This is the part where one of usshouldstep back.
We don’t.
She tilts her head, almost imperceptible, like she’s trying to line up a decision she hasn’t fully made yet. Her fingers curl against the edge of the counter behind her, grounding herself. Or maybe bracing.
I feel the moment narrowing, collapsing in on itself until there is onlythis.
Only her.
Her eyes search mine, and there’s a question there she doesn’t put into words.
It isn’t uncertainty.
It’s permission.
Or maybe a warning.
My pulse kicks hard against my ribs, sudden and unignorable, almost as if my body has finally caught up to something my heart decided a long time ago. Every instinct I have starts narrowing toward her, toward the space between us that feels charged with more than just proximity.
I don’t step back.
But I don’t stay still either.
Something in my posture shifts—a fraction closer, a breath shorter—and the awareness of her becomes overwhelming in the silence, in the way her chest rises and falls, in the way her mouth parts just slightly like she’s already bracing for impact.
We are both leaning closer.
Not enough to be obvious.
Enough to be inevitable.
There’s a suspended second where we both realize it at the same time, the exact instant where restraint dissolves and choice takes over.
Her hand lifts, fingers grazing my arm as though she needs to confirm I’m real. The contact sends a sharp, electric line of sensation straight through me, lighting up nerves I didn’t know were waiting. My hand moves to her waist without conscious thought, as I pull her to me like a lifeline, grounding us both while the last inch of distance disappears.
And then we collide.
It’s not gentle.
It’s long overdue.
The first touch of her mouth against mine lands like a detonation, bright and overwhelming, a rush of heat andrecognition that feels less like discovery and more like something long denied finally breaking loose. It’s messy, breaths catching, the rhythm unsure for half a heartbeat before instinct takes over.
Fireworks is too small a word for it.
It feels like gravity is changing direction.
Like the world tilting and expecting us to keep standing.
She makes a soft, startled sound against my mouth, and I draw her closer without thinking, the kiss deepening into something that feels expected. Every nerve in my body lights up at once, a flood of sensation that makes it impossible to pretend this is anything less than seismic.
There is no careful testing.
There is only impact.
Only heat.
Only the dizzying certainty thatthischangeseverything.
