My new book, WHEN LOVE WENT VICIOUS, is now available. Please visit my profile to check it out and I hope you'll take the time to read it...
I hope u love it✨
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The venue was everything Jay hated -loud, crowded, and dripping in awkward conversations she couldn't escape from. She tugged lightly at the hem of her dress, scanning the room for the bride and groom, or maybe just an open bar.
Keifer nudged her shoulder. "Relax, Jaybird. You look like you're about to bolt."
"I might," she muttered. "Give me one more sentimental toast and I'm out of here."
He laughed low under his breath, but before Jay could say something cutting back, a familiar voice cut through the noise.
"Jay?"
She froze.
Turning, she came face to face with Yuri.
Of course it was Yuri. Same sharp jawline, same casual confidence. His suit was a little tighter across the shoulders now, like life had been kind to him-or at least, kind enough.
"I almost didn't recognize you," Yuri said, glass of champagne dangling loosely from his hand. His eyes flickered to Keifer, then back to her,
the unspoken question thick in the air.
"Heard you got married."
Jay stiffened. "Yeah."
Yuri's gaze sharpened, amused. "Fast, wasn't it?"
Beside her, Keifer shifted slightly. His presence, which she'd always found mildly irritating, suddenly felt...solid. His hand brushed against the small of her back in a touch so casual it could have been missed-if her skin hadn't suddenly gone electric.
Keifer smiled easily, sliding his arm more firmly around her waist. "When you know, you know, right?" he said, voice light but steady.
Yuri's eyes narrowed just a fraction.
"Right. Guess some people don't like to wait around."
Jay opened her mouth, instinctively ready to defend herself-explain, apologize, something-but Keifer beat her to it.
"We figured out pretty quickly we didn't need to waste time proving anything to anyone," Keifer said smoothly, his thumb tracing slow, infuriating circles against her side.
"Some people spend years searching for what we already have."
Jay nearly choked. Was he serious right now?
Yuri's jaw flexed. He looked at Jay a little too long, a little too curiously, before flashing a smile that didn't reach his eyes.
"Well, congrats," he said - then added, after a beat, "Can I borrow you for a minute, Jay? Just to catch up?"
Jay hesitated.
Her fingers tensed around Keifer's, and she felt his presence shift subtly closer a silent anchor. The room suddenly felt hotter, the bass thumping through her ribs. Part of her wanted to say no. Just stand here, let the silence carry her answer. But she hated being cornered. Hated owing people closure.
Keifer's hand gently squeezed hers.
"You don't have to go if you don't want to," he murmured, low enough that only she could hear. "But I'm right here, okay? You're not alone."
Jay looked up at him at the calm steadiness in his face - and something in her chest unknotted just a little. She turned back to Yuri, her voice level, if a touch tight.
"Sure," she said, offering a small, polite smile. "Just a minute."
Keifer's hand slipped from her waist slowly, reluctantly. His face didn't
change, but his eyes did a flicker of caution, of something quietly protective.
"I'll be right back," Jay told him softly.
He gave a single nod, jaw tight but trusting.
Jay followed Yuri through the crowd, the lights spinning dizzy patterns across the floor.
She felt strangely exposed, the distance between her and Keifer suddenly feeling... bigger than it should have.
Yuri leaned against the terrace railing, watching Jay with too-familiar eyes.
"You don't have to do the act with me," he said, his voice low, nearly gentle. "I know this isn't real."
Jay's stomach twisted. She folded her arms, the evening air suddenly too sharp against her skin. "What are you talking about?"
"You and Keifer," Yuri said, gesturing toward the ballroom. "Marriage. The rings. The laughing. It's a performance, Jay. For everyone else, maybe. But not for me."
Jay drew in a slow breath. "It's not a performance."
Yuri stepped toward her. "He's your best friend. He always has been. I remember you used to say you'd never see him that way."
"That was a long time ago," Jay replied, voice tight.
"You used to say it like a rule, not a passing thought," Yuri said. "You said he was like your anchor, not someone you saw yourself waking up next to."
Her jaw clenched. "Things change."
"Or maybe," Yuri said carefully, "you're pretending. Because it's easier than facing what you left behind."
Jay's gaze darkened. "Why do you care?"
He paused, voice dipping softer.
"Because I know you. You're not a liar unless you're protecting someone yourself." or
She looked away, but he stepped closer.
"You don't have to fake it with me," he said. "I know what we had. I know you loved me."
Jay flinched, then slowly turned to face him. "Don't do that."
"Why not?" he said, eyes searching hers. "You used to love me, Jay. Not Keifer. Me."
A silence crackled between them, heavy and suffocating.
Jay exhaled, gaze steady now. "I did love you."
Yuri's expression flickered triumph? Hope? She couldn't tell. It only made her angrier.
"But love doesn't survive when it's being twisted," she added, her voice stronger. "You wanted control, Yuri. Not partnership."
