Unexpected Love [GXG]

Chapter 26: Messy. Slow. Secret

POV: ENID

I hiccupped between shaky breaths, wiping my face with the back of my hand like that could erase everything I was feeling.

The weight of everything — of who we were, who we were supposed to be — crashed between us.

And somehow, standing there, broken and messy, we weren’t falling apart.
We were falling into ealch other.

When Olivia finally closed the space between us, it wasn’t rushed.
It was slow. Shaky. Like she was asking a question and praying fo answer.

Her forehead brushed mine, both of us breathing each other in.
I closed my eyes.

And when our lips finally touched, it wasn’t fireworks.

It was a collapse — soft, desperate, terrifying.

I kissed her like a confession.
She kissed me like a promise.

Maybe we were both scared.
Maybe we were both wrong.

But in that moment, it didn’t matter All that mattered was her.

The kiss was soft.

And terrifying.

And everything I’d been trying not to
feel.

I didn’t know who moved first. Maybe it was me. Maybe it was her. Maybe we were just tired of pretending.
But in that moment, none of it mattered.

Not the crowd.

Not the party.

Not the crashing waves behind us.

Just the way Olivia's lips tasted like salt and longing
When we pulled back, barely breathing, she rested her forehead against mine. I could feel her trembling.
I didn’t know if it was from fear. Or from the truth between us. And then—
"OH MY GOD— FINALLY!"

We jolted apart like guilty kids caught in the act.

I turned, heart pounding, to see Fatima standing a few feet away on the sand, hands over her mouth and eyes wide—but not in horror.
No, she was grinning.

Actually—more like beaming.

"What—how long have you been there?" I gasped, trying to catch my breath.

She smirked. "Long enough to know I’m right and that you two seriously need to work on your timing."
Her eyes sparkled like she’d just seen her OTP kiss in a drama. "Took you long enough, Enid."

Fatima waved us off. "Relax, I’m not about to livestream this or anything. I came looking for Enid, and… well. Looks like I found a moment instead".

She winked, then turned slightly. "I’ll be over there… giving y’all some space. My little Enid is all grown up" She added a roud mother.

I groaned embarrassed. "Go, Fatima."

Laughing, she jogged away, humming something stupid and love-song-y under her breath.

I buried my face in my hands. "I can’t believe this."

Olivia was quiet, but when I looked at her, her expression had softened — the nerves still there, but also something else.

Hope.

The silence returned with the hush of the waves, but this time, it wasn’t heavy.

It was full.
Full of everything I’d been burying for months.

I stared out at the water, unsure if I was going to cry or laugh or just run away again.

But then Olivia’s fingers brushed mine — hesitant, like she was asking for permission.

"I didn’t plan that," she said softly, voice barely above the wind. "I didn’t even know if I could still... I mean, after everything."

I turned to her, and the weight in my chest loosened just a bit. "You still feel something?"

She looked at me like I’d asked the dumbest question in the world. "I’ve never stopped."

My breath caught.

"I’m scared, Enid," she went on, eyes locked with mine. "I’ve always been the one who doesn’t care what people think. Who plays it cool. But with you, I’m just... not that person anymore. I care too much, you make me care.

I swallowed hard, blinking back the storm inside me. I wish it was that" simple for me."

"I know."

I let out a shaky breath. "It’s not just you. It’s my whole life. My family. My faith. I’ve spent years trying to make everything fit. And you... you don’t fit, Olivia. Not in the way they expect."

Her lips parted, pain flickering across her face.

"But," I whispered, "that kiss felt more right than anything else has in a long time."

For a second, we just stood there, all our walls down.

"I don’t want to fight this anymore," she said. "Not if you feel the same."

I looked at her — really looked at her.

The girl who drove me mad.

Who pushed my every button.

Who made me feel seen.

"I don’t know how to be with you," I whispered. "But I don’t know how to be without you either."

Her hand took mine fully this time, fingers curling tight.

"Then let’s just... figure it out," she said. "Messy. Slow. Secret. Whatever it has to be."

And right then, for the first time in a long time, I felt like maybe — just maybe — I could.

๑

We didn’t say goodbye.

Not really.

After Fatima came skipping over with the world’s biggest grin and absolutely no chill, I half expected her to shout it to the stars. But instead, she winked at me, then looped her arm through mine and gently pulled me away like nothing had happened.

She didn’t tell Ally or Mia — thank God. And I could tell she was holding back for my sake. Waiting for me to be ready. To say it on my terms.

I wasn’t ready. Not yet.

Not when I still felt Olivia’s touch lingering on my skin like sunlight.

We blended back into the party like nothing happened — like my entire world hadn’t just tilted slightly on its axis. Music thumped around us. People laughed. Danced. Lived. But I… I was somewhere between them and her.

Across the bonfire, Olivia stood with Camila again, her head tilted as someone spoke to her. She laughed at something, but her eyes…

Her eyes kept flicking toward me.

And mine?
Well, I wasn’t any better.

Every time I looked away, I caught myself searching for her again.
Like we were still drawn by some invisible thread, fragile but unbreakable.

We didn’t talk again that night.
But our silence said everything.

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Hey gaybies,

So this chapter was originally the rest of the last chapter. That's why it was short. I accidentally published the first revision lol.

Byee for now I have an exam in 3 hours😩

~D