Chapter 8: More Than Just a Kiss

The kiss deepened, slow and tender at first, but charged with all the emotion they'd both buried for so long. When they finally pulled apart, both were slightly breathless. Rose kept her eyes closed for a few seconds longer, like she didn't want to leave that moment.

Henry spoke first, voice low. "That felt… real."

Rose nodded, still catching her breath. "It was."

But then she stepped back, uncertainty creeping in. "Henry… what happens now? What are we doing?"

Henry took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair. "I don't want to confuse you. Or make you feel like this is just something temporary. Because it's not for me."

She looked up at him, her expression soft but cautious. "We've been best friends for years. This… changes everything."

"I know," he replied, moving closer again. "But I don't want to pretend anymore, Rose. I don't want to be just your best friend if that means watching you smile at someone else. Watching you fall in love with someone who isn't me."

Her chest tightened at his words. Every sentence sank deeper into her heart.

Henry reached out and took her hand gently. "I want you. All of you. Not just the parts you give when you're tired, or vulnerable. I want to be the one who holds you when you're sad, laughs with you when you're happy… I want you to be mine."

Rose blinked, lips parting slightly, her heartbeat thunderous in her chest.

"Be my girlfriend, Rose," he said, his thumb brushing over her hand. "Let's stop pretending this isn't what we both want."

There was a silence—a heavy, meaningful pause—before Rose whispered, "I'm scared."

"So am I," he admitted, voice soft. "But I'm more scared of going another day pretending I don't love you."

Her eyes welled with tears, but a smile broke through. "Then I guess you're stuck with me."

Henry's face lit up as he pulled her into a hug, holding her tight like he'd waited forever for this moment. "Good," he murmured into her hair. "Because I don't want anyone else."

They stood there in each other's arms, letting the quiet wrap around them again—but this time, not with confusion, but peace. Like something that had been out of place for so long had finally found where it belonged.