NOVPUB
Chapter 111: Where Do You Think You’re Going?
She rolled her eyes, got up, and headed for the door. "Goodnight, dumbass."
"Where do you think you’re going?" Zayn asked, his voice low but steady, catching her hand before she could reach the door.
Kara froze, her fingers lightly brushing the doorknob.
She turned to look at him, eyes flicking down to where his hand clasped hers.
His grip wasn’t tight, just firm enough to tell her that he wasn’t ready for her to go — not yet.
Her cheeks, already tinged pink from earlier, flushed deeper.
But what caught her off guard wasn’t her own reaction — it was his.
Zayn’s cheeks were pink too.
She blinked.
The casual, teasing, maddeningly chill Zayn... was blushing?
Before she could form a witty remark or deflect with one of her usual quips, he took a step forward.
Then another.
Then another.
It was only a couple of paces, but the room felt smaller instantly.
Warmer too.
His hand was still wrapped around hers, and she could feel the nervous energy pulsing from his skin to hers.
It was different this time.
The way he looked at her wasn’t joking. It wasn’t playful. It was... something else.
Something that made her heart beat twice as fast and her knees feel suspiciously like they were made of gelatin.
She swallowed hard.
"You’re..." she began, but the words never finished.
Because Zayn leaned in.
And this time, it was him who closed the distance.
Kara’s eyes fluttered shut, and she didn’t pull away.
How could she? Her breath hitched as his lips met hers, not gentle or cautious like before.
No, this kiss was hungry. Sloppy. Unrefined. Like two people fumbling in the dark for something they didn’t know they wanted until now.
Tongues brushed, then tangled.
Her hand slipped to his chest instinctively, clutching the fabric of his shirt like she might fall if she let go.
Zayn’s free hand rose, cupping the back of her neck, pulling her in just a little more.
There were no fireworks, no background music swelling in the distance, no perfect angle for a fantasy painting.
But it was real.
And that made it perfect in its own messy, breathless way. 𝘯𝑜𝘷𝘱𝘶𝘣.𝘤𝘰𝑚
When he finally did pull back, his breath mingled with hers for a moment.
Their foreheads were nearly touching.
His eyes searched hers — no cocky smirk this time.
No tease. Just him, standing there, flushed and wide-eyed and still catching his breath.
"Goodnight," he whispered.
Then he let go of her hand, turned around, and walked to his bed like nothing had happened.
Kara stood there. Stunned. Lips still tingling. Brain rebooting.
Did he just —
She blinked again, staring blankly at the spot where he now sat, casually fluffing his pillow like he hadn’t just made her heart run a marathon.
It took her three full seconds to realize her mouth was slightly open. She closed it with a click, cheeks fully crimson now.
"Goodnight," she muttered, almost mechanically.
And then she shut the door behind her before she did something stupid like climb back into that room and kiss him again.
Outside the door, she paused, placing a hand over her chest. Her heart was thundering so loud it was borderline illegal.
She let out a slow breath, closed her eyes for a moment, and whispered to herself.
"Damn it, Zayn..."
...
Inside the room, Zayn flopped back onto his bed and stared up at the ceiling, his fingers lightly brushing his own lips.
’Okay. So... that happened.’
What the hell was that?
Did he really just kiss her like that? Where the hell did that come from? He wasn’t even that smooth!
That was, like, top-tier Zayn material. Where had that confidence been hiding? In the sock drawer?
He kicked his feet into the air once and let out a soft, strangled noise.
This wasn’t the first time they’d kissed.
But it was the first time he had made the move.
All the others had been Kara’s initiative — usually catching him off guard, leaving him flustered and scrambling to keep up. But now?
Now the roles were reversed.
And she hadn’t pushed him away.
He grinned like a fool, covering his face with both hands.
A man could slay a dungeon boss and still be undone by a single kiss with a hot girl. Incredible.
He slowly sat up, groaning at how hot his ears felt. "Ugh... why is this harder than fighting a monster that eats soul energy?"
A moment later, he leaned back, letting the bed creak beneath him. His eyes wandered to the window where moonlight trickled in like soft silver threads.
He didn’t want to overthink it.
It was a kiss.
A damn good kiss.
Zayn had barely flopped back into bed when another knock sounded at the door.
He groaned, flipping onto his side and burying his face into the pillow.
Was she back for round two?
No — Kara didn’t knock like that.
Hers was fast and decisive. This one was softer, almost... hesitant?
He sat up slowly, the blanket falling off his bare shoulders.
Still, curiosity tugged him forward. He padded barefoot to the door and opened it —
And Elisse pushed in like a summer storm.
She kissed him.
No warning. No greeting. No hesitation.
Just lips.
Her unbelievably soft, full lips crashed into his, and her body pressed against his with a surprising urgency.
He staggered back a step, feeling the full weight of her — specifically, her very noticeable assets — squishing up against his chest.
Her arms wrapped around his neck like she was afraid he’d vanish if she let go.
"Elisse — wait — " Zayn mumbled into her lips, but she didn’t. She only deepened the kiss, tilting her head and drawing a breathy hum from him.
And he... didn’t want to stop.
His hand, acting entirely on its own, lifted in a daze and summoned a thin strand of golden-pink soul energy.
The soul thread wove through the air and clicked into the lock with a satisfying hum, locking the door shut behind her.
He was still walking backward, her lips not once leaving his, when the back of his knees hit the edge of the bed — and down they went.
