Beranda / Romance / I Kissed the Wrong Navy Twin / Chapter 4 - The Navy Shadow

Share

Chapter 4 - The Navy Shadow

Penulis: Billie Patsy
last update Tanggal publikasi: 2026-07-07 12:08:51

HAZEL

I spent the whole next morning trying to push last night’s confusion out of my head.

The studio was quiet, filled only with the sound of piano music and my own breathing as I moved through my routine.

I told myself it had just been a mix‑up, a mistake, something I could forget now that I’d talked things over with Danny.

He’d sounded so sure, so gentle, that for a little while I almost believed I’d imagined the distance between us.

But then the studio door opened, and the air shifted.

I paused mid‑spin, my hand still resting lightly on the barre, and turned toward the entrance.

There stood Miles, broad shoulders filling the doorway, wearing a simple dark jacket and jeans, his posture straight and steady like he carried the discipline of the Navy in every step.

Even from across the room, his gaze found mine instantly, intense and unwavering, and my heart gave a hard, sudden thud.

I thought I’d put the twin‑kiss behind me until Miles stepped into the studio, sharp‑eyed and impossible to ignore.

“Miles?” I said, my voice coming out softer than I intended. “What are you doing here?”

He closed the door gently behind him, but didn’t move any closer right away.

His eyes scanned the room briefly before settling back on me, and there was no hesitation in his expression only a quiet, determined focus.

“I needed to see you,” he said, his voice low but clear enough to carry across the wooden floor.

“Before you let Danny talk you into believing everything is fine.”

“I already talked to him. He explained everything. It was just a misunderstanding, Miles, nothing more.”

Miles let out a short breath, almost like a laugh, but there was no humor in it.

He started walking toward me, slow and steady, and I found myself unable to look away.

“A misunderstanding?” he repeated, stopping a few feet away, close enough that I could see the faint scar near his eyebrow, the serious set of his jaw.

“Is that what he called it? Telling you he was at a meeting when he was out with other girls? Leaving you waiting for two hours and sending someone else to cover for him? That’s not a misunderstanding, Hazel, that’s a pattern.”

“Please,” I said, shaking my head, though my resolve was already starting to fray.

“You’re his brother. Why would you say these things about him? It feels like you’re trying to turn me against him.”

“Because someone has to,” he said firmly.

“And I’m not doing it to hurt you, I’m doing it because I know what he’s like. I grew up with him. I know how he works. He uses that charm of his like a shield, he says all the right things, makes you feel like you’re overreacting, until you start doubting your own eyes and ears. Hasn’t he already made you feel like you’re imagining problems?”

I thought of how Danny had spoken last night, how he’d called it competition stress, how he’d acted like my suspicions were just tiredness talking.

I looked away, staring at the floor, because I was afraid if I kept looking at Miles I’d admit he was right.

“Even if he makes mistakes,” I whispered, “he’s still the boy I’ve known my whole life. I owe him the benefit of the doubt.”

Miles took one small step closer, closing the space just a little more.

“And what about what you owe yourself? You work harder than anyone I know. You’re kind, you’re loyal, you give everything you have to the people you love. But he takes it all for granted. He thinks you’ll always be there, no matter what he does. And that’s not love, that’s convenience.”

“Stop,” I said, though my voice lacked strength. “You don’t know what we have.”

“I know what I saw,” he said, and now his tone softened, turning from warning to something far more personal.

“I saw him at that diner, Hazel. I saw him leaning in, smiling, touching another girl’s hand like he had every right to.”

I lifted my eyes again, and the look in his gaze made my breath catch.

There was no anger there, no desire to cause trouble, only a longing so deep it felt like it reached right through me.

“Why are you doing this?” I asked, my throat tight. “Why do you care so much all of a sudden?”

“All of a sudden?” He shook his head, and a faint, sad smile touched his lips.

“Hazel, I’ve cared since we were kids. I just never thought I had the right to say anything. I left because I thought you and Danny would be happy together. I thought if I stayed away, I’d get over it. But being gone didn’t change anything. If anything, it made me realize how rare someone like you is and how stupid he is to let you go.”