Yuri's expression faltered. "That's not fair-"
"You monitored my decisions. Criticized my friends. Made me second-guess my choices until I didn't know who I was anymore."
His voice rose. "I just wanted what was best for you-"
"No," she cut in. "You wanted what was best for you. What made you comfortable. I gave everything to make you feel secure, and all I got was smaller and smaller until I didn't recognize myself."
Yuri stared at her, stunned.
"I didn't just walk away because you weren't ready to see me," Jay said. "I walked away because I was drowning."
He looked down, voice tight. "So you ran to Keifer?"
"No," she said, voice soft but clear. "Keifer helped me stand. He reminded me of who I was. But I didn't 'run' to anyone. I chose myself first."
"And now you're choosing him?" Yuri asked bitterly.
"Yes. Because he doesn't try to fix me. He stands next to me. That's what love is."
Yuri swallowed hard. "Do you love him?"
Jay hesitated just a breath, then nodded. "Yes. I do."
He looked like she'd slapped him. "But is it real love? Or is it just comfort after the storm?"
"It's peace," she said, voice unwavering. "And after you, peace feels like a miracle."
Yuri turned away briefly, running a hand through his hair. "I never meant to hurt you."
Jay shook her head. "You meant to control me. That's worse."
Jay let out a quiet breath, "With you, I felt like I was always proving myself -waiting to be seen, waiting for permission to breathe. With Keifer, I never have to earn space. He gives it freely."
Yuri looked away, eyes narrowing.
"Ouch," came a drawl from behind them. "Should I be flattered or worried I just walked into a very intense therapy session?"
Keifer stood there, hands in his pockets, eyes flicking between them with a playful lift of his brow. "Sorry to interrupt the very poetic monologue. Should I go back behind the hedge and pretend I never heard that?"
Keifer took a step closer, slipping in beside her, almost instinctively. His presence was light, but grounding.
Jay didn't have to look-she felt the warmth of him settle next to her like a steady anchor.
Yuri's eyes flicked to Keifer and back. His jaw flexed. "We weren't done," he said, voice clipped, gaze fixed on Jay
Jay met his stare calmly. "We are."
Keifer moved beside her again, his hand brushing hers. She took it, this time with purpose.
Yuri didn't say anything. His silence hung in the air, heavy, unanswered.
Jay turned to Keifer, still holding his hand. "Let's go."
Keifer gave Yuri one last unreadable glance before his usual humor returned with a crooked smile. "We've got better places to be. Like literally anywhere else. Oh-and hey, don't forget the cake. Helps with heartbreak." He leaned in slightly, voice faux-sympathetic. "Oooops. Too soon?"
Jay didn't laugh, but her fingers tightened around his.
They walked, slowly at first, side by side. The night air wrapped around them, quiet but not uncomfortable.
Their steps were in sync-unhurried, grounded.
After a few moments, Keifer tilted his head toward her. "You okay?"
Jay nodded. "Yeah. I think I am."
He smiled. "Good. Because that whole 'I gave myself peace' line? Ten out of ten.
Might tattoo it on my chest."
She chuckled, finally, and leaned a little closer. "Maybe don't."
He glanced at her, the edge of his cocky grin softening. "You sure you don't miss him?"
Jay blinked. "Is that a real question or another Keifer joke?"
He held her gaze. "Little of both."
Jay looked at him for a long moment, then said quietly, "Sometimes I miss who I thought we could be. But not who we were."
Keifer stared at her for a moment. Then, finally, he smiled too-this time, quietly.
Keifer tilted his head, eyes glinting with playful challenge. "How about a dance instead?"
Jay blinked. "Now?"
He gestured toward the soft music drifting from inside the house. "We've survived Yuri, declared emotional independence, and served poetic justice. Feels like dance-worthy material."
She hesitated for half a second-then placed her hand in his.
"Lead the way," she said.
He grinned. "Always."
They stepped onto the patio where string lights cast a golden glow, swaying gently in time with the music. Keifer rested a light hand on her waist, their other hands clasped. The steps were unpolished, a little clumsy, full of suppressed laughter.
Jay gasped as her balance faltered, the music and chatter of the room blurring into background static. One misstep-her heel sliding off the edge of Keifer's shoe-and suddenly gravity wasn't hers anymore.
But Keifer moved before she could fall.
His arm shot out, his grip tightening around her waist, catching her with reflexive urgency. The world spun for a moment, and then it stopped-with her in his arms. Pulled flush against him.
They collided-not just bodies, but breath, warmth, proximity. Her palms smacked flat against his chest, fingers instinctively clutching at the fabric of his shirt as if she could anchor herself there. She felt the rapid rise and fall of his breath beneath her hands-steady, solid, alive.
His other hand found the center of her back, sliding up just enough to brace her. His touch was firm, sure, but gentle-like he was afraid she might shatter if he wasn't careful. It sent a shiver up her spine.
