Beneath Her Ice

They didn't plan to stay late. It just… happened.

After touring the Dandelion Center, Eliza had offered Will a ride home. But somewhere between Queens and Brooklyn, a summer storm cracked open above the city, fierce and sudden.

So they took shelter—of all places—in a tiny jazz bar tucked off Delancey.

It was nearly empty. Rain streaked the windows. Music drifted from the stage in warm, velvet waves. Eliza ordered whiskey. Neat. Will, a ginger beer.

It was the kind of place that asked you to tell the truth. Maybe it was the music. Or the storm. Or the fact that, for once, no one expected them to perform.

"I used to think if I built enough walls," Eliza said, swirling her drink, "nothing could get in. Turns out, I just ended up trapped behind them."

Will leaned forward, elbows on the table. "You still don't trust me, do you?"

"I don't trust myself," she said simply. "I don't know what to do with someone who doesn't want anything from me."

The honesty startled them both.

He reached across the table, brushed his fingers over hers. "Maybe you don't have to do anything."

She didn't pull away.

The silence pulsed—thick, charged, electric.

And then—

She leaned in.

So did he.

Their lips met in a kiss that felt like surrender.

It wasn't wild. It wasn't desperate.

It was slow, searching, laced with disbelief.

Like neither of them could quite believe the other was real.

Her hand curled into his shirt. His thumb traced the edge of her jaw.

And then—

A voice. Cold. Sharp.

"Eliza."

They broke apart instantly.

Catherine Bourgeois stood near the bar, clad in storm-colored silk and disappointment.

Her eyes flicked to Will, unreadable. Then back to Eliza.

"Eliza," she said again, quieter this time. "We need to talk."

Eliza rose slowly. Her voice was steady, but her hand trembled slightly at her side.

"Will, I—"

He nodded. "Go."

She hesitated. Then followed Catherine into the rain.

He sat back down, heart pounding, lips still tingling, trying to ignore the sudden ache in his chest.

Whatever had just bloomed between them?

It wasn't going to go unchallenged.