My heart raced so fast I could hear it in my ears. This was dangerous territory.

Every word he spoke felt like it was pulling me away from the safe, familiar path I’d walked my whole life.

“You can’t say that,” I said, even as my body stayed still, not moving back. “I’m his girlfriend. You’re his brother. This is wrong, all of it.”

“Is it wrong to tell the truth?” Miles asked, his voice dropping to a warm, rough murmur.

“Or is it just scary to admit that what you’ve always known might not be what you actually want?”

Before I could answer, he reached up slowly, so slowly I could have pulled away if I’d wanted to and brushed a stray lock of hair back from my face.

His fingers were calloused from years of training and work, but his touch was gentle, reverent, like he was touching something precious.

“I’m not trying to steal you from him,” he said quietly.

“I’m just asking you to open your eyes. See him for who he really is and see me for who I’ve always been.”

He leaned down, slow and careful, giving me every chance to stop him.

His face came closer, closer, until his breath brushed softly against my lips, and I could feel the heat of him just inches away.

“Miles…” I breathed, half‑warning, half‑longing.

“Tell me to stop,” he whispered, his voice low and intense. “And I will. Right now. But if you don’t… I don’t think I can hold back anymore.”

The distance between us shrank to nothing, our breaths mixing, my eyes fluttering shut against my will.

Then, just as our lips were about to touch, a loud knock rattled the studio door, followed by Ms. Bennett’s voice calling from the hallway.

“Hazel? Are you still in there? I need to speak with you about the competition schedule!”

Miles pulled back instantly, though his eyes never left mine, and I stumbled a step away, pressing a hand to my chest where my heart was hammering wildly.

“I’ll go this way,” he said softly. “But remember what I told you, Little Swan. The truth doesn’t go away just because you close your eyes.”

Before I could reply, he turned and slipped out through the rear door, leaving me alone in the quiet room, my skin still tingling, my mind spinning.

Lanjutkan membaca buku ini secara gratis
Pindai kode untuk mengunduh Aplikasi

Bab terbaru

  • I Kissed the Wrong Navy Twin   Chapter 28 — The Final Stretch

    HAZEL“The hardest miles aren’t the ones between you — they’re the ones you have to walk alone.”—Six weeks. Forty‑two days. Until Nationals.The studio lights were already glowing soft gold when I pulled into the parking lot at six a.m., the sky still streaked with deep indigo. By the time I left at five in the afternoon, the sun had dipped low, and my legs felt like lead, every step heavy and slow. My pointe shoes lasted barely three days now — satin frayed at the edges, toe boxes softened from hours of pressure, ribbons stained dark with rosin and faint traces of blood. Every muscle ached — calves, thighs, lower back, even my shoulders — and the quiet hum of the overhead fan was often the only sound that kept me company long after everyone else had packed up and gone home.I pushed through blisters until they bled, taped my ankle twice a day with extra layers of support, drank coffee until my hands shook, and told myself this was what it took. That if I worked twice as hard, if I

  • I Kissed the Wrong Navy Twin   Chapter 27 — Letters & Long Practice Days

    HAZEL“Distance doesn’t prove love — it’s the daily choice to show up anyway, even from halfway across the world.”—The house felt too big without him. Too quiet. Every morning I woke up reaching to the empty side of the bed, hand closing around cool sheets instead of warm skin. The challenge coin stayed tucked under my pillow, heavy and solid, a constant reminder — but it didn’t talk back. It didn’t laugh when I spilled tea. It didn’t tell me to breathe when the pirouettes wouldn’t land.Three days turned into one week, then two. The silence stretched out between us, wide and endless as the ocean. At the studio, whispers followed me down the hallway — quiet enough to pretend I didn’t hear, loud enough to cut deep.“He’s halfway across the world. Why would he wait?”“Military guys don’t write letters, Hazel. They move on.”“Find someone who can actually come to your recitals. Someone who’s here.”I kept my head down and stretched harder, but the doubt seeped in anyway. What if they’r

