The after-action debrief droned on beneath fluorescents that felt harsher than any blaze. I sat at the long conference table, pen poised above my notebook, but all I could think about was how Rafe's eyes had found mine every time the lieutenant looked away.

He sat two seats down, broad shoulders hunched over his own notes. His proximity felt like a live wire grazing my skin—electric, dangerous. Every time I lifted my pen, it brushed against his arm, sending a thrill up my spine.

Lieutenant Harris wrapped up with a clipped, "Good job today. Dismissed."

Cadets shuffled out. Rafe and I remained, both pretending to review our scribbles. When at last we were alone, the room felt impossibly small.

I cleared my throat, gathering courage. "Rafe—about the drill..."

His head lifted, storm-gray eyes locking onto mine. The hum of the projector went silent in my ears. "Yeah?"

I swallowed. My bladder tightened. My palms itched. I'd rehearsed this a thousand times. "You... you did great out there. We worked well together."

He tilted his head, expression unreadable. "We did."

Something passed between us—a flicker of heat that had nothing to do with the day's simulated inferno.

My heart pounded. I forced myself to speak. "Listen, about what happened..."

His gaze dropped to my lips. I followed, breath catching. They were just inches away. His lashes cast shadows across his cheekbones. I could smell him—smoke and something soft, like cedar.

I opened my mouth, but the words tangled in my throat. Instead, I reached up, brushing a stray eyelash from his face. His breath hitched. My fingertips lingered against his skin.

Time slowed.

I leaned in, drawn by a force I couldn't resist.

"Cadet—"

His voice cracked. My name on his lips felt like a spark against damp tinder. My pulse thundered as I closed the distance...

But then the door swung open with a bang. Lieutenant Harris strode in, clipboard in hand, breaking the moment.

"McAllister! Vassar! Report to my office in ten!"

We jolted apart as though electrocuted. My fingers fell away, and his mask of composure snapped back in place.

"Sir," we said in unison, voices tight.

As we stood, our shoulders brushed one last time. I dared a quick glance up—he met my eyes, promise in his storm-gray depths.

Then we were marching down the corridor side by side, hearts still echoing that near-miss moment.

The kiss remained suspended between us, unclaimed—but the embers were there, glowing in the spaces we left behind.