Chapter 44 My First Kiss
Mia's POV
"I think it is time you started sitting with me in the cafeteria during lunch," Liam said, his voice soft but sure as he dropped into the seat beside me under our favorite tree. Sunlight filtered through the leaves above, catching in his dark hair and turning him golden for a moment. He looked at me like I was the only person who mattered in the world.
I blinked, surprised. "But I thought you liked it here."
"I do," he said, nudging my knee gently with his. "I love it here. This is our place, remember?"
I smiled at that.
"But," he added, his tone growing more serious, "you belong everywhere in this Academy, Mia. Not just hidden under trees or sitting alone in quiet corners. You belong in the light too. And I want people to see that."
I looked away, my cheeks warming. I was not used to this kind of attention, not the soft kind that did not come with conditions or cruelty. Not the kind that said you are wanted, you are enough, just as you are.
"I want my girlfriend," he said, his eyes locked on mine, "to sit beside me at that cafeteria table today. No more hiding. No more eating alone."
The word girlfriend made my heart skip. He said it like it was the most natural thing in the world.
I nodded slowly, my voice barely above a whisper. "Okay, if that is what you want."
“It is,” he said, pulling me closer by the waist, making my knees feel weak and my thoughts turn to jelly.
As we walked toward the cafeteria, he squeezed my hand, as if reminding me that everything would be okay. I hesitated at the entrance, eyeing the large, buzzing room that had never once felt welcoming to me.
But Liam did not let me stop. He guided me through the tables like I belonged there, like I owned the room. When we reached his usual spot at the farthest side, where the football team sat like royalty, he pulled out a chair for me.
“I ordered your favorite,” he said casually, sliding my tray in front of me. “And I got extra fries, just in case.”
My fingers trembled as I took the seat beside him. Every instinct screamed that I did not belong here, that this was not my crowd. But Liam leaned in close and whispered against my ear, "Hey. I got you. I know this feels strange, but this is your space too now. You are my girlfriend. Get used to being treated the way you deserve."
I was about to respond when loud voices joined our table. Football players in varsity jackets, all tall, laughing, and full of energy. I stiffened.
But then I felt it. Liam's hand sliding under the table and curling gently around mine.
And just like that, I was not afraid.
"Hi, Mia," some of the cheerleaders greeted from across the table, their voices sweet and rehearsed, their smiles wide and perfect, just like the girls themselves. But their eyes told a different story. They glittered not with friendliness, but with thinly veiled surprise and something colder underneath.
They all wanted to be close to Liam. Not just because he was handsome or popular, but because of who he was. Liam Alcaraz. The heir to one of the most powerful families in the city. The name alone carried weight. Influence. Access.
And to them, I was a problem. Because they knew me.
They remembered me as the quiet girl who kept to herself. The girl who did not wear designer clothes or post glamorous photos at yacht parties. The girl who never tried to belong in their world and yet somehow, without trying, had captured the attention of the one boy they all wanted.
They did not understand it. But they saw it now. Liam had chosen me proudly. And if they wanted to stay in his orbit, to remain part of his world, they knew exactly what that meant.
They would have to treat me right.
Because Liam was not just sitting beside me. He was holding my hand under the table like I was his entire world. And that was the kind of power no last name, not even Alcaraz, could fake.
What none of them could have prepared for was what happened next.
As the laughter at our table grew louder and the teammates continued teasing Liam and stealing fries from his plate, one of them raised a cup and said, "So, Liam, what is the deal? Are we finally meeting the girl you have been hiding?"
Liam did not hesitate. He stood slightly, his voice rising just enough to be heard across our crowded table, and even a few nearby ones.
"This is Mia," he said with a soft smile. "She is my girlfriend."
And just like that, the entire table cheered. Clapping. Whistling. Grinning.
My heart felt like it was about to burst. I could not believe this was my life. That I was seen. That I was his.
Across the cafeteria, at a table near the corner, my ex friends sat frozen. The girls who once made me feel small. The same girls who told me I was not enough. That I did not belong. That Liam would never look my way.
Now they were watching with cold fury in their eyes, plastic straws still stuck in their untouched drinks. And what made it worse? Liam glanced over. And he saw them watching.
Then he turned to me again, his fingers brushing a loose strand of hair behind my ear with such care that my knees nearly gave out. The touch was gentle, like he was afraid of breaking something fragile inside me. My heart hammered so loudly I was sure he could hear it, feel it, know exactly how undone I already was.
"I have been waiting to do this," he murmured, and the words alone made my breath catch.
Before I could overthink it, before fear or doubt could rush in and steal the moment away, he leaned in. In front of everyone. His teammates. The cheerleaders. My former friends. The entire cafeteria watching with wide eyes and whispered shock.
He kissed me. Right there, in the middle of it all, Liam Alcaraz gave me my very first kiss.
For a second, everything inside me froze. I did not know what I was supposed to do. I had imagined this moment so many times in secret, but nothing could have prepared me for how it actually felt. His lips were warm and careful, not rushed and not demanding, just soft and real, like he was giving me something precious.
And suddenly, I was no longer thinking. I was feeling.
The nervous flutter in my chest melted into something warm and steady. My fear faded, my doubts fell quiet, and all I could feel was him and the way he kissed me like I mattered. Like I was not a mistake. Like I was chosen.
I kissed him back slowly and instinctively, my hands curling into his shirt as if holding on would keep the moment from slipping away. My heart swelled until it ached, and I realized I was smiling into the kiss, overwhelmed by how right it felt.
The cafeteria erupted around us with gasps, claps, and jealous whispers curling through the air, but I barely heard any of it.
Because for the first time in a long time, I did not care who was watching. For the first time, I did not feel small or out of place or like I was pretending to belong somewhere I did not.
I was there. I was wanted. And in his arms, with his lips still lingering against mine, I finally felt like I belonged.