Chapter 24: My Favorite Person

  The first time Mira noticed it, she told herself not to care.

  Mira hadn’t meant to look over—but she did. Right across the quad, near the café tables, there was Lena. Coat half-buttoned, boots neat and clean, hands tucked into her sleeves like always. She looked sharp. Elegant. Unbothered.

  And she wasn’t alone.

  Some girl Mira didn’t recognize was ughing a little too much at something Lena said. She leaned forward, her hand brushing the table, chin tilted just so. Flirting, maybe. Definitely something. Lena, as usual, stayed perfectly composed. Her smile was faint and slow—barely there—but it still made Mira’s stomach clench.

  It wasn’t jealousy in the awful way. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Lena. It was just… annoying. Uncomfortable. Like seeing someone touch something that clearly wasn’t theirs.

  That was her smile.

  That was her Lena.

  Mira turned away quickly, clutching her iced coffee harder than necessary and nearly spilling it on her jacket.

  By the time they were back at Lena’s apartment that evening, Mira was quiet. Not sulking exactly, but quiet in the way that made her blink too often and answer questions with little nods.

  Lena didn’t ask anything at first. She let Mira curl up on the couch under a throw bnket, let her scroll aimlessly on her phone while dinner simmered on the stove. The apartment was softly lit. Piano music pyed from her speaker, mellow and unintrusive.

  It would’ve been peaceful.

  But Mira kept stealing gnces. Not bold ones. Just those flickers of attention she thought Lena wouldn’t notice—eyes trailing over her from behind the phone screen, then darting away again.

  She didn’t notice when Lena crossed the room.

  But she felt it when Lena took the phone gently out of her hands, pced it face down on the table, and knelt in front of the couch, eye-level.

  “Mira,” Lena said softly.

  Mira blinked. “Yeah?”

  Lena tilted her head. “Something’s bothering you.”

  “I’m fine.”

  “Mira.”

  Her name came a little firmer this time. Not scolding—just unmistakable. Mira’s stomach flipped.

  Lena leaned in, one hand bracing the cushion beside Mira’s knee. “Tell me.”

  “I…” Mira hesitated. Then her voice dropped, barely above a whisper. “I saw you earlier. Talking to that girl.”

  Lena didn’t move.

  “She was really into you,” Mira added, squirming a little. “I didn’t like it.”

  Lena’s gaze didn’t waver. “No?”

  Mira bit her lip. Her fingers twisted the edge of the bnket. “I want to be the only one you touch like that.”

  There was a pause. The kind that held something sharp underneath it.

  Then Lena smiled—slow, warm, possessive. The kind of smile Mira had only ever seen directed at her.

  “Oh, baby,” she murmured, brushing a knuckle along Mira’s cheek. “You are.”

  Mira melted instantly, exhaling like she’d been holding her breath.

  “I only touch you like that,” Lena went on, voice low. “I only make you whimper. I only whisper into your ear. I only tell you to be good. Do you know why?”

  Mira blinked. “Why?”

  “Because you’re mine.”

  That did it.

  Mira’s face flushed a deep, gorgeous pink. She didn’t even try to hide it—she just leaned forward, pressing her forehead to Lena’s shoulder like it was the only safe pce in the world.

  Lena let her stay there for a moment. Then she whispered, “Say it again.”

  Mira’s voice was muffled against her sweater. “I want to be the only one.”

  “You are,” Lena said, wrapping her arms around her. “You’re my favorite person, sweetheart. No one else even comes close.”

  Mira gave a quiet, shaky ugh. “That’s such a dumb way to say something sweet.”

  “And yet, you’re blushing.”

  “Shut up.”

  “I don’t think I will,” Lena said lightly. “You’re so much cuter when you’re flustered.”

  Mira huffed. “You’re impossible.”

  Lena kissed the top of her head. “And you’re mine.”

  ---

  They ended up curled on the couch after dinner, Mira tucked under Lena’s arm with her legs draped across her p. Lena’s fingers found their way into her hair, stroking gently behind her ear. Mira was so warm she could barely stay upright.

  “Did you like saying it?” Lena asked eventually.

  “Saying what?”

  “That you wanted to be the only one.”

  Mira hesitated, then nodded. “Yeah.”

  Lena smiled again, the kind that held something a little dangerous. “Good. I like hearing it.”

  Mira tucked her face into Lena’s colr. “I’ll say it again if you keep petting me.”

  “That’s bribery.”

  “It’s called negotiation.”

  Lena chuckled softly. “I’ll allow it.”

  Mira closed her eyes and let herself melt.

  Warmth everywhere. Gentle pressure at her scalp. The steady heartbeat of someone who owned her in all the ways that mattered.

  And underneath it all, that fizzy, fluttery thing in her chest again. The one that bloomed only when Lena was close. Only when she knew she belonged.