Chapter 54: Just Dinner
Now I know what I want. You. -Elias
Elias
It took me two days to send the text.
I typed it at least twenty times. Then deleted it twenty-one.
I don’t get nervous.
Not when it matters. Not in the field. Not when lives are on the line.
But this?
This was Liana.
And that made everything different.
Eventually, I settled on this:
hey
you free this weekend?
thought we could grab dinner.
just the two of us.
I stared at it for five minutes. Then hit send.
No emoji. No awkward punctuation. Just… a question.
I put the phone down and went to the kitchen.
Made coffee I didn’t drink. Stared at the wall like it had answers.
The reply came twenty minutes later.
dinner sounds nice
saturday?
I didn’t smile. Not really.
But something in my chest eased. Like a wire finally stopped pulling tight.
-Saturday-
I got there early. Too early.
The restaurant wasn’t fancy. Quiet. No crowds.
Somewhere you could talk without raising your voice.
I picked a table near the window. Then I waited.
And when the door opened, I knew.
Not because of the sound. But because I felt her before I saw her.
She walked in wearing a soft, slate-blue dress. Nothing flashy. Just… her.
Hair pulled back. Lips tinted. Eyes scanning until they landed on me.
And she smiled. Small. Nervous. Real.
I stood up without thinking.
She sat across from me like this was normal. Like we’d done it a hundred times before.
But I could see it in the way she tucked her hands into her lap.
The way she didn’t know where to look.
She was trying to hide it. But she was nervous too.
Good. I didn’t want to be the only one.
We ordered food.
Talked about nothing. classes, Alex, some kid she tutored online who thought “February” was a dinosaur.
She laughed when she told me that.
And I didn’t realize how much I missed the sound until I heard it again.
Then, the food came. And with it, the silence.
The kind where you both know what’s not being said.
I set my fork down.
Looked at her. Really looked.
“Liana,” I said quietly.
She stopped moving. “Yeah?”
I paused.
This was the part where I was supposed to say something smooth. Honest. Brave.
But all I managed was: “I like spending time with you.”
Her lips parted. “Me too.”
A beat. Then another.
“I think about you,” I said. “More than I should.”
She didn’t look away.
She just said: “I like it when you hold me.”
My breath caught.
Not because of the words. But because of the way she said them.
Soft. Scared. But sure.
And in that moment, something broke loose in me.
All the rules. All the restraint. Everything I’d been holding back for too long.
I didn’t touch her. Not yet.
But I leaned in. Close enough to feel her breath.
And said: “Say that again.”
She blinked. Cheeks flushed.
Then whispered, “I like it when you hold me.”
I closed my eyes. Just for a second.
Because that was the sound I’d been waiting for.
And I didn’t even know it until now.
Chapter 55: The Doorstep
A kiss as light as the butterfly. But it turned my world upside down. -Liana
The night was cool when they stepped out of the restaurant. Not cold.
Just enough wind to lift a few strands of her hair, to make her reach up and tuck them behind her ear. and make him wish, for a split second, that he could be the one to do it for her.
Elias walked beside her. Not touching. But every step in sync.
They didn’t speak much. Didn’t need to.
Something had shifted back at the table.
Something subtle, but certain.
Like a door had quietly clicked open between them.
And now the air between their hands felt electric.
Every glance carried weight.
Every second stretched.
When they reached Alex’s apartment, they both paused at the front steps.
Liana turned to face him.
She looked up, that same softness in her eyes from earlier still there.
shy, searching, a little uncertain. But not afraid.
Never afraid of him.
“Thank you,” she said.
“For dinner?”
“For… everything.”
Elias swallowed. He wanted to say something back.
But his mind was full of static.
Of the way her hair caught the light.
Of the way she’d leaned in when he said her name.
Of the words she whispered in the restaurant that were still burning somewhere under his ribs.
He took a breath. Stepped a little closer.
Not enough to cross the line. Just enough for her to feel it.
His voice was low. Rough. “You didn’t eat your dessert.”
