Chapter 3: Blur of the Night

Emily 👩🏻

I sprawled across our apartment couch, my laptop teetering on my stomach as the knight-pawn puzzle mocked me with its buggy code. Lazy Jake’s GitHub fix had fallen short of my expectations, and I was running out of ideas to fix the knight moves. The Geek Pride Fair loomed closer.

I was stuck here debugging alone while Jake played calendar heartthrob with Sarah at the charity photoshoot. I pictured Miss Perfect Cheerleader batting her lashes under the park’s string lights, her golden hair catching the glow, stealing his signature grin. My stomach twisted with jealousy. I shoved my glasses up my nose and glared at the screen, but the knight kept leaping off the board’s edges, as useless as my scattered focus.

In our chess-based game, I saw myself as the pawn—teetering on the edge of danger. I dreamed of crossing the board to become a queen. Jake was my knight. He’s always shielding me, but what if I made a bold move? What if there was another piece in the mix? A bishop cutting diagonally would change the game entirely. I scolded myself to focus.

‘You’re coding, Emily, not scripting a throuple fanfiction.’

I glanced down at my outfit. I had snagged Jake’s old sleeveless football tee from his laundry pile. His faint scent was clinging to the fabric. The shirt hugged my curves perfectly. A sharp contrast to my usual oversized hoodie armor. My damp hair spilled past my shoulders. Freed from its usual messy bun. I caught my reflection in the dark TV screen and smirked.

‘Okay, Em, you’re kind of hot tonight. But Jake wouldn’t notice. To him, I was just the nerdy best friend. The one who bossed him around.’

The apartment door creaked open, and Jake shuffled in. His blonde hair was mussed by the wind. His backpack hit the floor with a thud. His familiar scent—grass, sweat, and that infuriatingly appealing body wash ... damn. It sparked a flutter in my chest.

‘Pheromone overload. Abort mission.’

But then a sweet, floral whiff hit me. Sarah. My eyes narrowed as jealousy surged like a compiler error.

“Hey, Em,” Jake said. “Sorry I’m late.”

‘Double damn ... His grin should come with a warning label.’

I stood up and crossed my arms. Then I stepped closer to him. “You reek, dude,” I said. “And not just your post-practice funk. That’s her perfume, isn’t it?” I sniffed dramatically, hiding how his scent was short-circuiting my brain.

‘Control yourself, girl.’

He froze, looking as guilty as a kid caught sneaking cookies. “Uh, yes,” he admitted. “The photoshoot got ... cozy.”

“Cozy, huh?” I grabbed his collar and tugged him down to my level. My face inches away from his. I scanned him carefully.

‘No lipstick marks. No obvious hickeys, thank God.’

But his warmth and the faint brush of his breath sent a shiver through me. I held my glare. “You’re lucky you’re clean, mister,” I said. “Sit. Your fix didn’t work, and I need fresh ideas.”

He laughed and dropped onto the couch. “Yes, ma’am.”

I plopped down beside him. My laptop is on my lap. Our thighs brushing. His heat made my skin buzz. I cursed my traitorous brain for overreacting. The knight-pawn puzzle glared back from the screen. Its glitches mirrored my own tangled emotions. “This knight’s still drunk,” I muttered. “It keeps jumping off the board.”

Jake leaned in. His shoulder grazed mine as he squinted at the screen. “Let me see,” he said. “Do you remember that seventh-grade puzzle box? We stayed up until dawn. You were this close to tears.”

“Lies,” I snorted and shoved his arm playfully. “I recall you gluing your fingers together like a genius. I had to scrub you free.”

“Hey, I was the visionary!” He shot back, grinning. “You overengineered the glue.”

We burst into laughter, the memory wrapping us in the familiar warmth of our middle school days. Jake shut down bullies who called me “four-eyes.” Me sneaking him snacks during his mom’s groundings. He was my knight, always. I glanced at him. His eyes were soft and inviting. Without thinking, I leaned into his arm. I rested my head on his shoulder. My chest brushed against him, and I froze. ‘Oh crap, too close.’ My heart stuttered, but he didn’t pull away. A new flicker in his eyes made my pulse race.