The heavy oak doors of the mansion clicked shut behind them, sealing away the quiet night and the faint jingle of the ice cream truck.
Keifer moved through the lobby with slow, steady steps, his muscles adjusting to the weight of the girl who was still firmly attached to his back.
Jay had gone completely silent, but it wasn't the heavy silence of the library.
It was a soft, glowing silence.
She didn't have her face buried in his neck anymore.
instead, she had tilted her head, her chin resting on his shoulder so she could study his profile.
Every time the dim hallway lights hit his face, she let out a tiny, contented breath, her lips curled into a dazed, sleepy smile.
Keifer came to a halt right outside the guest room door.
The air between them felt heavy with a sudden reluctance to let the night end.
"Do you really have to go?"
he asked, his voice dropping to a low, husky whisper that echoed in the empty hallway.
Jay's eyes flickered, looking at the door of sophia's room upstairs and then back at him.
"Hmm..." she hummed, her voice thick with sleep.
"If Soph found out... she'll kill me."
She whispered the words as if Sophia were hiding just around the corner, waiting to catch them.
Keifer stood there for a long moment, his hands still hooked firmly under her knees.
He didn't move.
He didn't want to let her go, and he especially didn't want her bare feet to touch the cold marble floor.
He wanted to keep her right there, where she was safe and warm and smelling like vanilla.
But eventually, the reality of the morning light approaching forced his hand.
"Okay," he breathed, a trace of disappointment in his voice.
With the precision of someone handling a fragile glass sculpture, he slowly leaned forward.
He didn't just drop her; he lowered her inch by inch until her toes finally brushed the floor.
Even as she stood on her own two feet, Jay didn't let go of his neck immediately.
She stayed close, her hands lingering on his shoulders, looking up at him with a foolish, wide-eyed grin that made her look like she was floating in a dream.
Keifer stared down at her, his eyes searching her grinning face with a mix of amusement and genuine bewilderment.
"What happened?"
he asked, his voice soft and perplexed.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
Jay didn't answer.
She just grinned even wider, her eyes sparkling like stars, and shook her head slowly.
The secret joy was bubbling up inside her, and she seemed determined to keep him guessing.
"Jay-jay," he murmured, a helpless smile breaking across his own face as he shook his head.
"You are seriously driving me crazy with all this cuteness."
He reached out, his index finger gently bopping the tip of her nose.
The tiny contact was enough to make her cheeks flare into a brilliant, heat-filled crimson.
But then, the playful energy shifted.
The smirk vanished, replaced by a deep, heavy sigh of absolute surrender.
Keifer didn't say another word; he just reached out and pulled her softly toward him until there wasn't a sliver of air left between them.
With a shuddering breath, he let his head drop onto her shoulder, burying his face in the crook of her neck like a tired kid who had finally found his way home after a long, exhausting journey.
Jay gasped slightly, the sudden weight of him catching her off guard.
She could feel the steady thrum of his pulse against her and the warmth of his breath hitting her skin.
But as she felt the tension drain out of his large frame—as he leaned into her as if she were the only thing keeping him upright—her shock melted into a fierce, protective tenderness.
She wrapped her arms tightly around his broad back, anchoring him to her.
Her fingers found their way into the soft hair at the nape of his neck, and she began to brush through the strands with a slow, rhythmic motion that was meant to soothe.
She tilted her head, looking down at the side of his face as he rested against her.
With a soft, barely-there flutter of her heart, she leaned in and pressed a tender, feather-light kiss right near his closed eyelid.
Keifer didn't move, but a small, tired, and profoundly satisfied smile touched his lips.
Her pulse was betraying her, jumping so hard against her ribs that she was certain Keifer could feel it through his chest.
Every time his warm breath hitched against that sensitive curve of her neck, a fresh wave of shivers raced down her spine, making her toes curl against the cold floor.
She was losing the battle against her own feelings.
She tightened her hold on him, her fingers digging slightly into his back as she rested her head against his shoulder.
She closed her eyes tight, trying to find some semblance of self-control, but her body had a mind of its own.
Her eyes snapped open, fueled by a sudden, magnetic pull, and before she could talk herself out of it, she leaned in again.
She pressed a kiss—softer and more lingering than the last—right near the corner of his mouth.
A low, deep chuckle vibrated through Keifer's chest, a sound of pure, smug satisfaction.
He didn't move his head from her shoulder, but his voice was like honey when he spoke.
"Jay... can you do it again?
But maybe... a bit more to the right?"
Jay froze.
Her eyes flew shut again as she buried her face deeper into his shoulder, her mind spinning.
Right? What's on the right?
she whispered to herself, her brain feeling like it had been turned into scrambled eggs by the scent of him.
She slowly pulled back just an inch, looking at his closed eyelids and the devastating smirk playing on his lips.
She followed the line of his jaw to the right, her gaze traveling past the corner of his mouth... and then it hit her.
Her eyes went wide, and she instantly whipped her head in the opposite direction, her face exploding into a heat so intense it felt like a physical burn.
Her heart wasn't just thumping anymore; it was hammering a frantic warning against her chest.
To the right... were his lips.
She was completely helpless, trapped between her racing heart and the boy who knew exactly how much power he had over it.
Keifer finally pulled back, the smug smirk on his face only widening when he saw the state she was in.
