Page 73 of Passions Ignite

Lux laughed. “No jokes, my house looks way worse.”

“Not me,” Zoey said. “Since my dad was in the military, everything had to be in order around the house. I bet he’d give me the side-eye if he saw my room looking this way.”

“He seemed like a pretty chill guy to me.”

“Oh, he is chill. Maybe even warmer now that he’s grown older.”

Lux loved the beauty in Zoey’s eyes when she talked about her father.

“Mom likes you,” Zoey said.

Lux’s heart skipped a beat.

Zoey chuckled and continued. “She kept asking about you.”

“And?”

“And I told her you’re fine.” Zoey pushed a stray bit of hair away from her eyes. “She seemed to have this idea that we were an item.”

“Oh.” Lux let out an uncomfortable chuckle. Zoey joined in, but it fizzled out as awkwardly as it began.

They sat there for a moment, the silence stretching out between them. Lux felt her emotions pressing down on her, urging her to speak and say the things she’d held back for so long. But the words were caught in her throat, tangled up with fear and uncertainty.

She glanced over at Zoey, taking in the way the light highlighted the curve of her jaw and the softness of her expression. Zoey’s presence had become a balm for Lux’s soul, soothing the raw edges of her heart in ways she hadn’texpected. And yet the thought of opening up and exposing the vulnerability she’d kept hidden for so long was terrifying.

But Lux knew she had to do it. She couldn’t keep running from her feelings, not when they had brought her to this moment, to this person.

“Zoey,” Lux began.

Zoey turned to face her fully. “Yeah?”

Lux took a deep breath, trying to gather her thoughts. “I-I’ve been thinking a lot about us. About what we’ve been through and where we are now.”

Zoey nodded, encouraging Lux to continue.

“I never expected any of this,” Lux admitted. “I never expected to feel this way about someone, especially not in the middle of everything that’s happened. But I do. I care about you, Zoey. A lot.”

Zoey’s eyes softened, a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips. “Lux…”

“I’m not good at this,” Lux rushed on, her words coming faster now that she’d started. “I’ve never been good at letting people in, trusting them with my heart. But you? You make me want to try. You make me want to be better.”

Zoey reached out, her hand gently covering Lux’s where it rested on her knee. The touch was warm, grounding Lux in the moment and giving her the courage to keep going.

“I’m scared,” Lux admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. “I’m scared of getting hurt, of messing this up. But more than that, I’m scared of not taking the chance. Of not seeing where this could go.”

“Lux, you don’t have to be scared. I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.”

Lux felt a rush of emotion at Zoey’s words, the sincerity in her voice wrapping around Lux’s heart like a comfortingembrace. She turned her hand over, intertwining her fingers with Zoey’s, holding on tightly as if to anchor herself.

“I don’t want to lose this,” Lux said, trembling. “I don’t want to lose you.”

Zoey’s thumb brushed over the back of Lux’s hand. “You’re not going to lose me, Lux. I promise.”

For a moment, they just sat there, holding onto each other, letting the silence speak the words they didn’t need to say. Lux could feel the steady beat of Zoey’s heart through their joined hands, a rhythm that matched her own.

Lux hesitated for a second, then took a deep breath. “Zoey, would you be my girlfriend? Like, officially?”

Zoey’s eyes sparkled with warmth, and she smiled.

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