Mira told herself to hold onto it. Capture it, freeze it in time, something to recall tomorrow. She’d want to be back here, at the start, when the calm was still lingering, before everything changed, before the tears arrived with the morning. So she committed it to memory. The hum of her car's speakers, the gentle clink of her keys against her leg. The sky heavy, thick with anticipation, like static in the air, just waiting for him to touch her and ignite it. The steering wheel felt smooth, slipping under her fingers as she guided the car onto Oakmont Avenue, the soft shimmer of fairy lights twinkling on the pub’s balcony.
This was her favorite part. The beginning. The space before everything would fall apart. Mira tapped her phone, turning off her location. She’d told the others she was staying in for the night, trying to save money. Daisy and Ellie were inside the pub, while Sarah was having a quiet night with her parents.
She’d hoped he’d message. Deep down, she knew he would. They’d gotten into a rhythm by now, this secret, unspoken agreement.
Outside xx she typed. She held her breath and hit send.
A couple emerged from the pub, and Mira slid lower in her seat, killing the headlights. They didn’t notice her, too caught up in each other, their laughter blending with the rain. Mira swallowed hard. What would it be like to be like them? To hold onto someone like that, sharing the night under the flickering streetlamps while they waited for a ride?
She wouldn’t know.
The distant rumble of thunder vibrated through the air, and Mira shivered, uncertain if it was the storm or something else that made her skin prickle. She kept her eyes on the pub’s old wooden doors, mentally urging James to hurry. A fresh crack of thunder followed, deep and booming. She wasn’t afraid of storms exactly, but it was what came after that unsettled her. Another flash of lightning lit up the dark sky, too close for comfort. She braced for more thunder, but instead, her phone vibrated against her leg.
She couldn’t suppress the grin. A warmth spread from her cheeks, moving down into her chest. It was fleeting, but that only made it feel sweeter. She reminded herself to remember this—the way he came down the steps, his head tilted slightly as he spotted her, that damn half-smile distorted by the rain, his face barely visible through the mist on the windshield. More lightning, more flashes, seemed to sync with his footsteps. When he slid into the passenger seat, the electricity between them was undeniable, and Mira knew her heart wasn’t supposed to be racing like this, but something about him, something about tonight, made it impossible not to surrender to it.
"Hey." He offered her a grin. He never leaned over the console. He never did.
"Hi." Mira couldn’t look him in the eye, not yet. The streetlights illuminated the car too brightly, and someone might notice her shaking hands. "Good night?"
Mira shifted the car into drive as James clicked his seatbelt, the rain intensifying as they headed out of town.
"Yeah, pretty good. Busy though."
She glanced at him. He ran a hand through his damp, dark hair.
"You didn’t want to stay?" Her voice was a little higher than usual. She knew the answer, but she needed to hear him say it.
He chuckled, their eyes meeting before she quickly turned her attention back to the glistening road. "Better things to do."
Mira bit her lip, then glanced down at her phone, now lit up in her lap.
Daisy.
