[LUCAS – POV]
We ended up alone on the school rooftop.
It wasn't planned. It never is with Jasmine.
She'd stormed off after lunch, and like a fool—or maybe something worse—I followed her. Not because I had the right words, but because I needed her to hear the ones I hadn't said.
"Why are you really here?" she asked, arms folded, eyes narrow.
I leaned on the railing beside her, breathing in the wind. "Because I can't stop thinking about you. Even when I should."
She blinked. "That's not a reason."
"It's the only one I've got."
She looked at me then. Really looked. Like she was trying to read all the thoughts I didn't know how to say aloud.
Silence stretched between us. Then she stepped closer—just a little.
And I swear, in that second, the world tilted.
Our faces were inches apart. Her breath hitched. My hand grazed her waist.
But just when our lips nearly touched…
"There you are!" a voice shouted.
We jolted apart.
It was Sam, my best friend, holding a soda and an awkward expression. "Principal's looking for you, Lucas. Something about practice."
I muttered a curse under my breath. Jasmine pulled away completely, brushing past me with a whisper.
"You always stop right before it gets real."
[JASMINE – POV]
I shouldn't have gone up there with him.
I shouldn't have let myself almost fall into that kiss.
But when Lucas looked at me like that—like I was the only thing holding his world together—it was hard to remember why I needed to be careful.
Almost isn't the same as real.
And if I keep letting him get that close…
I'm going to want everything he's not ready to give.