The check engine light has been blinking since Delaware, my bank account is empty, and my MFA thesis is entirely stuck.

Everything I own fits into three bags. When my best friend offers me a free summer housesitting gig in an upscale neighborhood, I take it without hesitation. I expected silence, pristine marble countertops, and a clear path to graduation.

I didn’t expect Valerie Mercer to come home early.

Valerie is forty-six, a luxury home stager, and my best friend’s mother. She lives her life behind a flawless mask of composure, elegance, and control. But when a sudden summer storm knocks out the power, the armor cracks. Trapped together in a candlelit room, a single stolen glass of wine escalates into a fierce, breathless awakening.

For Valerie, it’s the end of a twenty-five-year lie. For me, it’s a terrifying dive into a desire I can no longer rationalize as academic theory.

What starts as a secret summer arrangement quickly evolves into a profound, life-altering bond behind closed doors. But when Valerie's daughter returns home with life-altering news, our secret becomes a ticking clock.

We can hide forever in the safety of a beautifully curated closet, or we can choose to break everything to keep the only real thing we’ve ever felt.

Note: "Crashing at the Cougars" is an emotionally charged, explicit contemporary sapphic romance featuring an age-gap relationship, high subtext, deep emotional healing, and a guaranteed HEA.