CHAPTER 7: Love in the Shadows

Love… love can truly drive a man mad, he thought, chest tightening with every breath.

Because right now? I don’t even know what’s happening to me—I swear. What is going on with me?

Jake asked the question aloud, demanding an answer, almost shouting it into the silence.

But there was no one there.

Just him… and the echo of his voice ricocheting off the walls of his room.

No response came. No clarity. Just the same haunting weight he’d carried all day.

The question remained.

Unanswered.

Unsolved.

Unrelenting.

Jake sat there, caught between guilt and longing.

Days passed. Jake sat in the dimly lit room, the air thick with cigarette smoke and the whispers of conversations. The brotherhood—his group of closest friends, the ones who stood together with him when there were challenges—were gathered around, lounging on chairs and leaning against the walls.

"You're losing yourself over a girl, Jake," one of them, Marcus, muttered with a smirk.

"It's different," Jake admitted, running a hand through his hair. "Samantha isn’t like the others. I don’t just want her—I need her."

The room fell into a brief silence, the weight of Jake’s confession settling between them.

"Then what’s stopping you?" Dele asked, leaning forward. "You think she’ll turn you down?"

Dele leaned back, crossing his arms, his eyes studying Jake closely. "So, you're scared?" he said, more an observation than a question.

Jake let out a tired laugh, rubbing his face. "Yeah. I guess I am."

That was the fear he hadn’t spoken out loud. "She’s… special. If I mess this up, I lose her completely. And I don’t think I can handle that," he added.

It was rare for him to admit that—to say the words out loud. He had always been confident, always moving through life as if nothing could shake him. But Samantha was different. She wasn’t just someone to chase for the thrill of it.

This was deeper.

The room was silent for a moment. Then, Melvin chuckled. "You sound pathetic, and I feel like just laughing at you."

"Oh! Shut up," Jake muttered.

"Seriously, man ?. Melvin responded. Let me tell you, if you want her, make it happen. No woman wants a hesitant guy."

Jake shook his head. "You are the one who is not getting it here. It’s not just about telling her. It’s about everything else."

The things she didn’t know. The things he wasn’t sure she ever could.

Because if she found out…

Would she still look at him the same way?

"Look, man," another voice chimed in, this time from Marcus. "If she means that much to you, then stop overthinking it. Take the risk. Just give it a try first. Or do you want us to help you by forcing her on you, leaving her with no choice but to comply or face the consequences of any stubbornness? "

The words lingered in the air, sinking into Jake’s mind. Maybe they were right. Maybe he was overthinking this. Samantha had spent more time with him than anyone else lately. She had chosen to be there, even when he hadn’t been the easiest person to deal with.

She cared.

And maybe—just maybe—she felt the same as he did.

Days passed, and the tension inside Jake grew stronger. His feelings were no longer something he could ignore.

One day, he and Samantha sat together under the large oak tree on campus, papers spread out between them. She was tutoring him, explaining something about an economics formula, but Jake wasn’t listening.

He was watching her.

The way she absentmindedly twirled her pen. The way her brows furrowed when she concentrated. The way her lips moved when she spoke.

He had never felt this way before—not with any girl. Not with anyone.

"Jake?" Samantha nudged him slightly. "Are you listening?"

He swallowed. The moment had come.

"Samantha," he said, his voice lower than before.

She paused, glancing at him curiously. "What is it?"

He hesitated—but only for a second. Then, the words spilled out.

"I need you to know something."

Her gaze softened. "What?"

His fingers curled slightly against the paper in front of him. "I like you. More than I should. More than I ever thought I would. My feelings for you keep on growing daily, and just one chance-just one, is enough for me to prove to you I can be the man you have been waiting for."

For a moment, she said nothing.

His confession hung in the air, filling the silence. It felt heavy, real, and impossible to ignore. Samantha felt her heart beat just a little faster, the warmth spreading through her chest, settling into a place she hadn’t fully acknowledged until now. The words settle deep into her chest, striking something untouched inside her.

Jake didn’t look away. His fingers remained curled against the paper, his expression steady, waiting. He had said it—he had finally voiced what had been sitting between them all this time.

And now, it was up to her.

Samantha swallowed, her gaze flickering over his face, searching for hesitation—but there was none.

"Jake…" she started. Her voice came out gentler than she thought it would—maybe because she’s nervous, emotional, or unsure.

She stood up slowly.

Jake watched her rise, then saw her turn, as if she was about to walk away.

He stood too.

“Samantha,” he called, gently. His voice was soft, but filled with emotion.

Her name, spoken like a whisper wrapped in longing, stopped Samantha in her tracks.

The silence held for a heartbeat.

Then she turned, eyes glimmering with something unsaid.

“I... I...” she whispered, then stopped. Words caught in her throat, guarded by emotion.

She could feel it—the shift, the moment where everything changed.

She had never been in love before and never allowed herself the vulnerability of emotions like this. But with Jake… she had always felt something.

She just never wanted to admit it.

Time seemed to pause.

The quiet between them wasn’t uncomfortable—it was charged, alive with everything unsaid. Samantha’s slow breath, the way she hesitated, made Jake afraid. He could feel the weight of the moment pressing into him, making it impossible to think of anything else.

Then, without words, she moved closer.

Jake didn’t hesitate. He met her halfway, drawn into the inevitability of it—the pull of something neither of them could deny any longer.

Their lips met, and the world around them blurred.

It wasn’t tentative or uncertain. It was deep, deliberate, carrying the weight of every feeling they had been keeping locked away. The fear, the longing, the unspoken truths—they melted into the warmth between them, into a kiss that neither wanted to break.

Jake let himself sink into it, into her, knowing that whatever came next, this moment was real.

The world outside them faded, replaced only by the warmth of the moment.

Jake’s grip wasn’t desperate—but it carried meaning, the quiet plea of someone who had found something worth holding onto. His fingers traced the curve of her back, grounding himself in her presence, in the reality of what was happening.

And Samantha? She let herself surrender to it, to the emotions she had long kept at bay, to the depth of feeling she had tried so hard to rationalize.

For the first time, she wasn’t analyzing, she wasn’t hesitating.

She was feeling. Electrified by the warmth of Jake's embrace. And it looks as if her whole strength is gone at that very moment. The only thing holding her still standing on her feet was his body.

She could also feel the weight of Jake’s heartbeat against her, the steadiness of his arms, the understanding that something had shifted between them.

And neither of them wanted to let go.

Whatever happened next, whatever truths were yet to be uncovered, it didn’t matter at this moment.

Because here, beneath the shade of the tree, love had finally touched her— her Oxytocin had gone up and she wasn’t afraid to hold onto it.