The Almost Kiss
1232 Words
The ring changed everything.
Not because it erased the pain.
Not because it fixed the years they'd lost.
But because it made those years real.
Before, their relationship had existed mostly in memories.
Old photographs.
Scattered emotions.
Lingering regrets.
Now there was something tangible.
A physical reminder that Noah hadn't simply loved her once.
He had planned a future with her.
A future someone else had stolen.
And ever since he'd opened that little black box, neither of them had been quite the same.
That evening, the city glowed beneath the hotel balcony.
Traffic lights flickered like distant stars.
Music drifted faintly from somewhere below.
The world continued moving.
Completely unaware that Emma's heart was slowly falling apart and rebuilding itself at the same time.
She stood alone on the balcony.
Wrapped in a light sweater.
Trying to process everything.
The cool night air helped.
A little.
Not enough.
A familiar presence appeared behind her.
She didn't need to turn around.
She knew.
Always knew.
Noah handed her a mug.
Hot chocolate.
Her favorite.
Emma stared.
"You remember?"
His smile was small.
Almost shy.
"You used to drink it whenever you couldn't sleep."
Her throat tightened.
Another memory.
Another detail.
Another reminder that Noah had never truly forgotten her.
"Thank you."
He nodded.
Then moved beside her.
Close.
Not touching.
The distance felt deliberate.
Respectful.
Necessary.
And somehow harder than if he'd touched her at all.
For several minutes, they simply stood together.
Watching the city.
Sharing silence.
The kind of silence that only exists between people who know each other too well.
Eventually, Emma laughed softly.
Noah glanced over.
"What?"
She shook her head.
"I was just thinking."
"Dangerous."
She rolled her eyes.
"You're impossible."
"There she is."
The familiar phrase made her smile.
Noah noticed immediately.
Of course, he did.
His gaze lingered.
Longer than it should have.
Long enough for Emma's pulse to quicken.
The air shifted.
Subtly.
Dangerously.
Neither looked away.
And suddenly the city disappeared.
The traffic disappeared.
The lights disappeared.
There was only Noah.
Only the man she'd loved for years.
Only the man standing a few inches away.
Only the impossible gravity that kept pulling them together.
Emma swallowed.
Hard.
Noah's eyes dropped briefly.
To her mouth.
Then returned to hers.
The movement lasted less than a second.
She felt it anyway.
Every nerve ending in her body was noticed.
And judging by the way Noah's jaw tightened, he realized she'd noticed.
Neither moved.
Neither spoke.
The tension became unbearable.
The kind of tension that existed right before something happened.
Or right before someone stopped it.
Emma wasn't sure which outcome scared her more.
"Do you remember our first date?"
The question slipped out unexpectedly.
Noah blinked.
The sudden shift clearly caught him off guard.
Then he laughed softly.
"Which one?"
Emma smiled.
"Fair point."
Their first official date had technically happened three times.
The first attempt ended when Noah got food poisoning.
The second ended when Emma accidentally locked her keys inside her car.
The third had finally succeeded.
Mostly.
Noah leaned against the railing.
"You wore a yellow dress."
Emma froze.
"What?"
His smile widened.
"Yellow dress."
Her eyes narrowed.
"No way."
"I remember."
"You're lying."
"I'm not."
"You absolutely are."
Noah laughed.
The sound wrapped around her heart.
Warm.
Familiar.
Dangerous.
"You spilled ketchup on it."
Emma groaned.
"Oh my God."
His grin became unbearable.
"You cried."
"I did not."
"You absolutely did."
"I was seventeen."
"You cried."
Emma threw a napkin at him.
Noah caught it effortlessly.
Still laughing.
For a moment, everything felt normal.
Easy.
Like the years between them didn't exist.
Like heartbreak wasn't sitting quietly beneath the surface.
The realization hurt.
Because she'd forgotten how fun-loving Noah had been.
Not dramatic.
Not complicated.
Just fun.
