Is This Love???

The air smelled like rain and cut grass as Rochelle sat on the hood of Chris’s car, staring up at the dark blue sky painted with fading streaks of orange. Summer was ending too fast. Tomorrow morning meant junior year. Football games. Classes. Drama. Expectations.

Reality.

Tonight was supposed to be simple.

One last night before everything changed.

Chris stood a few feet away at the basketball court beside the park, spinning a basketball lazily in his hands before shooting another perfect three-pointer. The chain net rattled loudly in the quiet neighborhood.

“Still cheating, I see,” Rochelle called out with a grin.

Chris looked over at her immediately, smirking. “How am I cheating if I’m just better than you?”

“Because you play basketball and football every day of your life.”

“And you spend every day watching romance movies and crying.”

Rochelle gasped dramatically. “First of all, I do not cry.”

Chris walked closer, the corners of his lips pulling upward. “You cried during that dog movie.”

“That dog died, Chris!”

“You cried before the dog died.”

She rolled her eyes while laughing softly, and for a second everything felt easy again. Just them. Like it had always been.

Chris hopped onto the hood beside her, close enough that their shoulders touched slightly. Rochelle hated how much she noticed things like that now. The warmth of his arm. The way his cologne mixed with the summer air. The tiny scar near his eyebrow she used to tease him about when they were kids.

Everything about him suddenly felt dangerous.

And maybe that was the problem.

They had spent the entire summer together. Beach trips with friends. Late-night phone calls. Ice cream runs at midnight. Watching movies until they both fell asleep on opposite ends of the couch. Somewhere between June and August, Rochelle had stopped seeing Chris as just her best friend.

Now every smile meant too much.

Every touch lasted too long.

And every time another girl looked at him, something ugly twisted inside her chest.

“You nervous about tomorrow?” Chris asked quietly.

Rochelle shrugged. “Not really.”

“You’re lying.”

“I’m serious.”

“You always play with your bracelet when you’re nervous.” He nodded toward her wrist.

Rochelle instantly stopped touching it.

Chris laughed softly. “See?”

“I hate you.”

“No, you don’t.”

The teasing words should’ve felt normal. They always had before. But tonight there was something heavier underneath them, something neither of them wanted to acknowledge.

Chris leaned back against the windshield, staring up at the sky. “Junior year’s supposed to be the hardest year.”

“That’s what literally everybody says.”

“My mom already started talking about colleges.”

“My aunt printed out scholarship papers before school even started.”

Chris groaned dramatically. “See? We’re suffering already.”

Rochelle laughed again, but her smile slowly faded as silence settled between them. Not awkward silence. Just... full silence. The kind that carried thoughts too dangerous to say out loud.

Chris turned his head slightly to look at her.

God, she was pretty tonight.

The soft curls falling around her face moved gently in the wind, and the oversized hoodie she wore made her look smaller somehow. Comfortable. Real. Safe.

Chris frowned slightly at the thought.

Safe.

That’s what Rochelle had always been to him.

No games. No drama. No pretending.

Nothing like RiRi.

The name alone made tension crawl into his chest.

He hadn’t spoken to RiRi in months after their breakup exploded right before summer started. Everybody at school knew they were toxic together. Fighting one day, obsessed with each other the next. Chris was tired of relationships that felt like wars.

But Rochelle…

Rochelle felt easy.

Too easy.

And that scared him more than RiRi ever had.

“You got quiet,” Rochelle said softly.

Chris blinked. “My bad.”

“You thinking about football?”

“Something like that.”

She studied him for a moment before nudging his shoulder gently. “You know you can tell me stuff, right?”

That almost made him laugh.

If she only knew.

Chris looked away before answering. “I know.”

Rochelle’s stomach tightened slightly.

Lately she’d noticed it more—the moments where Chris would look at her too long before pulling away like he remembered something. The random jealousy whenever another guy talked to her. The way he’d started texting her good morning almost every day this summer.

It meant something.

Didn’t it?

But then again… Chris had always been affectionate with her. Maybe she was just reading too deeply into things because of her stupid crush.

Her stupid, hopeless crush.

“You remember when we used to come here every summer?” Rochelle asked, changing the subject before her thoughts consumed her completely.

Chris smiled immediately. “You mean when you used to lose every basketball game and cry?”

“I did not cry.”

“You definitely cried.”

“I was nine!”

“And dramatic.”

She shoved him lightly, laughing again.

Chris grabbed her wrist before she could pull away, both of them freezing instantly.

