My Kind of Crazy

Two

Eve’s POV

The curtain had barely settled before the noise came rushing back.

It was too loud again, like the whole place was waiting for something to happen and I was already part of it whether I wanted to be or not.

Then, a microphone clicked on, and the announcer’s voice came through, like this was some kind of show instead of whatever mess I’d just gotten pulled into.

“Alright everyone, our mystery couple is ready.”

My stomach dropped immediately.

No. We were not.

I shifted back on instinct, but there was nowhere to go. The curtain behind me didn’t feel like a barrier anymore, just something barely there between me and a crowd I didn’t ask to face.

“This one is special,” the announcer went on. “A blind pairing requested by one of our alumni.”

The crowd reacted right away. I could hear their excitement, laughter mixing with curiosity, like they were watching something unfold instead of me standing here trying to understand how I got here.

“Let’s begin,” the announcer announced, excitement clear in his voice. “Do you, our mystery groom, take this woman as your bride?”

Everything went quiet in a way that felt heavier than the noise.

“I do.”

No hesitation, no pause, he just answered it like it was the easiest thing in the world, and something in my chest twisted at how sure he sounded, like I was never a question to him at all.

That alone should’ve been enough to make me step back.

“And do you, our mystery bride, take this man as your groom?”

My nerves rising as a thin layer of sweat broke through before I ever had the chance to pull back.

I should have said no.

I really should have.

“I do.”

It came out too fast, before I could think better of it, like I was being pulled into something I couldn’t fight.

The crowd exploded the second the words left my mouth, cheers and whistles crashing over each other, loud and wild, like they’d been waiting for that exact answer all along.

“Let’s see the couple!” The announcer sang out the words, then called to the crowd, “Are you ready?” like this was all part of a show.

The crowd’s response barely registered before the curtain was pulled back, like there was nowhere left for me to hide.

And then his voice came again, like this was sweet and ordinary and not completely ruining my life.

“You may kiss the bride.”

My heart jolted, then seemed to freeze for a beat, and my hand curled tighter around the bouquet, like it was the only thing keeping me steady.

I opened my mouth, but I don’t even know what I was going to say, before anything came out, he moved closer.

What the hell.

His presence pulled the air right out of my lungs.

And God, he looked sinfully good up close.

His dark eyes locked on mine, and for one suspended moment, everything else faded into nothing, the festival, the noise, even the people around us.

And then, he leaned down, and the kiss landed like a spark in the middle of the crowd, igniting through my veins like fire.

It wasn’t soft. It wasn’t playful. It was demanding, like he already knew I was his to claim. My world spun, and for a second, I couldn’t tell what was real anymore. Then heat rushed through me, stealing my breath while my heart lost all sense of how to beat.

And when he pulled me closer, I kissed him back, feeling the faint curve of his smirk against mine.

For a second after, I was almost out of breath as I slowly opened my eyes.

Then it hit me.

It was my first kiss, stolen in front of everyone.

Too late.

Too loud in my head.

I shoved his chest like I could push the moment away, and both of us were still catching our breath as I stepped back.

But the silence didn’t last.

It broke first.

Then it exploded.

Gasps came in sudden, then voices burst all at once, too loud, like the whole place couldn’t decide whether to scream or laugh.

“WAIT SHE KISSED HIM BACK?”

“No way, did you see that?”

And just like that, the noise crashed over me in waves, and my face burning hotter as I stood frozen, suddenly aware of every single pair of eyes on us.