"I appreciate that," Claire said, offering a small smile. "I don't want to lose this. Whatever this is right now. I just need time to figure out what I want before it turns into something serious."
Lucas nodded. "Then that's what we'll do. No pressure. We keep baking weird things and watching terrible movies and talking about everything and nothing."
"Exactly," Claire said, relieved. "No labels. Just… figuring it out."
There was a bit of silence before he leaned in slightly, not yet closing the distance. His voice dropped to barely above a whisper.
"So… can I kiss you at least, or should we wait until we've baked something new?"
Claire grinned. "We've conquered pancakes, crackers, and tea. And I like you too, she winked, so I think we've earned a kiss."
And so, under the soft tap of rain and the smell of slightly-burnt brunch in the background, Lucas kissed her. It wasn't dramatic or rushed—just warm and steady, the kind of kiss that felt like the beginning of something honest.
The room was quiet except for the patter of rain and the occasional distant curse from Max. Claire took a sip of her coffee, buying herself a moment.
"You know," she said finally, "I didn't expect any of this. When Emma asked me to come to that pancake class, I figured I'd be the bored friend scrolling on my phone for two hours."
Lucas chuckled. "And instead you ended up mastering crackers."
"And meeting you." The words were out before she fully meant them to be. Lucas looked at her, his expression changing—not startled, not smug, just real.
"I'm glad you did," he said, voice low. "Meeting you… I don't know. It made the weeks feel less… predictable."
Claire turned to face him more fully. Her heart pounded in a way that wasn't uncomfortable, just unfamiliar. There was something about Lucas—his calm, his warmth, his subtle humor—that drew her in, slowly and steadily like gravity.
He hesitated, searching her eyes. "Can I say something slightly risky?"
She nodded, barely trusting her voice.
"I like you, Claire. Not just because you make cracker jokes and critique my grilled cheese. But because… you make things feel lighter. Even when you're pretending to be unimpressed."
Claire laughed, a quiet, surprised sound. "I was trying so hard not to like you."
Lucas tilted his head. "How's that going?"
"Horribly," she said, smiling. "You're annoyingly hard not to like."
"I like you too, Lucas," she said, carefully. "More than I expected to."
"But?" he asked, reading her tone.
She nodded slowly. "But I'm not ready. I've done the 'jump into something because it feels good' thing before. And it doesn't always end well. I don't want to ruin something before it even has a chance to be anything."
Lucas was quiet, processing.
"I get that," he said, finally. "Really. I'm not in a rush. We don't have to call this anything. I just… wanted to be honest."
"I appreciate that," Claire said, offering a small smile. "I don't want to lose this. Whatever this is right now. I just need time to figure out what I want before it turns into something serious."
Lucas nodded. "Then that's what we'll do. No pressure. We keep baking weird things and watching terrible movies and talking about everything and nothing."
"Exactly," Claire said, relieved. "No labels. Just… figuring it out."
There was a bit of silence before he leaned in slightly, not yet closing the distance. His voice dropped to barely above a whisper.
"So… can I kiss you at least, or should we wait until we've baked something new?"
Claire grinned. "We've conquered pancakes, crackers, and tea. And I like you too, she winked, so I think we've earned a kiss."
And so, under the soft tap of rain and the smell of slightly-burnt brunch in the background, Lucas kissed her. It wasn't dramatic or rushed—just warm and steady, the kind of kiss that felt like the beginning of something honest.
When they pulled apart, Lucas glanced toward the kitchen. "Emma's gonna freak out when she finds out about us."
Claire laughed. "Good. She'll say 'finally' and try to take credit."
"She probably deserves it."
"Maybe. But we'll never say it out loud because I'm still not ready yet. Lets see how it goes"
They both smiled, leaning back into the couch, the rain continuing its steady rhythm around them—just like the quiet rhythm forming between them.
From the kitchen, Emma called, "We may have accidentally made something edible!"
Claire chuckled and stood. Lucas followed, giving her space but not pulling away. As they walked into the kitchen together, side by side, their hands brushed briefly—but didn't fully touch.
It wasn't quite a beginning, but it wasn't nothing either.
Somewhere between pancakes and crackers, they'd found something worth waiting for.
Whatever this was, it was real. And it was just getting started.
Emma's voice echoed through the apartment like a parade announcer on too much caffeine.
"Okay, everyone! Grab a fork, a smile, and your best manners—we're doing a proper dinner tonight!"
Claire exchanged a glance with Lucas, both barely suppressing their grins. Emma had been buzzing with excitement all week. After hearing about the kiss—which Claire had tried to keep under wraps for all of five minutes—Emma declared it was time for a double date dinner. Max was already on board. Lucas, after pretending to grumble, had been secretly tweaking his signature pasta sauce all afternoon.