She blinked, lips twitching. “I was full.”
“You ordered it.”
“You told me to.”
“I didn’t think you’d listen.”
“I usually don’t.”
They were both smiling now. Barely. But it was real.
Elias exhaled. Lifted a hand. slow, careful, watching her the whole time.
And when she didn’t flinch, didn’t step back, didn’t do anything but look up at him like he was the only person in the world.
He leaned in. And pressed a kiss to her forehead.
Not rushed. Not casual. A quiet, deliberate promise.
Liana closed her eyes. Just for a second.
When she looked up again, he was still there. Still close.
And for a moment, she almost said it.
Almost.
But instead, she whispered, “Good night, Elias.”
His name never sounded like that before.
Not like a question.
Not like a wish.
He nodded, voice low. “Good night, Liana.”
She turned and walked up the steps.
He didn’t leave until the door clicked shut behind her. Didn’t move.
Just stood there on the sidewalk, staring at the door like something sacred had just happened.
Because maybe, it had.
Chapter 56: A Girl Thing
I like him. -Liana
Liana
I tried to walk in like it was no big deal.
Key in the lock. Door open. Quiet steps. Normal.
But I wasn’t fooling anyone.
“Back already?” Alex’s voice came from the couch. She didn’t look up from her phone.
I toed off my shoes. “It wasn’t that late.”
She hummed. “Sure. You just missed the perfect window to avoid me asking how it went.”
I froze in the hallway.
She finally looked up. Then sat up straighter.
“Oh my god.” Her eyes narrowed. “You’re glowing.”
“I’m not.”
“You absolutely are.”
“I just—”
“Don’t say you just had dinner. If you say you just had dinner I swear I will scream.”
I bit my lip.
Alex dropped the blanket from her lap and stood.
“Sit down. Tell me everything.”
I hesitated. Then sat.
Clutched a throw pillow like it could save me from spontaneous combustion.
Alex leaned in. “Did he touch you?”
“What? No— I mean—” I turned red so fast I felt heat behind my ears.
She gasped. “Oh my god. He touched you.”
I buried my face in the pillow. “Not like that!”
“Then how?”
A pause.
Then, muffled against the fabric, I said, “He kissed my forehead.”
Silence.
Then Alex screamed into the air. “I knew it!”
I yanked the pillow tighter. “Stop.”
“Don’t you dare make me stop. That’s adorable. That’s— that’s classic romance movie material. Did you die? I would’ve died.”
I peeked up at her, cheeks still burning.
She sat beside me like she was physically restraining herself from shaking me.
“Well?! How did it feel?!”
I swallowed. “Like my heart was too big for my chest.”
Alex melted into the couch.
“God, I miss being twenty and falling for the one guy who makes the world tilt.”
I laughed. Barely. But it was there. Soft. Real.
Then I whispered, “I think I’m in trouble.”
Alex tilted her head. “The good kind?”
I nodded.
“He makes me feel… seen. Safe. And now it’s like— every time he looks at me, I can’t breathe.”
She smiled. “That’s not trouble, babe. That’s the beginning.”
I leaned my head on the back of the couch. Stared at the ceiling.
“I like him.”
Alex grinned. “You told him?”
My eyes went wide. “Of course not!”
“Then you better fix that.”
I rolled my eyes. “He’s Elias. He notices everything.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Girl, Elias is a dense, emotionally constipated, morally tormented SWAT team leader with exactly zero idea how to handle being in love. You’re gonna have to help him out a little.”
I smiled again. This time… I didn’t stop it.
Because it was real.
Because it was mine.
Because it was him.
Chapter 57: The Line
I want more than that kiss. A lot more. -Elias
Elias
I shouldn’t have kissed her. Not even on the forehead.
It was barely a second. A whisper of contact.
The softest touch I could manage without crossing the line. But it still crossed something.
Because now I couldn’t stop thinking about it.
Her skin.
Her breath.
The way she blinked up at me like I’d just rewired her whole world.
And mine.
