The Tension

As the song changed, I was about to pull away from Jamie when I noticed Kathryn making her way toward us. Her body language screamed confidence, and the smirk on her lips told me she had a goal in mind—Jamie.

"Hey, Jamie," she purred, stepping right between us, effectively cutting off our moment.

I blinked, stunned at her boldness.

Jamie sighed but didn't step back. "Kathryn."

She ran a manicured finger down his arm. "Didn't know you'd be here tonight."

I clenched my jaw. Seriously? She saw us dancing, yet she had the audacity to slide in like I wasn’t even there?

Jamie didn’t immediately push her away, which only irritated me more.

My heart clenched in frustration. I had no right to feel this way—I wasn’t his girlfriend—but the sudden tightness in my chest told me I was definitely feeling something.

Not wanting to stand there like an idiot while she blatantly flirted with him, I turned on my heel and walked off. I refused to be that girl—the one who just stood by and let someone else take over.

I found myself in the kitchen, hoping to grab a drink to cool down. That’s when I met him.

"Rough night?" a deep voice asked.

I turned to see a guy leaning against the counter, holding a soda. He had dark wavy hair, warm brown eyes, and an easygoing smile that immediately put me at ease.

"Something like that," I muttered, grabbing a water bottle.

"I'm Steve," he introduced himself. "And you are?"

"Julie."

"Well, Julie, you looked like you needed a break from the chaos out there," he said, nodding toward the living room.

I let out a small laugh. "You have no idea."

We started talking, just casual small talk—school, classes, random funny party moments. He was easy to talk to, and for a few minutes, I actually forgot about the irritation bubbling inside me.

That was until I felt a familiar presence behind me.

"Julie," Jamie's voice cut in.

I turned to see him standing there, his jaw tight, his usual smirk nowhere in sight. His eyes flicked between me and Steve, and something about the way his hands were clenched at his sides told me he was not happy.

"Hey, Jamie," I said, tilting my head, acting like I hadn’t just seen him entertaining Kathryn a few minutes ago.

Jamie didn't even acknowledge my greeting. His focus was on Steve. "I don’t think we’ve met," he said, his tone deceptively polite.

"Steve," the guy introduced himself, holding out his hand.

Jamie ignored it. "Right. So, Steve, Julie and I were just about to—"

I crossed my arms. "No, we weren’t."

Jamie’s jaw ticked, and for a brief second, I saw something flash in his eyes—something possessive.

Steve raised his hands in surrender. "Hey, man, I was just chatting with her. Didn't mean to step on any toes."

Jamie gave him a tight smile. "Yeah, well, consider them stepped on."

Steve chuckled, clearly sensing the tension. "Alright, I’ll take that as my cue. See you around, Julie."

I sighed as Steve walked off, feeling a little guilty that Jamie had just run him off for no reason.

I turned back to Jamie with a glare. "What the hell was that?"

Jamie shrugged. "Just making sure you don’t waste your time on some random dude."

I scoffed. "Oh, but it's totally fine for you to entertain Kathryn, right?"

His lips twitched, as if he was trying not to smirk. "Were you jealous, Pumpkin?"

I groaned. "That is not the point."

Jamie stepped closer, closing the space between us. "You didn’t answer my question."

I opened my mouth, ready to fire back some witty remark, but I hesitated. He was too close, his gaze too intense.

And the worst part? I didn’t hate it.

Jamie’s gaze locked onto mine, his body impossibly close. The tension between us thickened, making it hard to focus on anything other than the way his lips quirked into that signature smirk of his. But I wasn’t about to let him distract me—not this time.

“What’s going on between you and Olivia?” I asked, my voice lower than I intended.

His smirk faltered, and for a moment, something unreadable flickered in his eyes. He exhaled sharply and ran a hand through his dark hair. “Nothing is going on between me and Olivia.”

I narrowed my eyes, searching his face for any sign of dishonesty. “Then why was she acting like that just now, it doesn’t seem like the hr at all?”

Jamie let out a humourless chuckle and leaned back slightly, but not enough to give me space. “Because she thinks she owns me. Or at least, she makes it seem that way.”

I frowned. “What do you mean?”

His expression darkened, and for the first time, Jamie looked genuinely uncomfortable. “She wasn’t always like this. At first, she was just a quiet girl who needed a friend. I didn’t think much of it, so I let her hang around. But then, things started getting... strange.”

I swallowed hard. “Strange how?”

Jamie’s jaw clenched. “Love notes. Everywhere. In my locker, on my car windshield, in my backpack. I didn’t think much of it at first, but then she started showing up—everywhere I went. Even places I hadn’t told her about. She always had this way of appearing just when I was alone.”

A shiver ran down my spine. “Jamie, that’s stalking.”

He nodded. “Yeah, I know. But at first, I thought maybe I was overreacting. Then she started... touching me. Grabbing my arm when I walked by, brushing up against me in hallways, acting like we were something when we weren’t.” He exhaled, shaking his head. “So, I distanced myself. I stopped talking to her. She didn’t take it well.”

I hesitated. “What did she do?”

He hesitated, his fingers twitching at his side. “She cornered me one night at a party, just like this one. Told me she loved me. Told me I was hers. And when I told her she was mistaken, she snapped. She cried, screamed, made a huge scene. And after that, she just... stopped. She hasn’t bothered me since the new year.”

I blinked. “So she just gave up?”

Jamie let out a dry laugh. “I don’t know if you’d call it ‘giving up.’ She still watches me sometimes, like she’s waiting for something.”

A chill ran down my spine. The way Olivia had acted earlier—her shifting moods, the way she snapped back to being cheerful the moment Jamie arrived—it all made sense now.

Jamie must’ve noticed the look on my face because he suddenly reached for my hand, threading his fingers through mine. The move caught me off guard, but I didn’t pull away.

“Hey,” he murmured, squeezing my hand gently. “I promise you, nothing is going on between me and Olivia. There never was. And there never will be.”

I swallowed, my heart pounding in my chest. His words felt like a reassurance, but the warmth of his hand in mine was something else entirely—something dangerous, something electrifying.

I looked up at him, and for the first time, I let myself admit it.

I wanted him.

Jamie’s gaze dipped to my lips, his thumb grazing against my skin. The air between us grew impossibly thick, my breath hitching in anticipation.

“Julie,” he murmured, his voice husky.

I had two choices—step away, pretend this moment never happened, or let it happen. Let whatever this was between us explode into something real.

And in that moment, with Jamie’s eyes burning into mine, I realized something.

I didn’t want to run anymore.