Jade
The woods around the party were darker now, the bonfire’s light fading into a warm, distant glow behind us. I could still hear the laughter and music from the others, but it all felt miles away. All I could focus on was the heavy thrum of my heartbeat and the figure standing just a few steps away from me.
Zade watched me with an intensity that made it hard to breathe. His hands were loose at his sides, but I could tell he was holding himself back. The way his jaw tensed, the way his chest rose and fell like he was battling some internal war, told me everything I needed to know. He was just as affected as I was. Maybe even more.
“You ran away from me,” he said quietly, his voice a rough scrape against the cool night air.
“I didn’t run,” I said, but the words lacked conviction. We both knew the truth.
A slow, crooked smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, but there was nothing playful about it. His eyes stayed locked on mine, dark and deep and full of something I didn’t dare name. He stepped closer, and even though my brain screamed at me to move, my body stayed frozen in place, desperate for what might come next.
“You’re scared,” Zade said, his voice dropping even lower, making the small hairs on my arms stand on end. “But you’re still here.”
The way he said it made something inside me twist painfully. I hated that he could see through me so easily, that he knew I was torn between fear and something much, much stronger.
“You confuse me,” I admitted, my voice barely louder than a whisper.
For a long moment, he said nothing. He just stared at me like he was memorizing every inch of my face. Then he took another step forward, closing the distance between us until there was hardly any space left.
“I’m not trying to confuse you,” he said softly. “I’m just trying to be near you.”
The words hit me like a physical force. My breath caught in my throat, and my chest ached with the effort it took not to lean into him. His scent wrapped around me, earthy, clean, and something uniquely his, and my knees wobbled with the effort of standing upright.
He reached out slowly, giving me every chance to pull away. His fingers brushed against my cheek, so lightly I barely felt it, but the touch was enough to make my whole body come alive. Every nerve sparked to attention, every thought in my head evaporated.
I didn’t know who moved first. Maybe it was me. Maybe it was him. All I knew was that one second there was space between us, and the next there was almost none.
Zade dipped his head toward mine, his eyes flickering down to my lips. My heart pounded so loudly I was sure he could hear it. I tilted my chin up without thinking, desperate and terrified at the same time.
His lips hovered just above mine, the space between them so small it hurt. His breath mingled with mine, warm and shaky. I could see the way his eyelashes trembled, the way his jaw clenched with restraint.
I closed my eyes, ready for the inevitable.
But before our lips could meet, a sharp, piercing laugh echoed through the trees, breaking the spell.
I jerked back, my heart crashing painfully against my ribs. Zade stiffened, his hand dropping away from my face. We both turned toward the sound, toward the reality that we weren’t alone, that the night wasn’t ours to steal.
Anger and frustration surged through me, mixing with the hollow ache of what had almost happened. I took a step back, then another, needing distance from him, from myself.
“Don’t,” I said, my voice cracking under the weight of emotions I couldn’t name.
Zade’s face was carefully blank, but his eyes burned with everything he didn’t say.
“You don’t have to be afraid of me,” he said quietly.
“I’m not afraid of you,” I snapped, even though it was a lie. I was afraid of everything he made me feel, everything he made me want.
“You are,” he said, his voice steady and sad. “But it’s okay. I’ll back off.”