shut, a wicked grin cracking her facade. 'Any bites on those resumes?' she murmurs, voice husky with urgency. Gia shakes her head, but her touch lingers, electric. 'Just days, love. But yeah, I duplicated the forms like you said.' She leans in, arms snaking around Alex's neck, lips brushing ear. 'Everything's done—filed, copied, sent to the New York clerk. One hearing there, and the name's ours, legal and binding.' Relief floods Alex's eyes; she's orchestrated this flight for months, since Gia's secret pulsed to life inside her.