  • I Kissed the Wrong Navy Twin   Chapter 26 — Three Weeks & A Thousand Goodbyes

    HAZEL “The hardest part of loving someone is knowing exactly when you have to let them go.”— Twenty‑one days. Three hundred and thirty‑six hours. Not nearly enough. The countdown ticked by like a metronome — steady, unforgiving, matching the beat of every song I practiced. Every morning I woke up earlier, stretching while the sky was still dark, drilling turns until my legs burned, pushing harder than ever before because Nationals waited on the other side of his deployment. But every afternoon, I set my journal aside and just… was with him. Long walks at sunset, quiet dinners at the kitchen table, sitting on the porch swing saying nothing at all, because every minute felt too precious to waste on words. But fear crept in quiet, late at night when the lights went out. What if the ocean changes him? What if he meets someone who’s there, who doesn’t have to wait for letters? What if I stumble at Nationals, fall apart on stage, and he’s halfway across the world where I can’t reach

  • I Kissed the Wrong Navy Twin   Chapter 25 — Medals & Real Goodbyes

    HAZEL“Victory tastes sweeter when you don’t have to share it with anyone’s expectations but your own.”The auditorium hummed with nervous energy as the announcer stepped forward, holding the stack of sealed envelopes that held months of early mornings, blistered toes, and every hard choice I’d made to get here. I stood near the stage, adjusting the silver swan pin in my bun, the cool weight of my practice journal tucked in my bag. Miles leaned against the back wall, hands in his jacket pockets, his gaze steady and warm — quiet support, no fanfare, exactly what I needed.Near the double doors, I spotted them. Danny in his Westside High basketball warm‑up, captain’s patch bright on his chest, duffel slung over one shoulder. Beside him stood Chloe — not in dancewear, but in their team cheer uniform, gold ribbons in her hair, pom‑poms tucked neatly under her arm. She hadn’t come to compete. She’d come to cheer — just like she always did. They were leaving straight after the ceremony; Dan

  • I Kissed the Wrong Navy Twin   Chapter 24 — Final Solo

    HAZELI adjusted the lace overlay on my costume for the third time, fingers brushing the hand‑stitched flowers my mom had added the night before I left. The silver swan hairpin glinted bright in my bun, catching the glow of the worklights strung across the rafters. My ankle was wrapped tight, elastic tape supporting the twist I’d taken two days before — the ache was still there, a low throb with every shift of my weight, but it felt like a quiet promise now instead of a threat: You’re still here. You’re still going.Down the corridor, voices echoed, shoes squeaking on polished floors, the faint hum of the orchestra warming up. Backstage was always chaos — water bottles, half‑eaten snacks, coaches counting beats, dancers stretching in every corner — but today it felt different. Like every choice I’d made, every hard word, every step I’d taken had led me right here, to this exact moment.I peeked through the heavy velvet side curtain, scanning the crowd in the balcony — and that wa

  • I Kissed the Wrong Navy Twin   Chapter 23 — Injury & Hard Choice

    HAZEL The words I’d scribbled in my notebook weeks ago looped in my head as pain shot sharp up my leg. One wrong edge on a simple transition during ensemble warm‑ups, and everything tilted. I went down hard enough for the medic to come running, but not hard enough for the whole arena to notice. Still, the sting in my ankle was immediate and bright — a familiar warning I’d ignored too many times before. Backstage at the medic station, the harsh fluorescent lights made everything feel too sharp, too exposed. The woman carefully rotated the joint, her expression serious and unreadable. “Moderate twist,” she said finally, resting my foot back on the padded stool. “Ice it every hour, keep it elevated, and you need to sit out the ensemble piece if you want any real chance at the solo. Push through this, and you could lose the solo completely — maybe even end your season before regionals wraps.” Frustration burned hot in my throat. I could already hear Danny’s old voice in the back

Bab Lainnya
Jelajahi dan baca novel bagus secara gratis
Akses gratis ke berbagai novel bagus di aplikasi GoodNovel. Unduh buku yang kamu suka dan baca di mana saja & kapan saja.
Baca buku gratis di Aplikasi
Pindai kode untuk membaca di Aplikasi
DMCA.com Protection Status