The world suddenly felt too still.

Too quiet.

His hand stayed wrapped gently around her wrist, warm and careful, while Rochelle forgot how to breathe properly.

Chris noticed it too.

The look in her eyes.

The nervousness.

The tension neither of them could ignore anymore.

For one dangerous second, he thought about kissing her.

And judging by the way Rochelle’s lips parted slightly, maybe she thought about it too.

But then headlights flashed across the park entrance, breaking the moment completely.

Chris let go quickly, clearing his throat as Rochelle looked away first.

“Saved by the light,” he muttered awkwardly.

Rochelle forced a laugh even though her heart was racing uncontrollably.

Coward.

She wasn’t even sure if she meant him or herself.

Chris jumped off the hood first before grabbing the basketball again. “Come on. One game.”

“You know I suck.”

“Exactly why I challenged you.”

“You’re so annoying.”

“But you still hang out with me every day.”

Rochelle hopped down beside him. “Unfortunately.”

The court lights buzzed softly above them while they played lazily, neither one truly caring about the score. Chris kept pretending to miss shots just to make Rochelle happy, and Rochelle kept pretending not to notice.

“You cheated!” she yelled after finally stealing the ball.

Chris laughed loudly. “That was clean!”

“No, it wasn’t!”

She ran toward the hoop, but Chris grabbed her around the waist before she could shoot. Rochelle squealed in surprise as both of them stumbled sideways, laughing uncontrollably.

Then suddenly they stopped.

Because Chris’s hands were still on her waist.

And Rochelle was still inches away from him.

The laughter faded slowly.

Chris looked down at her lips again before meeting her eyes.

Rochelle’s heart nearly stopped.

Kiss me.

The thought appeared so fast it scared her.

Chris swallowed hard, his voice quieter now. “Rochelle…”

Before he could finish, her phone started ringing loudly in her hoodie pocket.

Both of them jumped apart immediately.

Rochelle pulled out her phone too quickly, trying to ignore the disappointment crashing through her chest.

“Ari,” she mumbled after checking the screen.

Chris rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “You should answer it.”

Right.

Of course.

Reality again.

Rochelle answered while trying to steady her breathing. “Hello?”

“Girl, where are you?” Ari asked loudly through the speaker. “We’re all at Cardi’s house already.”

Rochelle blinked. She had completely forgotten about the group movie night.

Chris looked guilty immediately. “I forgot too.”

“You forgot because you’re with Chris, aren’t you?” Ari teased.

Rochelle rolled her eyes. “Shut up.”

Chris smirked slightly at that.

“Well hurry up,” Ari continued. “Tyga and Quavo are arguing over pizza toppings and Kayla threatened to punch both of them.”

“That sounds about right.”

“See you soon.”

The call ended.

Rochelle slid her phone back into her pocket before looking at Chris again. Neither of them spoke for a few seconds.

The almost-kiss still hung between them heavily.

“We should go,” Chris finally said quietly.

“Yeah.”

But neither moved.

Chris stared at her like he was trying to figure something out in his head. Rochelle hated how hopeful that made her feel.

“What?” she asked softly.

He shook his head slowly. “Nothing.”

Lie.

Rochelle could feel it.

The drive to Cardi’s house felt different from every other car ride they’d shared before. The music played quietly while the windows stayed rolled down, warm summer wind filling the silence between them.

Chris drove with one hand on the steering wheel while Rochelle stared out the window pretending her chest didn’t ache.

She wanted him to say something.

Anything.

Tell me you felt that too.

Tell me I’m not crazy.

But Chris stayed quiet.

Because he was scared.

And honestly?

So was she.

When they finally pulled into Cardi’s driveway, loud music and laughter spilled from the house immediately. Their friends were already outside arguing near the front porch.

Normal.

Everything suddenly looked normal again.

Chris parked the car but didn’t get out right away.

“Rochelle.”

Her stomach flipped instantly at the way he said her name.

She turned toward him slowly. “Yeah?”

Chris opened his mouth like he wanted to say something important.

Something real.

But then he looked away first.

“I’ll see you tomorrow at school.”

Disappointment hit harder than Rochelle expected.

Still, she forced a small smile. “Yeah. Tomorrow.”

She climbed out of the car before he could see the hurt on her face.

Chris watched her walk toward the house, guilt twisting inside him immediately.

Because the truth was simple.

He almost kissed her tonight.

And the worst part?

He wanted to.