And then-
Their faces tilted. Almost imperceptibly.
No thought, no hesitation. Just muscle memory and nearness.
A shared breath. A blink.
Lips met.
Soft.
Electric.
Just a brush. The barest grazing of skin. But it sparked like a live wire, igniting something sharp and breathless between them.
Jay's body went still. Her lips hovered against his, frozen, barely making contact-but her heart? Her heart was a storm. It pounded against her ribs like it wanted out, every beat louder than the music still playing around them.
The kiss wasn't deep or deliberate. It wasn't even meant to happen. And yet -there it was. A moment suspended in space, crackling with heat and confusion.
Her fingers dug tighter into the fabric at his chest, like she could hold onto the second itself. Keifer didn't move, either. His lips had parted slightly, caught somewhere between instinct and restraint. His chest rose beneath her palms, shallow and fast, betraying the stillness of the rest of him. His eyes had fluttered halfway closed, lashes low and hesitant, like he was stuck in the same stunned question she was:
Did that just happen?
The air around them felt charged, too heavy to breathe. Everything else had gone still-the chatter, the room, the music-all swallowed in the silent hum between their mouths.
Jay opened her eyes, just a little, just enough to see him. He was close. Too close. Her breath caught again as she saw the look in his eyes. Wide. Unreadable. Something fierce and quiet flickered behind them, but he didn't speak.
Neither did she.
Their lips lingered-still barely touching, still unsure. The contact was feather-light, almost hesitant. Like both of them were too afraid to deepen it... or break it.
And then, as if by shared signal, they parted.
Just an inch. Just enough.
But it was enough to breathe again.
Jay stepped back slightly, though her hands remained on his chest. Keifer let his arms drop slowly to his sides, fingers brushing against her waist for a heartbeat longer before falling away.
They stared at each other. Wide-eyed. Flushed. Stunned.
Jay's mouth opened, then closed. What was there to say?
Then Keifer's lips twitched. A crooked smile tugged at the edge, breath still catching in his throat.
I knew it," he said, voice low, teasing-but softer than usual. "You kissed me. Classic move. Can't resist the charm."
Jay barked out a surprised laugh. Half nerves, half relief. "I tripped, Keifer."
He shrugged, eyes dancing now, the tension easing slightly from his shoulders. "Sure. You tripped... onto my mouth."
She groaned and dropped her forehead against his chest for half a second before looking up again, her cheeks burning. "Don't flatter yourself."
"Too late," he said smugly. "I'm already writing it in my memoir: The Day Jaybird Finally Caved."
She rolled her eyes, but the fight in it was soft, reluctant. Her hands were still pressed against him. And his gaze hadn't left her once.
The kiss may have been accidental. But the moment that followed-it lingered.
Unspoken.
Unfinished.
The car was silent. Not awkward-but charged, like the air after a lightning strike.
Jay stared out the window, arms folded, her thoughts running loops she couldn't slow down. Her lips still tingled, and her heart was behaving like it had something to prove. Beside her, Keifer drove with one hand on the wheel, the other resting on the gearshift, saying nothing.
The kiss-if it could even be called that-played over in her mind like an accidental confession. Too close. Too fast. Too much.
She glanced at him. His jaw was tight, but there was a flicker of a smirk at the edge of his mouth. He wasn't going to bring it up. Of course he wasn't. Classic Keifer-avoid the moment, wrap it in humor, toss it over his shoulder like a coat too heavy to carry.
They took a turn.
Jay frowned, straightening a little. "This isn't the lane back."
"I know," he said, nonchalant.
She looked around. "Then where are we-?"
He didn't look at her as he cut the engine, just reached over and undid her seatbelt with a click. "You missed the cake while emotionally dueling with Yuri," he said, casually. "Tragic. I thought we'd fix that."
Jay blinked, surprised. Her brows furrowed as she glanced outside-neon letters glowed softly in the glass: her favorite cake shop.
He still wasn't looking at her. Just stepped out, like it wasn't a big deal.
But it was.
The warmth that bloomed in her chest wasn't about the cake. It wasn't even about the kiss. It was the way he noticed. The way he remembered. The way he didn't try to say the perfect thing, just did the small, right thing.
With Yuri, there had always been grand gestures. Words dressed up in poetry. But somehow, she had always felt like she was standing just slightly thing, just did the small, right thing.
With Yuri, there had always been grand gestures. Words dressed up in poetry. But somehow, she had always felt like she was standing just slightly outside the spotlight, trying to earn her place.
But this?
This was Keifer, who caught her when she stumbled, who didn't gloat when she clung to him—well, not too much-and who now remembered she hadn't had dessert.
Jay opened the door and stepped out, her heartbeat a little louder, her smile a little softer.
Maybe, just maybe, the small things were the ones that mattered most.