I sat on the edge of my bed, elbows on my knees, replaying the moment like a man torturing himself on purpose.
She didn’t pull away.
She leaned into it.
She wanted it.
But that didn’t make it safe.
Didn’t make it okay.
Didn’t mean I had any right.
I ran both hands through my hair. Stared at the floor like it might know what to do.
This wasn’t some passing crush.
Wasn’t lust.
Wasn’t confusion.
I wanted her. Not just her body.
Her laugh.
Her stubbornness.
The way she wore that damn necklace every day like it meant something sacred.
It did mean something.
I gave it to her. I gave her everything.
I looked at my phone again. Nothing.
No new message.
No “goodnight.”
No “thanks for today.”
And that was fine. I told her to text me when she got home, and she did.
That was enough. Except it wasn’t.
I wanted more. I wanted her to say she felt it too.
That it wasn’t just me.
That I hadn’t imagined the shift in the air when I touched her.
I typed out five different messages. Deleted all of them.
I couldn’t push.
I wouldn’t push.
Not with her.
But if she came back…
If she gave me even the smallest sign…
I’d stop pretending I didn’t want this. Didn’t want her.
Because this time?
This wasn’t about guilt. Or obligation. Or protecting what was broken.
This was want. Real. Steady. Blinding.
And I was done running from it.
So I picked up my phone.
Typed one more message.
Didn’t delete it this time.
Dinner, Friday? Just us.
Chapter 58: First Time All Over Again
Us. I like the sound of that. -Liana
Liana
I didn’t know what to wear. Which was stupid.
It wasn’t prom.
It wasn’t an interview.
It wasn’t even a real date, technically.
Except… it was. Our first.
Just me and Elias, on purpose, not because I was sick or crying or running from something.
Just… together. Because we wanted to be.
I stared at the mirror like it was judging me.
“Too casual?” I asked no one. Then changed my top for the fourth time.
When the knock came, my heart flew into my throat.
I opened the door.
He was standing there in jeans and a dark button-down, sleeves rolled just once, like he didn’t even try and still looked like every woman’s mistake and every girl’s dream.
His mouth twitched. “Hi.”
I blinked. “Hi.”
He held out his hand.
A pause.
“Ready?”
I nodded. Slipped my fingers into his palm.
It was the first time I held his hand like that.
Not because I was scared.
Not because I was cold.
Just because I wanted to.
His thumb brushed mine once. I didn’t let go.
He drove us to a quiet little Italian place on the edge of the city. dim lighting, soft music, the kind of place where no one rushed you and the bread was always warm.
We sat across from each other, menus between us.
I couldn’t stop smiling.
He looked so serious, but his knee bounced under the table.
I wanted to ask if he was nervous. But I already knew the answer.
So I leaned forward. “You okay?” I asked.
He looked up. “Yeah.”
Then finally, he smiled.
“I just… haven’t done this in a long time.”
“What? Eaten pasta?”
He huffed a quiet laugh. “No. This.”
I tilted my head.
“Something that matters.”
After dinner, we walked back to the truck in silence.
Not awkward. Just full. Like the air had weight.
We weren’t talking because we didn’t have anything to say.
We weren’t talking because we had too much.
I glanced at him. He glanced at me.
Then, like we rehearsed it in another life.
His hand brushed mine.
I looked down.
He didn’t grab it. Didn’t pull. Just hovered.
Like he was asking without words.
So I reached. Linked my fingers with his. Held on.
He squeezed gently. Didn’t let go.
And neither did I.
When he stopped in front of Alex’s place, neither of us moved.
The radio was off.
Streetlamps flickered outside.
I looked at him.
He looked at me.
And for a second, I forgot how to breathe.
“I had fun,” I said.
His voice was low. “Me too.”
I should’ve unbuckled. Should’ve opened the door.
But instead I whispered, “I like this.”
“What?”
“This,” I said, barely louder than the night. “Us. This feeling.”
He didn’t kiss me.
He just leaned forward.
Rested his forehead against mine.
And whispered back, “Me too.”
