Chapter 5: Quiet Moments
The clock on the wall ticked past 2 a.m. as the last of the students trickled out of the study room, leaving just the two of us.
The fluorescent lights buzzed quietly overhead, but the usual sterile hum of the room felt different tonight. The air was thick with something else, something unspoken, and neither of us seemed in a hurry to break the silence.
Jasmine sat across from me, her legs stretched out beneath the table, her laptop closed and forgotten for the moment. She looked at me with an unreadable expression, her dark eyes soft, but intense.
“So,” she said, her voice low and almost teasing.
“still feel like continuing the work, or do we just… call it a night?”
I leaned back in my chair, letting out a breath I didn’t know I was holding. There was something in her tone, something that made it impossible to ignore.
“I mean, we’ve done enough work, right?”
I replied, trying to sound casual, though I could feel my pulse quickening.
I couldn’t stop looking at her, the way she was sitting there, so composed, so effortlessly confident. It was like she was waiting for me to make a move, but it wasn’t quite clear what that move should be.
Jasmine pushed her chair back slightly, standing up and stretching her arms above her head. The soft fabric of her shirt rode up slightly, exposing a sliver of her midriff. The sight was enough to make my breath hitch. Her eyes caught mine as she lowered her arms, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips.
“You know,” she said, her voice quieter now, almost like she was testing the waters,
“sometimes, it’s nice to just… be still. Not everything has to be about getting things done.”
I nodded slowly, not trusting myself to speak. The tension between us was palpable now, every little shift in her posture sending a signal that I couldn’t ignore.
She stepped closer to me, her movements slow and deliberate.
I could feel the warmth of her body drawing nearer, and I didn’t know how much longer I could hold back. My mind was racing, torn between the part of me that wanted to be respectful and the part that just wanted to close the distance and feel her against me.
“You’ve been saying that we’re taking a break,” I said trying to sound light
“but I’m not sure I know what that means.”
Jasmine smiled, a little more mischievous this time.
“It means we can stop pretending like we’re just here to study.”
My heart pounded as she stepped even closer, close enough that I could feel the heat from her body. I looked into her eyes, trying to gauge her intentions. Everything in me was telling me to pull back, to stay respectful—but there was something else, something that told me she wasn’t pulling away either.
She stopped just in front of me, standing tall with a hint of challenge in her gaze. “So what now?”
I could barely breathe, but the answer seemed to come on its own.
Slowly, I reached up, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear.
She didn’t flinch, didn’t pull away. In fact, her eyes darkened just a little, and I saw the faintest hint of a smile play on her lips.
“I guess we take this moment and see where it goes,” I said softly.
And then, I leaned in, my lips brushing against hers in a tentative kiss.
The moment our mouths met, there was a spark—something that made my heart race and my body lean forward instinctively.
Her lips were soft and warm, the kiss slow but growing in intensity as she responded, her hands coming up to rest lightly on my shoulders.
We pulled apart, breathless, and Jasmine’s gaze never left mine.
She seemed to be searching my face, looking for something—permission, maybe, or just reassurance that we were both on the same page.
“Are you sure?” she whispered, her voice barely audible over the pounding of my heart.
I nodded, trying to steady my breath. “Yeah. I’m sure.”
Her hands moved to the back of her neck, undoing the top button of her shirt slowly, as if she was testing the waters. She wasn’t rushing, and neither was I.
There was a quiet understanding between us—this was happening, but it wasn’t something either of us wanted to rush. We were both here, in this moment, choosing this. And that meant something.
Jasmine stepped back slightly, giving me space, but the room still felt small, the distance between us now charged with anticipation.
She turned off the lights, leaving only the soft glow from the screens on our laptops, casting shadows in the otherwise dark room.
The air felt cooler now, the quiet of the study room somehow making everything feel more intense. Every sound, every movement felt amplified.
Jasmine looked at me over her shoulder, a silent invitation in her eyes, and I felt my body respond before I even realized it.
“Let’s make this a real break,” she said, her voice low, almost teasing.
And just like that, the room seemed to shrink around us.