It was a cool Thursday evening when Selene found herself once again at the library, a place that had become an unspoken meeting ground for her and Lyra. The familiar scent of aged paper and wood filled the air, and the soft murmur of quiet conversations from other patrons blended into the hum of the library. The lights cast a warm glow across the room, creating a peaceful atmosphere that Selene had come to associate with Lyra.
Tonight was a special evening; a public reading had been scheduled, and although Selene hadn't intended to attend, Lyra had asked her earlier in the week if she'd like to join. It wasn't their usual routine, but it was another opportunity to spend time together. And so, Selene had said yes, excited to see another side of Lyra and to share this new experience with her.
The room was small but filled with people who had gathered for the reading. Selene and Lyra had found seats in the middle of the room, surrounded by strangers who were mostly absorbed in the upcoming performance. Selene, however, couldn't help but notice how closely they were sitting, how close their shoulders were, how their arms brushed against each other every time Lyra shifted in her seat. It wasn't an uncomfortable closeness; it was a closeness that felt almost natural.
As the speaker took the stage and began reading from a newly released novel, Selene found it hard to focus on the words. Her gaze kept drifting toward Lyra, who seemed completely absorbed in the reading. There was something so captivating about her; how her lips barely moved as she read along, how the dim light reflected off her glasses. Every little detail about Lyra seemed magnified in the silence of the room.
Selene shifted in her seat, trying to settle herself. But there was a quiet restlessness inside her. It wasn't just the excitement of being near Lyra; it was something deeper, something she couldn't quite put her finger on. It was the pull, the connection that had been growing between them for weeks now. Every shared glance, every moment of silence, had been adding to it.
And then, it happened.
It was so subtle at first that Selene almost missed it. As Lyra shifted in her seat to adjust her position, her hand brushed against Selene's. Just for a moment, barely a fraction of time, but enough to make Selene freeze. Her hand was resting on the armrest, and the second Lyra's fingers grazed hers, Selene's entire body tensed. A jolt of electricity shot through her, a wave of warmth that left her breathless.
Selene's heart skipped a beat, and she pulled her hand back instinctively. The brief touch had sent her mind into a whirlwind. She glanced at Lyra quickly, but Lyra didn't seem to have noticed the effect the touch had on Selene. She was still focused on the reading, her expression calm, almost serene. But Selene couldn't shake the feeling that something between them had shifted, if only for a moment.
Her thoughts were racing now, her mind replaying the touch over and over. Was it just an accident? A simple, innocent brush of hands in a crowded room? Or had there been something more to it, something Lyra was perhaps unaware of? Selene wasn't sure, but the warmth in her chest was hard to ignore. It was as if their brief contact had ignited something inside her that she hadn't been prepared for.
She shifted slightly in her seat, trying to refocus on the reading, but it was impossible to concentrate. Her thoughts kept drifting back to that moment; the brief, accidental touch. Her fingers still tingled where Lyra's had brushed against them. The pull between them, the connection that had been building, seemed to have intensified in an instant.
Just as the reading came to an end, and people began gathering their belongings, a voice interrupted her thoughts.
"Well, that was a bit more entertaining than I expected!"
Selene turned in surprise to see a woman approaching, her bright smile lighting up her face. The woman was confidently striding toward them, a light laugh escaping her lips as she approached.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt, but I had to comment on how much fun the reading was," the woman continued, her voice warm and friendly. "You two looked like you were really enjoying it!"
Selene blinked, taken aback by the woman's sudden appearance. She noticed how she was immediately drawn to Lyra, her gaze focused on her with a certain spark in her eye. The woman had a confident, almost flirtatious energy about her, and Selene couldn't help but feel a slight tension building between them.
"I'm Eliza," the woman said with a grin, extending a hand to Lyra first, then Selene. "I don't think we've met before. But I've seen you around the library a few times, right?"
From Lyra's Point of View:
Lyra's heart was still humming from the accidental brush of her hand against Selene's. The contact, though brief, had sent a shock of awareness through her that made it difficult to concentrate on the final passages of the reading. She had pretended not to notice Selene's sharp intake of breath, the way she had flinched back. Had she felt it too, that electric current? The hope that maybe, just maybe, this thing between them was not one sided was a fragile, precious thing she held close.
When the reading ended, she was about to turn to Selene, to say something, anything, to break the charged silence between them. But then a voice, bright and unfamiliar, cut through the moment.
Eliza.
Lyra knew her, of course. Eliza was a regular, a postgraduate literature student who always had a clever remark and a disarming smile. She was charming, intelligent, and undeniably attractive. Under different circumstances, Lyra might have been flattered by her attention.
But now, as Eliza's gaze locked onto hers with open interest, Lyra felt a strange sense of interruption, of a moment slipping away. She shook Eliza's hand out of politeness, her own smile feeling tight. "I'm Lyra. This is Selene." She emphasized Selene's name, a subtle attempt to redirect the attention, to include the woman whose presence she truly craved.
She saw the way Eliza's eyes flickered over Selene before returning to her, the invitation for coffee extended to them both, but clearly meant for her Selene alone. Lyra's mind raced. She didn't want to go. She wanted to stay here in this quiet, post reading haze with Selene. She wanted to explore the tension that had just sparked between them.
She looked to Selene, hoping for a sign, for her to refuse the invitation so they could navigate this together. But Selene's face had closed off. The warmth from moments before was gone, replaced by a polite, distant mask. When Selene agreed, a sharp pang of disappointment shot through Lyra.
The thought was unsettling. She felt trapped by her own good manners. To refuse Eliza outright would be rude, and a public spectacle. But to go felt like a betrayal of the unspoken thing growing between her and Selene.
"I can't I have to go somewhere after work" Lyra said politely
"Of course," Eliza said smoothly, her smile not fading. "Another time, maybe."
As Eliza turned to leave, Lyra felt a pull to stay, to explain herself to Selene. But Eliza was already walking away, expecting her to follow. With one last, helpless look at Selene, who stood frozen and distant, Selene turned and went.
Walking out of the library with Eliza chatting brightly beside her, Lyra felt a hollow sense of wrongness. She was physically moving away from the library, but her every thought was back there with Selene. She had seen the look in Selene's eyes before she left; a mix of hurt and withdrawal. She had felt the connection between them, so potent and real just moments before, sever under the weight of the misunderstanding.
She had just gotten a taste of something real with Selene, and now it felt like she was watching it slip through her fingers. The evening air felt cold, and the sound of Eliza's laughter seemed to echo in the space where Selene's quiet presence should have been. A heavy certainty settled in her stomach; she had made a mistake, and she had no idea how to fix it.