"He kissed my forehead. I melted."— Liana
I like him.
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.
💬 "He kissed my forehead"—do you think he knows what that meant to her?
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