Her cheeks were a brilliant, fiery red, and she was stubbornly looking at anything but him, her head turned so far to the side she was practically staring at the hallway wallpaper.
"Jay..." he prompted, his voice teasing.
Ignored.
"Jay-jay," he said more softly, the vibration of his voice making her heart skip yet another beat.
Ignored again.
Seeing her try so hard to avoid him only made his smile more tender.
He wasn't going to let her hide.
He tilted his head, reaching out with his hand to gently catch her chin.
With a touch as light as silk, he guided her face back toward his, forcing her to at least be in his line of sight.
But Jay had a defense mechanism: her eyelids.
She squeezed them shut, refusing to give him the satisfaction of seeing her pupils dilated with the same affection he was radiating.
Keifer didn't pull away.
Instead, he bowed down, lowering his height until he was exactly at her level.
His gaze wandered over her features—
the way her eyelashes fluttered against her skin, the tiny crease between her brows, and the stubborn set of her lips.
He was memorizing her, capturing this moment in the quiet hallway as if it were a masterpiece.
"Jay... please open your eyes," he whispered.
His voice was so soft, so filled with a genuine, aching vulnerability that it felt like a physical weight against her chest.
It was becoming nearly impossible to deny him.
The air was thick with the scent of his cologne and the lingering sweetness of the night.
She felt her resolve crumbling, but she gripped onto it with everything she had.
She kept her eyes shut tight, her breath coming in shallow hitches.
"Jay..." he pleaded, his breath ghosting over her lips.
"Please. Don't do this to me. Don't leave me standing here alone."
She was ignoring him very, very hardly, but her heart was screaming at her to give in.
He was right there—inches away—and the silence of the mansion seemed to pulse with everything they hadn't said yet.
Keifer's hands were no longer just holding her chin; he cupped her face with such extreme softness, as if she were the most delicate thing in existence.
He leaned in even closer, his presence enveloping her until all she could feel was the warmth of his breath ghosting over her skin.
Then, he leaned down and pressed a kiss, light as a feather, to her closed eyelid.
"Sunshine..." he whispered, the name sounding like a sacred prayer.
"Please don't do this to me... let me see your beautiful eyes."
That was the breaking point.
The raw, aching quality in his voice pierced through her last bit of defense.
Jay felt her resolve melt away like sugar in water.
She couldn't hold out any longer; she wanted to answer him, to show him everything she was feeling.
Slowly, her eyelashes fluttered, and she opened her eyes.
The world around them blurred into a hazy background of shadows and marble.
Her brown eyes locked onto his dark, molten ones, and for a heartbeat, time simply stopped.
There was so much unsaid intensity in his gaze that she felt like she was drowning in him.
"Jay," he breathed, his gaze dropping to her parted lips, his voice sounding gravelly and raw.
"Please... can I have one?"
Jay's heart was drumming against her ribs so hard it was almost deafening.
She wanted to say yes, but her voice was trapped in her throat.
She was so completely melted, so dazed by the proximity and the way he was looking at her, that words were impossible.
Her lips remained parted, her breath coming in shallow gasps.
Keifer's eyes stayed locked on hers, his face inching forward as he waited for a sign, a word, or a movement.
But just as he thought she was finally going to give him the answer he was begging for, a spark of panicked energy shot through Jay.
Before he could close the final distance, she reached out, her fingers snapping shut around his wrist.
With a sudden burst of strength fueled by pure adrenaline, she yanked him toward the door behind her, shoving him into the guest room and pulling him inside with her as the door clicked shut, leaving the quiet hallway behind.
Keifer's shock only lasted a second before that signature, devastating smirk was back in full force.
He leaned his back against the closed door, crossing his arms over his chest as he looked down at her.
"Jay-jay... I didn't know you were this eager,"
he teased, his voice low and vibrating with mischief.
Jay's face exploded into a fresh shade of crimson.
"Keifer!" she hissed, smacking his shoulder with a sharp thud.
He just chuckled, the sound deep and effortless.
"What? You're the one who kidnapped me and threw me into this lonely room."
Jay didn't even give him a chance to finish his sentence.
She stepped forward and instantly pressed her finger against his lips, silencing him.
"Shh! You really talk too much,"
she whispered frantically.
Keifer froze, his eyes widening slightly as he felt the soft pressure of her finger against his mouth.
He looked completely bewildered, his brows furrowing as he tried to figure out what was going on in that chaotic, beautiful head of hers.
"Huh?"
he mumbled against her finger.
Jay facepalmed, letting out a frustrated little huff.
She grabbed his hand and gestured for him to follow her gaze as she slowly, silently cracked the door open just an inch.
Keifer leaned over her, his chest pressing against her back as they both peeked through the sliver of light.
Along the hallway, Sophia and their Mom were walking with purposeful steps—straight toward Keifer's bedroom door.
"Why are they going to my room?"
Keifer whispered, his voice laced with genuine confusion.
"Keifer..." Jay breathed, her heart beginning to race for an entirely different reason now.
"Hmm?"
"What will we do now?
" she asked, her voice trembling with the fear of getting caught in a guest room in the middle of the night.
Keifer didn't even hesitate.
He leaned down, his lips brushing against her ear as he whispered a single, shamelessly bold word:
"Kiss."