Chapter 26 - Midnight kisses

Jay's POV 🌙

Dinner had been a blur of laughter and candlelight. Potato had spent the entire meal waddling between chairs, hoping for scraps, while the adults exchanged stories that made them laugh until tears pricked their eyes.

Across the table, Keifer had been quiet but not withdrawn; he watched more than he spoke, a small smile ghosting at his lips whenever I talked. Sometimes our eyes caught for just a second too long—and then one of us would look away like it hadn't happened.

After dessert, the two twins disappeared upstairs, and the grown‑ups drifted into the living room. The house felt softer without the chatter—just the rustle of curtains and the faint hum of night outside.

I walked out into the garden, half‑hoping the cool air would steady me. The sky shimmered with a pale silver moon, and the little string lights along the fence flickered like weak fireflies. I hugged my arms around myself, breathing in the scent of wet grass.

Of course, I wasn't alone for long.

"Can't stay indoors for five minutes, can you?" Keifer's voice carried behind me—lazy, teasing.

I turned, already smiling. "I could ask you the same thing."

He shrugged, stepping closer until his shadow met mine. "Guess I was curious what you were doing out here."

"Admiring your very dramatic garden," I said, rolling my eyes. "Do you always set the mood like this? Moonlight, fairy lights, perfectly tragic atmosphere…"

He chuckled, low and rough around the edges. "Only when I have company worth setting it for."

My heart jumped. "Wow. You really rehearse this stuff, huh?"

"Maybe," he said, leaning in slightly. "Or maybe you just make it easy to improvise."

I tried to sound unimpressed, but my voice came out softer than I meant. "You're so full of yourself, Keifer."

He tilted his head, mock‑offended. "Full of charm, actually."

"Gago," I muttered, somewhere between a laugh and a whisper. Still shivering.

That made him grin—slow, dangerous, and beautiful all at once. "Careful, Jay," he murmured. "Keep calling me names like that, and I might have to prove you wrong." 

Before I could roll my eyes again, he stepped closer. The space between us thinned to nothing, his hand brushing my cheek as if testing a thought he hadn't yet said aloud. My breath caught, but I didn't move. His warm hand draped his jacket on my shoulder.

"You really should stop talking when you're nervous," he whispered. "It makes it hard to think."

"Then don't think," I whispered back.

The words hung in the air for a heartbeat. Then he did exactly that.

His lips found mine—urgent, certain, and full of all the chaos we'd been dodging all evening. The world around us dimmed to moonlight and heartbeat, the kind of silence that feels alive.

When we finally broke apart, breathing quick and uneven, I stared at him in disbelief and maybe a little wonder.

"You're impossible," I said quietly.

He smiled, thumb brushing lightly against my jaw. "But I'm yours," his teeth grazed my neck as he kissed it.

Somewhere behind us, Potato barked once before settling again. Keifer laughed softly, and I couldn't help but join. While whispering " looks like your dog is jealous "

Under that silver sky, everything felt too bright, too close, too real—and for the first time, I didn't want distance between us.

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