Unseen Scene—Book One, Chapter Nineteen (Nat First Kiss PoV) (Patreon)

This couldn’t have happened more romantically if Nat had planned it…and she had considered such a thing to ensure it would be memorable.

The cart of the Ferris wheel sways gently, lulling her into a deeper trance as she gazes at [Name]. They are wholly captivating under the twinkling lights twisted around the metal frame of the ride. But Nat knows the shimmer in their eyes has nothing to do with the glimmer of the lights.

She knows because she feels the exact same way as what is inspiring that intense gaze from [Name].

With a great effort, she pulls away from the locked stare and turns her head up to the stars above them. There are so many, each seeming to wink their approval at what Nat is thinking.

Now it’s just to find out if [Name] will approve.

She swallows down the uncertainty, trying to bury it beneath the hope and anticipation which courses like electricity beneath her skin. “I’m not sure which one of us has the faster pulse right now. But if I had to guess, I’d say it was me.” A laugh follows the words, more from nervousness than anything else, but she hopes she hides it well.

Their eyes widen. “Are you nervous?”

Nat’s laugh is stronger this time. “Of course I am. Don’t you realise how long I’ve been waiting for this moment?”

They pause for a moment, their thigh brushing the length of hers and causing Nat to almost lose focus from the simple touch.

“And what moment is that?” they ask, sounding far more sure of themselves than she is feeling at that second.

But she won’t allow her fear to ruin this. To take from her this opportunity. To take from her the thought that maybe…they want this just as much.

She angles forward, desperate to close the gap between them in that moment, but she holds back. “Knowing that you’re interested in me too.” She takes a pause to gauge their reaction, though can’t hear their heartbeat with her own thumping so loudly against her ribs. “But I wonder just how much interest. Because I won’t lie, [Name]. I don’t want this to be only one date.”

And there it is. A confession she hadn’t even truly realized herself until the words flowed so easily out of her.

Nat bites at her bottom lip in eager anticipation of their response. When it finally comes, she can’t resist it any longer.

She presses her lips to theirs, sinking into the kiss from the moment they touch.

They taste like sweetness she’s always craved but long denied.

She could lose herself in this. In them. Every guard she’d so carefully erected into place comes crashing down, eroding away further when their fingers grip at her. And she’s not scared—

—but she should be.

If they can so easily cast away her shields, then just how easily could they reveal all of her?

Her gasp forces their kiss apart. [Name] stares at her in sudden concern, but she’s quick to rebuild the defenses she took so long to construct…even if they’ve now left small cracks in the foundations.

“Is everything all right?” they ask, the slight breathlessness of their voice almost tempting Nat right back into another kiss.

She smiles. It’s genuine but weak—fear mingling with euphoria, creating a heady mix that almost makes her mind reel.

Fear tugs at her expression, but she holds it steady, raising a hand to run her fingers down their cheek. “Everything is perfect.”

And it is. Because despite anything else, she knows they belong together.

…The rest she can figure out later.