Katherine was so deep in thought, her mind caught in the collision of past and present, that she didn’t even notice the car slowing to a stop. Her arms were crossed over her chest, and her gaze was fixed blankly out the passenger-side window. The warm hum of the car engine was the only sound inside the vehicle until it ceased.
"Katherine?"
The voice that called her na was slightly louder than usual, laced with concern. It snapped her out of her trance.
"Yes?" she blinked quickly, turning to face the source. Her eyes landed on Felix, who was now looking at her with a raised brow. Then she finally registered her surroundings. The familiar sight of her apartnt building stood quietly outside the window, its golden-lit lobby a stark contrast to the heavy fog of her thoughts.
"Oh," she murmured, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear, "I didn’t realize we were here already. Sorry."
"It’s okay," Felix said, soft but watchful.
Still, neither of them moved. The atmosphere inside the car thickened, filled with an invisible weight neither knew how to lift.
After a mont of silence, Felix shifted slightly in his seat and cleared his throat. "I know I already asked this," he began, his voice quieter, more deliberate now, "but I want to make sure."
Katherine looked at him slowly, no expression whatsoever.
"Are you okay?" he asked, his eyes studying her face, searching for sothing he couldn’t quite na.
She gave a tiny nod, her voice steady though her heart wasn’t. "Yeah. Just tired, that’s all."
Felix let out a soft breath, nodding in return. But his jaw tightened slightly before he leaned back and said, more firmly, "Alright, let ask you this then."
Katherine tilted her head. "What is it?"
"That man," he said, carefully, choosing his words. "Leonard Ford."
At his na, Katherine’s stomach turned, though her face remained still.
"Did he say anything to you? Or do anything unpleasant?" Felix asked. "Because you looked... fine before I found you with him."
Katherine was quick to respond, the words tumbling from her lips before she could filter them. "No. Nothing happened. He didn’t say anything weird or do anything weird."
Felix stared at her for a beat, as if weighing the truth behind her words. Then he gave a slow nod. "Well," he murmured, "that’s a relief then."
He ran a hand through his hair, a slight chuckle escaping him. "Because for a mont I felt guilty. I left you there, and then I saw your face..."
Katherine turned to him more fully, her lips curving slightly in a tired smile. "You always bla yourself when sothing goes wrong."
"Of course I do," Felix said, without hesitation. His eyes were focused on hers now, unwavering. "I don’t ever want to see you unhappy. Or suffering. I promised to make you happy, didn’t I?"
Her breath caught slightly at the weight of his words.
She looked at him then, really looked at him.
Felix Crawford.
Since the day they t, he had been a constant in her life.
She rembered the first ti he ca to the café, her heart pounding from an argunt with a drunk custor who wouldn’t take no for an answer. Felix had intervened without hesitation, his presence solid and grounding. Then he beca a regular, always sitting in the corner with his coffee and laptop. Always watching her with gentle curiosity.
He beca a friend.
He was there when the morning sickness was unbearable, when the loneliness of carrying twins without a partner seed to drown her.
He was there when the twins were born, his arms always ready to help.
Even now, as her boss, he never once made her feel small or incapable.
She blinked away the tide of emotion creeping behind her lashes.
And then, Felix leaned closer.
It was subtle, the way he shifted. His hand still rested on the gear shift, but his upper body turned toward her, his eyes flickering between hers and her lips.
Katherine didn’t breathe.
His face inched closer, and her heart raced as if trying to et him halfway.
What was he doing?
No—she knew what it looked like he was doing. His face was so close now, close enough that she could see the slight stubble on his jaw, the way it caught the light. His breath brushed warm across her cheek, carrying the faint scent of sothing sharper—peppermint, maybe. Her own breath stayed lodged sowhere in her chest, trapped behind a ribcage that was suddenly too tight.
Was that what he wanted? Was he going to kiss her? Was this—this—one of those monts where ti stretched and held its breath and then released all at once in the form of lips on lips, hands maybe moving, thoughts dissolving?
Katherine’s fingers twitched against the hem of her skirt. Her seatbelt felt like a cage. Should she move? Should she et him halfway, or would that make her presumptuous? Arrogant? What if she was wrong? What if he was just... turning to ask her sothing, and she misread it like a total idiot?
What would she even do?
If he kissed her.
If he didn’t.
Should she close her eyes? Wasn’t that what people did? But that felt... dangerous. Vulnerable. Like giving permission. But keeping them open sounded terrifying too—what if he caught her watching him, eyes wide and full of panic?
Maybe she could just look through him. Like a deer. A stunned deer. In traffic.
Would that be attractive?
God.
Her mind raced, not with actual answers, but with flashes of what might happen next.
Then, suddenly, Felix let out a breathy chuckle, pulled back, and leaned against the driver seat again.
"Sorry," he said, scratching the back of his neck. "That was... probably a bad idea."
Katherine remained frozen in place, still processing the mont that almost was.
Her lips parted slightly, but she said nothing.
Her thoughts, however, scread.
Did he really just try to kiss her?
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