JAY'S POV
I shouldn't have agreed to this date.
That was the first thought in my head as I stared at myself in the mirror.
The dress was black. Not just black—dangerous black. It hugged my waist perfectly, the fabric smooth and sleek against my skin, the skirt falling just enough to make it elegant without trying too hard. My hair rested softly over my shoulders, and the gloss on my lips caught the light every time I moved.
I took a deep breath.
It was just a date.
Just Keifer.
The door opened behind me.
My eyes met his reflection in the mirror.
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Keifer wore black too. A fitted black button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled slightly, dark trousers, and that calm, dangerous look he always carried like it was natural.
But tonight something was different.
He froze.
Completely.
His eyes slowly moved over me—from my heels, to my waist, to my lips.
And then he bit his lip.
Hard.
I turned around, raising an eyebrow.
"What?"
He cleared his throat, running a hand through his hair like he needed a second to recover.
"Nothing."
"You're staring."
"I'm observing."
I crossed my arms.
"You're weird."
Keifer looked away for a second, but when his eyes came back to me, they stopped at my lips again.
He bit his lip again.
I narrowed my eyes.
"Why do you keep doing that?"
"Doing what?"
"That."
I pointed at his mouth.
He looked completely unbothered.
"You're imagining things."
Liar.
I grabbed my bag and walked toward the door before he could say anything else.
"Come on. We're going to be late."
But even as I walked past him, I could feel it.
His eyes were still on me.
And somehow that made my heart beat faster.
KEIFER'S POV
This was a mistake.
Not the date.
The dress.
The lip gloss.
The way she looked tonight.
Jay walked ahead of me toward the car like nothing was wrong, like she hadn't just destroyed my self-control in under five seconds.
That dress hugged her waist perfectly.
Her hair rested softly over her shoulders.
And her lips—
I bit my lip again.
"Stop staring," she said suddenly.
I looked away.
"I'm not staring."
"You are."
She turned to look at me, suspicious.
"You've been doing it all night."
I opened the car door for her.
"You're imagining things."
She rolled her eyes but got in anyway.
The drive to the restaurant felt longer than usual.
Mostly because every time she spoke, every time she laughed, my eyes drifted back to her lips.
The gloss made them shine under the streetlights.
It was torture.
When we finally sat down at the restaurant, I forced myself to look anywhere else.
The menu.
The lights.
The table.
Anything but her mouth.
"Keifer."
I looked up.
She was staring at me.
"What?"
"You're doing it again."
"Doing what?"
"That thing with your lip."
I hadn't even realized I was biting it again.
"Habit," I said calmly.
She narrowed her eyes.
"Sure."
If she only knew the reason.
The waiter came and took our orders, leaving us alone again.
Jay leaned forward slightly while talking, completely unaware of what she was doing to my focus.
My eyes flickered to her lips again.
I bit my lip again.
Dangerous.
Very dangerous.
KEIFER'S POV
The waiter placed the plates down between us.
Jay's eyes lit up immediately.
She leaned forward, completely focused on the food in front of her.
I tried to focus on my plate.
Tried.
But the restaurant lights reflected off her lip gloss again.
I bit my lip.
Again.
"Keifer."
I looked up.
She was staring at me.
"You're doing it again."
"Doing what?"
"That," she said, pointing at my mouth.
I grabbed my fork like nothing happened.
"Eat your food."
For a few minutes, things were peaceful.
Then Jay leaned slowly across the table.
My eyes narrowed.
"Don't."
She froze.
"What?"
"I know that look."
"What look?"
"The one where you steal my food."
She blinked innocently.
"I would never."
Before I could stop her—
Her fork darted across the table and grabbed food from my plate.
I stared at her.
She calmly placed it in her mouth.
"Jay."
She chewed like nothing happened.
"That was mine."
She shrugged.
"You have more."
I leaned back in my chair, watching her in disbelief.
"You literally ordered your own plate."
"Yes," she said, stealing another bite from my plate, "but yours looks better."
I laughed quietly.
"You're unbelievable."
By the time we finished eating, half my plate was gone.
And she looked very pleased with herself.
JAY'S POV
The night air felt cool when we stepped outside.
The city lights reflected softly on the pavement as we walked toward the car.
Keifer had been strangely quiet since dinner.
But I kept catching him staring at me again.
"Stop staring," I said.
"I'm not staring."
"You've said that already."
He just opened the car door for me.
The drive home was quiet.
Not awkward quiet.
Heavy quiet.
When we reached the house, everything was dark and calm.
No voices.
No noise.
Section E wasn't there.
Kegain and Keiren weren't there either.
Just us.
I kicked off my shoes and walked down the hallway toward the bedroom.
Keifer followed behind me.
I pushed the door open and stepped inside.
Then I heard it.
Click.
I turned around.
Keifer was standing by the door.
He had locked it.
My eyes slowly lifted to meet his.
He leaned back against the door, arms crossed, watching me quietly.
His expression had changed.
His eyes were darker now.
Something in my stomach flipped.
The room suddenly felt smaller.
Much smaller.
(check their outfits - in the comments)