Chapter 7 – The Almost Moment
396 Words
The company had organized a weekend team-building trip to a mountain resort. Amara almost begged off—Jerome hadn’t been feeling well, and she hated leaving him—but he insisted.
“Go,” he said with a weak smile. “You need a break. Don’t worry about me.”
Reluctantly, she agreed.
The resort was nestled in mist and pine trees, the air sharp with the scent of rain-soaked earth. Amara tried to lose herself in the laughter of her colleagues, but somehow, she always found herself near Lorenzo.
It happened during a hiking activity. The trail was slick with mud, and Amara’s foot slipped. Before she could stumble, Lorenzo’s hand shot out, gripping her wrist tightly.
“Careful,” he murmured.
His hand lingered longer than necessary, the warmth of his touch pulsing through her skin. She pulled away quickly, cheeks burning.
Later that evening, after the bonfire, Amara stepped out onto the veranda of the lodge, needing air. The night was quiet except for the distant crackle of firewood and the chorus of crickets.
She nearly jumped when Lorenzo appeared beside her.
“You’re restless,” he said softly.
“I just needed space,” she replied.
They stood in silence for a moment, the night wrapping around them. Then Lorenzo spoke again, his voice low, dangerous:
“You feel it too, don’t you?”
Amara’s breath caught. “Feel what?”
“This… whatever it is between us.” His gaze locked on hers, unflinching.
She wanted to deny it. To laugh, to call him arrogant. But the words tangled in her throat.
Instead, she whispered, “You’re crossing a line.”
“Maybe,” he said, stepping closer. “But so are you—every time you don’t walk away.”
Her pulse thundered. The space between them shrank, just a breath away from something she shouldn’t allow.
Then, as if the universe intervened, someone called her name from inside. Amara jerked back, her face flushed.
“I have to go,” she said quickly, slipping past him before the temptation could consume her.
That night, as she lay in her room, Amara clutched her phone, staring at Jerome’s last message: Sleep well. I’ll be fine.
Her heart twisted with guilt. She had almost betrayed him. Almost.
But the danger wasn’t in what had happened.
It was in what almost had.
- Writer
