Almost Love, Then Everything - Chapter 4: Chapter 4
You are reading Almost Love, Then Everything, Chapter 4: Chapter 4. Read more chapters of Almost Love, Then Everything.
Leah had never been one for overthinking. But today—today was different.
She sat at her desk by the window, staring at the sketch she’d drawn the night before. It was Jade. Not just her face, but her posture, the way her fingers curled slightly when she laughed, how her shoulders relaxed when she felt safe.
Leah had drawn dozens of people before. But Jade’s image felt like more than lines. It felt like memory.
It felt like feeling.
And now, Tuesday was almost here again. But this time, Jade had texted her the night before:
“Want to meet somewhere different tomorrow?”
Somewhere different.
A simple message. But it carried weight.
Because this wasn’t a routine anymore. This was the beginning of something else.
—
They met at the greenhouse just outside town.
Leah arrived first, the warm air inside fogging up her glasses. The air was thick with the scent of lavender, lemon balm, and soil. Hanging pots swayed gently from the beams above, and sunlight poured through the glass panels like honey.
Then Jade arrived—wearing a denim jacket over a black hoodie, eyes lighting up as she spotted Leah.
“You actually came,” she said.
Leah raised an eyebrow. “You doubted me?”
“Not exactly,” Jade replied, walking beside her down the narrow aisle of herbs and wildflowers. “I just wasn’t sure how ready you were for something… real.”
They stopped near a bench tucked between two rows of climbing jasmine vines.
Leah sat down. “You think this is real?”
Jade didn’t sit at first. She stood, shifting slightly, her face more serious than Leah had ever seen it.
“I think,” Jade said carefully, “this is starting to mean something. And I don’t want to pretend like it doesn’t.”
Leah’s heart thudded once—hard.
She had felt it too. That shift.
That quiet moment in the café when their fingers touched. That soft tug in her chest when Jade left and she already missed her. That sketch she kept looking at even when she told herself to stop.
But saying it aloud? That made it real.
“I’m scared,” Leah admitted softly. “I don’t know if I’m good at this.”
Jade finally sat beside her. Not too close. Just enough.
“I’m not asking for perfect,” Jade said. “Just honest.”
There was a pause—long, warm, tender.
Then Jade turned her head, voice barely above a whisper.
“Can I ask you something real?”
Leah nodded.
Jade took a breath.
“Do you want this… with me?”
Leah looked at her—really looked. At the steadiness in Jade’s eyes, the nervous edge behind her calm voice, the way she waited, not pressuring, just hoping.
And for once, Leah didn’t run from what she felt.
“I do,” she said quietly. “I want this. But I don’t know how fast I can move.”
Jade smiled, relief spreading across her face.
“Then we take our time. No script. No pressure. Just… us.”
She held out her pinky—simple, sincere.
Leah linked hers without hesitation.
A quiet promise.
Nothing dramatic. No grand kiss. Just two people sitting in a greenhouse, under jasmine vines, letting something real begin.
Love didn’t rush in like a storm.
It grew, slowly—like sunlight through glass.
She sat at her desk by the window, staring at the sketch she’d drawn the night before. It was Jade. Not just her face, but her posture, the way her fingers curled slightly when she laughed, how her shoulders relaxed when she felt safe.
Leah had drawn dozens of people before. But Jade’s image felt like more than lines. It felt like memory.
It felt like feeling.
And now, Tuesday was almost here again. But this time, Jade had texted her the night before:
“Want to meet somewhere different tomorrow?”
Somewhere different.
A simple message. But it carried weight.
Because this wasn’t a routine anymore. This was the beginning of something else.
—
They met at the greenhouse just outside town.
Leah arrived first, the warm air inside fogging up her glasses. The air was thick with the scent of lavender, lemon balm, and soil. Hanging pots swayed gently from the beams above, and sunlight poured through the glass panels like honey.
Then Jade arrived—wearing a denim jacket over a black hoodie, eyes lighting up as she spotted Leah.
“You actually came,” she said.
Leah raised an eyebrow. “You doubted me?”
“Not exactly,” Jade replied, walking beside her down the narrow aisle of herbs and wildflowers. “I just wasn’t sure how ready you were for something… real.”
They stopped near a bench tucked between two rows of climbing jasmine vines.
Leah sat down. “You think this is real?”
Jade didn’t sit at first. She stood, shifting slightly, her face more serious than Leah had ever seen it.
“I think,” Jade said carefully, “this is starting to mean something. And I don’t want to pretend like it doesn’t.”
Leah’s heart thudded once—hard.
She had felt it too. That shift.
That quiet moment in the café when their fingers touched. That soft tug in her chest when Jade left and she already missed her. That sketch she kept looking at even when she told herself to stop.
But saying it aloud? That made it real.
“I’m scared,” Leah admitted softly. “I don’t know if I’m good at this.”
Jade finally sat beside her. Not too close. Just enough.
“I’m not asking for perfect,” Jade said. “Just honest.”
There was a pause—long, warm, tender.
Then Jade turned her head, voice barely above a whisper.
“Can I ask you something real?”
Leah nodded.
Jade took a breath.
“Do you want this… with me?”
Leah looked at her—really looked. At the steadiness in Jade’s eyes, the nervous edge behind her calm voice, the way she waited, not pressuring, just hoping.
And for once, Leah didn’t run from what she felt.
“I do,” she said quietly. “I want this. But I don’t know how fast I can move.”
Jade smiled, relief spreading across her face.
“Then we take our time. No script. No pressure. Just… us.”
She held out her pinky—simple, sincere.
Leah linked hers without hesitation.
A quiet promise.
Nothing dramatic. No grand kiss. Just two people sitting in a greenhouse, under jasmine vines, letting something real begin.
Love didn’t rush in like a storm.
It grew, slowly—like sunlight through glass.
End of Almost Love, Then Everything Chapter 4. Continue reading Chapter 5 or return to Almost Love, Then Everything book page.