It was strange, how life could change in one kiss.
One moment, Mira was walking through life with a carefully curated routine—work, dinner, sleep, rinse, repeat. The next, she was waking up with thoughts of Jace filling the spaces where logic used to live.
Her phone buzzed when she was halfway through her morning coffee. A text from him.
Jace: Morning.
She smiled before she even opened it, and replied quickly.
Mira: Morning. Did you survive the toaster?
Jace: Barely. I think I'm a little more of a "toaster whisperer" than I thought.
Mira laughed aloud, the sound of it feeling good in the quiet of her apartment.
Mira: I always knew you had that vibe.
Jace: I'm multi-talented.
Mira: I bet you have a secret life as a ninja, too.
Jace: Only on weekends. But don't worry—I'm not sneaking into your windows.
Mira paused at that, the playful mood vanishing for a heartbeat. She'd been so caught up in the flirtation of it all that she hadn't thought about boundaries.
Mira: Good. Because if you did, I'd have to call the cops.
Jace: I'd let you. They'd probably enjoy the story.
She could almost hear the wry smile in his words.
---
Later that day, she walked into his shop again, mostly out of habit. She didn't really need anything. But it felt like it had become the only place she knew where things weren't complicated.
And there he was, in the same corner, fingers deep inside a gutted old smartphone. His brow furrowed, lips slightly pursed as he worked. She caught herself watching him, again. Not just the way his hands moved, but the way his entire focus seemed to be devoted to the task. It was like nothing else existed for him in that moment.
"You're back," he said without looking up.
"I'm always back," she replied, leaning against the counter.
"Not always," he muttered, his voice taking on a strange tone, like he was considering something just out of reach.
Mira glanced at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"
He shrugged but didn't answer right away. Finally, he met her gaze, something raw in his eyes.
"Maybe I'm just tired of the quiet," he said, his voice softer than usual.
Mira blinked, a knot forming in her stomach. "What does that mean?"
"It means I don't know how to do this... whatever this is, with you. It's too much quiet. Too many thoughts and not enough words."
She froze, unsure how to respond to that honesty. She'd expected jokes. Flirtation. Not this—this rawness that made her feel exposed.
"I'm not sure I'm ready for that either," she whispered.
He smiled faintly, a shadow of something unspoken passing through his expression. "I guess we're both figuring it out, huh?"
She nodded, fighting the strange pull in her chest. He was right. They were both trying to navigate something that neither of them had planned for.
---
As the evening wore on, the shop grew quieter. The sky outside darkened, and the city's hum filled the space between them, making the air thick with unspoken words. The closer she got to Jace, the more she realized that this wasn't just about the sparks they felt, the physical attraction, or the way their lives had collided so suddenly. There was something deeper. Something more intense.
But she didn't know how to define it. Or how to protect it.
"Are you okay?" Jace's voice broke through her thoughts, low and steady.
"Yeah," she said, looking up at him. "I'm just... thinking."
"About?"
Her breath caught. "About how this isn't just about us anymore, is it?"
He raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
"I don't know. This—" she gestured vaguely between them, "—it's like we're both holding on to something we don't fully understand."
Jace was quiet for a long time, his gaze never leaving hers. Then, he shook his head. "You're right. We don't understand it. But that doesn't mean we can't figure it out together."
Her heart skipped a beat.
There it was. The promise in his words, hanging in the air like a delicate thread between them.
---
After that, Mira didn't know how to feel.
It wasn't that she was afraid. But something had shifted, something subtle and powerful, like the first hint of a storm on the horizon. She couldn't ignore it. She didn't want to ignore it.
As she left the shop, the weight of the unspoken words lingered, settling over her like a heavy blanket. She had no idea what would happen next. But she knew that Jace had somehow, quietly, completely disrupted her world.
And in a strange way, she was okay with that.