Almost
647 Words
Chapter 5 ~
It started with one message.
Leo: “Good morning. Don’t skip breakfast.”
Mia had barely opened her eyes when she saw it. She wasn’t a morning person, but something about seeing his name on her screen made her smile before she even got out of bed. She replied with a sleepy emoji and a photo of her coffee.
From that day on, it became their rhythm. Morning updates, random photos of what they were eating, short calls during lunch breaks. At night, their conversations stretched for hours from favorite songs to childhood memories, to the way they’d describe their “perfect day.”
It was dangerous, Mia thought. Dangerous how natural it felt. Dangerous how his voice was starting to feel like home.
By Friday afternoon, the sky turned a moody shade of gray. Within minutes, heavy rain blurred the city lights into glowing streaks.
Her phone buzzed.
Leo: “Still at the office? Don’t leave. I’m picking you up.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I have an umbrella,” she typed back.
Leo: “Too late. I’m here.”
When she stepped out of the lobby, there he was leaning on his motorcycle, helmet in one hand, umbrella in the other. His hoodie was zipped halfway, revealing just a hint of the white shirt underneath. Raindrops clung to his lashes, and that lopsided grin of his made her heart trip over itself.
“You’re insane,” she said, shaking her head.
“And yet you’re smiling,” he replied, offering his umbrella. “Let’s walk.”
They ended up in a small cafe a few streets away. The rain drummed on the roof while warm light wrapped around them. They sat in the corner booth, away from the few other customers.
“You ever notice,” Leo said, stirring his coffee lazily, “that when it rains, the world feels slower?”
“Or maybe we just notice more,” Mia countered, gazing out the window.
He leaned forward, resting his chin on his hand, eyes fixed on her. “Like how I notice you frown when you’re thinking.”
She turned to him, surprised. “Do I?”
“And how you tap your fingers on the table when you’re impatient,” he added.
Mia raised an eyebrow. “Observant ka pala.”
“Only when I want to be,” he said, his voice lower now.
Her pulse jumped, and she had to take a sip of coffee to mask it.
When they stepped out of the café, the rain had softened to a drizzle. They walked close under the umbrella, so close that the back of his hand brushed hers again and again — until finally, he caught her fingers in his.
She glanced up at him, but he kept his eyes forward, as if holding her hand was the most natural thing in the world.
At a quiet street corner, they stopped. He turned toward her, the city lights reflecting in his eyes.
“You have no idea how hard it is,” he said softly.
Mia blinked. “Hard to… what?”
“To not kiss you right now.”
Her breath caught. For a moment, the rain, the traffic, the whole world faded. He leaned in slightly, close enough for her to feel the warmth radiating from him, close enough for her to smell the faint trace of his cologne.
And then a car horn blared nearby, breaking the spell. She laughed nervously, stepping back, though her heart was racing.
At her gate, he didn’t let go of her hand immediately. “I’ll see you tomorrow?” he asked.
She squeezed his fingers before slipping away. “Yes.”
As she entered her house, her lips curved into a smile she couldn’t stop. Her hand still tingled where his had been.
Almost. But not for long.
- Writer