He'd always made her laugh.
Always made life feel lighter.
Even when everything else felt heavy.
The laughter faded gradually.
Leaving something softer behind.
Something quieter.
Something infinitely more dangerous.
Their eyes met again.
And this time neither looked away.
The distance between them suddenly felt very short.
Too small.
Emma's pulse hammered against her ribs.
Noah looked at her the way he used to.
The way nobody else ever had.
As though she was the most important thing in the room.
The most important thing in the world.
Emotion swelled inside her chest.
Too much emotion.
Too many memories.
Too much history.
Five years of love and loss standing between them.
Noah took a step closer.
Not much.
Barely noticeable.
Enough.
Emma stopped breathing.
The city lights reflected in his eyes.
Blue.
Beautiful.
Familiar.
His gaze dropped to her mouth again.
Slower this time.
Less accidental.
More intentional.
The realization sent heat rushing through her body.
Neither moved.
Neither seemed capable of moving.
The moment stretched.
Long.
Fragile.
Perfect.
Emma knew exactly what was happening.
So did Noah.
The air practically vibrated around them.
One more step.
One more second.
One more breath.
And—
A phone rang.
The sound shattered everything.
Emma jumped.
Noah closed his eyes.
Apparently contemplating murder.
The phone continued ringing.
Insistently.
Relentlessly.
Cruelly.
Emma glanced at the screen.
Martin.
Her editor.
Of course.
Naturally.
The universe clearly had a sense of humor.
A terrible one.
Neither moved immediately.
Both stills caught in the wreckage of the interrupted moment.
Finally, Emma answered.
"Hello?"
Martin's voice exploded through the speaker.
"Where are you?"
Emma blinked.
"Hotel?"
"Turn on the news."
Every muscle in her body tensed.
Something in his tone felt wrong.
Very wrong.
Noah noticed immediately.
His expression sharpened.
"What happened?" Emma asked.
Martin exhaled heavily.
"Somebody leaked information."
Her stomach dropped.
The words landed like ice water.
"What kind of information?"
The silence that followed was enough to terrify her.
Then Martin answered.
"The kind that's about to make your life very complicated."
Ten minutes later, Emma and Noah stood in front of the hotel television.
A sports news network filled the screen.
Breaking news banners flashed repeatedly.
Images cycled across the broadcast.
Noah.
Emma.
Photographs from the airport.
The restaurant.
The hotel.
The arena.
Dozens of them.
Some recent.
Some older.
All carefully selected.
All designed to tell a story.
A very specific story.
Emma's blood ran cold.
The headline appeared beneath the images.
CHAMPIONSHIP CAPTAIN IN SECRET RELATIONSHIP WITH JOURNALIST COVERING TEAM
"Oh no."
Noah's jaw clenched.
Dangerously.
The reporter continued speaking.
Speculating.
Analyzing.
Questioning Emma's professional objectivity.
Questioning Noah's judgment.
Questioning everything.
Emma felt sick.
Because she knew exactly what this meant.
Scandal.
Media scrutiny.
Career consequences.
Professional ethics investigations.
The timing wasn't accidental.
Someone had leaked this.
Deliberately.
The same way someone had destroyed their relationship years ago.
Noah muted the television.
Silence filled the suite.
Heavy.
Tense.
Emma stared at the dark screen.
Her heartbeat thundered.
"We're being targeted."
Noah's voice was calm.
Too calm.
The kind of calm that usually appeared right before he became extremely dangerous.
Emma looked at him.
His expression was hard.
Focused.
Determined.
The captain was back.
The fighter.
The competitor.
The man who refused to lose.
"They know we're getting close."
The realization settled between them.
Terrifying.
Obvious.
True.
Someone was watching.
Someone was paying attention.
Someone didn't want them uncovering the truth.
Noah met her gaze.
And for the first time all night, neither thought about the almost kiss.
Because a new battle had just begun.
And this one threatened far more than their hearts.
- Writer
