The city lights flickered below them, stretching endlessly like a constellation of dreams. The rooftop of the Drake Hotel had always been their sanctuary, their escape from the suffocating weight of reality. Tonight, it felt different. Heavier. Electric.
Anastasia pulled her coat tighter around her shoulders, more out of habit than cold. The evening breeze did little to cool the wildfire raging inside her chest. She stole a glance at Bastian, who sat beside her, his gaze locked on the horizon, his signature smirk teasing at his lips. God, he was beautiful. Too beautiful. It was infuriating.
"So, what's the plan, Nasa?" he asked, kicking a pebble off the edge of the rooftop. "Still thinking about that forensic science degree, or are you finally gonna give in and admit you belong in literature?"
She laughed, a little too breathless. "Still deciding. I mean, it's not like I have a whole lifetime to figure it out."
His eyes snapped to hers, something unreadable swimming beneath the usual warmth. "A lifetime's not long enough for some things."
Her heart twisted. Was now the time? Could she finally tell him everything? About her home life. About how much she needed him. About how much she—
"Anastasia."
His voice pulled her back. She forced a smile, masking the turmoil clawing at her insides. "Yeah?"
He reached into his pocket, hesitating for just a second before pulling out a small velvet box. "I know you told me not to, but…"
Her breath hitched. "Bastian, you didn't—"
"I did." His smirk softened, replaced by something that sent her pulse into a frenzied rhythm. "Happy 18th birthday, babe."
She took the box gingerly, like it was something fragile, something sacred. With trembling fingers, she lifted the lid. The city lights reflected off the delicate diamond bracelet inside, but what really made her vision blur was the engraving on the tiny silver tag: Forever and Always, Bastian.
Her throat closed. Her fingers traced the inscription, feeling the weight of every unspoken emotion in those words.
"It's beautiful," she whispered, tears threatening to spill. "I can't believe you did this."
He chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. "You deserve the best. Always."
Before she could stop herself, she launched forward, arms wrapping tightly around his neck. He smelled like mint and something distinctly him, something safe. Something home.
"Thank you," she murmured against his shoulder. "This means so much to me. You mean so much to me."
He pulled back slightly, just enough to look at her. His eyes were searching, drinking her in, memorizing. Her breath caught.
Tell him. Tell him, dammit.
Her hands slid down his arms, hesitating before gripping his wrists. She didn't know what to do with her nerves, didn't know how to shove them aside long enough to just say it.
"I…" Her voice failed her.
He tilted his head, amused. "You?"
She scowled at his teasing, which only made him grin wider. But then her fingers dug into his wrist, and she wasn't sure if it was the sudden seriousness in her gaze or the way her entire body seemed to tremble, but his smirk faltered.
She took a deep breath. "I want you to know that you've been the light of my life since we met. And I'm hoping you can be mine and I can be yours."
Silence.
The longest, most excruciating silence of her entire life.
Then she did the bravest, most reckless thing she had ever done.
She kissed him.
A fleeting touch, soft and trembling, her lips brushing against his before she could second-guess herself. It was chaste, barely a whisper of what she truly felt, but it sent a violent shudder through her entire being.
She pulled away instantly, heart pounding against her ribcage like a war drum. Mortification threatened to consume her. Oh God, what did I just do?
Bastian stared at her, stunned, mouth slightly parted.
And just when she was about to flee—
He moved.
Fast. Desperate. Unstoppable.
His hands shot up, one tangling into her hair, the other cupping her cheek as he crushed his lips to hers. Heat exploded through her veins, scorching and intoxicating, as he owned the kiss, devouring her like she was something he had been starving for.
His tongue slid past her lips, claiming her, deepening the kiss with a hunger that made her knees buckle. His arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her impossibly closer, and she melted against him, lost in the firestorm he had unleashed.
She never knew a kiss could feel like this. Like drowning and breathing at the same time. Like being shattered and remade in the same instant.
When they finally broke apart, their foreheads rested together, their breaths mingling. His fingers ghosted over her jawline, eyes locked onto hers with an intensity that made her dizzy.
"I have been dreaming of this moment since I met you, Nasa."
Her breath hitched. His eyes flickered to her lips again, and before she could even process it, he kissed her again, slower this time. Reverent. A promise.
And nothing would ever be the same.
———
The next day, Bastian's football team dominated their rivals. The energy in the stadium was electric, buzzing with victory.
Anastasia, perched on the team bench for the last ten minutes, had barely been able to sit still. When the final whistle blew, Bastian bolted toward her, lifting her into his arms like she weighed nothing.
"I LOVE YOU SO FUCKING MUCH, NASA!" he shouted for the whole world to hear before crashing his lips against hers, reckless and unapologetic.
The entire stadium erupted into cheers, whistles echoing across the field. But she didn't hear them.
All she heard was the wild thrumming of her heart, the sound of everything she had ever wanted finally falling into place.
She pulled back, panting, eyes glistening. "I love you too, Bass."
His entire face changed. His jaw dropped. Eyes wide. Shocked. "Are you freakin' serious? Really?"
She nodded, laughing breathlessly.
His grin exploded across his face, brighter than the goddamn sun. He kissed her again, with everything, lifting her off the ground, spinning her in the air like they were the only two people left in the universe.
For the first time in forever, she wasn't afraid.
She was his.
And he was hers.