Chapter 9- The First Kiss... Almost
694 Words
The next morning, Lunaris Hills woke to drifting fog and soft golden sunlight. Nami and DJ walked side by side toward the town’s magical greenhouse, where they needed to collect Moonpetal Blossoms for a potion meant to stabilize their tether.
At least, that was the official reason.
Unofficially?
DJ was whistling like he was having the best day of his life, and Nami was pretending very, very hard not to look flustered after yesterday’s… situation with Sofia.
“Why are you smiling?” Nami muttered, kicking a pebble.
“Because someone was jealous yesterday,” DJ said casually.
“I—was—not—jealous,” she said between gritted teeth.
“Tether’s pulsing says otherwise,” he teased.
As if on cue, the faint glowing string connecting their wrists shimmered.
Nami glared at it. “This stupid thing is broken.”
DJ snorted. “Yeah. Broken with feelings.”
She shoved him lightly. “Shut up.”
Inside the Greenhouse
The greenhouse was warm and humid, filled with floating pollen, glowing blossoms, and enchanted vines that shifted gently like sleepy cats. The Moonpetal Blossoms grew on an upper platform accessible by a spiraling wooden ladder.
“Ladies first,” DJ said.
“Why? So you can stare at me from behind?” Nami shot back.
DJ choked. “N-no! I was trying to be polite!”
She climbed anyway. He followed close behind—too close. The tether forced them to climb almost in sync.
“This is ridiculous,” she muttered.
“Yeah,” DJ said softly. “We should sue the magical universe.”
At the top, they stepped into a balcony filled with silver-blue flowers glowing under filtered sunlight. Nami knelt to pick a blossom—just as the floorboards creaked beneath them.
DJ frowned. “Did you hear—”
CRACK.
The platform shook.
Nami gasped. “DJ—”
Before she could stand, the balcony tilted sharply. DJ grabbed her waist instinctively, pulling her against him as the wood beneath their feet snapped.
They fell—
—only for the tether to blaze bright gold and yank them upward midair.
They hovered, suspended in shimmering magic, inches apart, faces practically touching.
Time stopped.
Their breaths mingled.
Her hands were on his chest.
His arms wrapped around her, holding her tight.
“Nami…” DJ whispered, voice raw.
Nami’s heart pounded so loud she was sure he could feel it through his shirt. “DJ… we need to—”
His forehead brushed hers.
She froze. He looked at her, eyes searching, vulnerable—completely different from the confident troublemaker everyone else saw.
“Do you want…?” he began softly.
Nami’s lips parted.
Her mind screamed No.
Her heart whispered Yes.
Her body leaned—just a little—toward him.
The tether glowed brighter, tugging them closer until their noses touched.
DJ whispered, “If you say no, I’ll stop.”
Nami’s breath hitched.
Her voice was barely a whisper.
“I… don’t want you to stop.”
Their lips hovered a single heartbeat away.
DJ’s eyes closed—
—AND SUDDENLY—
A vine slapped DJ in the back of the head.
He yelped.
They both dropped to the floor in a tangled heap as the magic dissipated.
“Ow—Nami, why is the plant attacking me?!”
Nami burst out laughing—actual laughter she couldn’t suppress. “The greenhouse reacts to strong emotions! You almost kissed me so hard the plants panicked!”
DJ sat up, rubbing his head. “We almost kissed. Correction.”
Nami, cheeks burning, stood quickly. “Let’s just… get the Moonpetals.”
He grinned at her, a soft, warm grin she felt all the way to her toes.
“You can pretend this didn’t happen,” he said. “But I won’t.”
Nami tried to glare.
Failed miserably.
Because as they picked the blossoms side by side, she could still feel the ghost of his breath on her lips—and the weight of the moment they almost shared.
And she knew deep down:
The next time the tether pulled them together…
she wouldn’t stop it.
- Writer
