some things start with Whispers at first they hover near your ears just a vague feeling then that feeling seeps under your skin turning into a glance a touch a moment and eventually you reach a point where you can't pretend it isn't there anymore those moments they were what scared me the most I'm Esther 48 years old my whole life I tried to do the right thing I thought my second marriage would bring me peace but Gabriel he didn't give me peace he gave me loneliness his absence had been a part of my life for so
long that I stopped feeling it at least until I started losing myself in someone else's gaze Jake Gabriel's son from his first marriage 28 years old strong mature the kind of man you notice when I first met him he was distant but over time the space between us shrank now he was too close too warm and we both knew it but we acted like we didn't that night when the power went out I was home alone I went to the kitchen to find a candle but I couldn't shake this uneasy feeling inside me I called
Gabriel what do you want me to do Esther I'm out of town his voice was laced with impatience his usual indifference I'm alone I said there was a pause just for a second then his response came I'll send Jake over I didn't say anything but something inside me trembled half an hour later Jake was at the door a flashlight in his hand that familiar look on his face the one that always said too much without actually saying anything your dad said you were freaking out he said his voice calm but laced with something else something
playful I I just don't like being alone I replied I realized then that my fingers were gripping the edge of the door frame a little too tightly Jake stepped inside it had been raining a little his leather jacket was damp his broad shoulders gleaming under the dim light from outside I shut the door the power's still out I muttered Jake's eyes locked onto mine is that a bad thing something inside me snapped and I knew I couldn't pretend anymore Jake tilted his head slightly still standing at the door then he lifted the flashlight shining it
directly at my face I squinted as my eyes adjusted but I could feel his gaze traveling downward I was in my usual home clothes a thin night gown that barely reached my knees I wasn't wearing anything underneath I had been about to go to bed when the power cut out I had thrown on a light cardigan over my shoulders but I hadn't bothered to tie it my feet were bare Jake's eyes lingered at my ankles for a moment then slowly trailed upward anyway he said his voice coming out low go sit on the couch I'll
check the fuse box there was a strange unease in me I was tense but I didn't know why Jake lived alone just 15 minutes away by car his own place his own routine his own life but right now he was here in this house with me I silently made my way to the couch in the living room while Jake walked toward the fuse box flashlight in hand I took a deep breath clasping my hands together in my lap that's when I realized my whole body was tense he flipped the switch click for a brief second
the lights flickered but then everything went dark again Jake let out a sigh probably too much load on one of the circuits he muttered then he turned his flashlight toward the kitchen let me check what's causing it he said stepping inside I hadn't noticed that he went into the kitchen I assumed he had gone down to the basement since the fuse box was right next to the basement door then something fell a loud metallic clang echoed through the dark I jumped Jake I stood up quickly walking toward the pitch black kitchen Jake no answer I
took another step forward the Moonlight filtering through the kitchen window cast faint Shadows but everything was still hidden in darkness I couldn't see him but I felt something a movement just as I was about to turn my chest colled ided with something solid a body Jake the flashlight had slipped from his hand its beam Now cast off to the side his warm firm body was pressed against mine and for a brief moment a shock wave ran through me instinctively I tried to step back but Jake was standing right in front of me you came into
the kitchen too he asked his voice low almost a whisper I I didn't know where you were I said my breath coming out unsteady Jake's hand barely brushed my waist maybe just for balance but my body registered it as something much more if this is your first time hearing confessions like this and you want to support us join my channel and turn on notifications before we continue trust me you won't want the story to end in the darkness we couldn't see each other we could only feel and in that moment I realized that the pull
we had been pretending didn't exist had grown too strong to ignore our breathing was the only sound in the heavy silence Jake's breath was too close and there was nothing stopping us from locking eyes except we couldn't because everything around us was Pitch Black I placed my hand on his chest trying to step back slightly but he didn't move and neither did I Esther he whispered just hearing my name in his voice sent a shiver through me I needed to snap out of it I shook my head slightly took in an unsteady breath and forced
my voice to sound normal what's the problem I asked Jake slowly pulled his hand away from my waist but he was still close the flashlight had already fallen and the kitchen was nearly swallowed in darkness only a faint sliver of moonlight trickled through the window casting soft Shadows over everything I think it's the washing machine he murmured it must have been running when the power went out and is trying to start back up I swallowed hard so we need to unplug it right Jake nodded but hesitated there was a tension in the air something unseen
but completely felt finally I saw the outline of his body shift as he moved toward the washing machine his silhouette barely visible in the dim light then a loud clang echoed through the room I flinched what was that I whispered Jake had crouched down but he lifted his head slightly his lips curving into a small smile think I knocked something over he said his voice was calm too calm then he reached for the plug pulling it out I exhaled deeply pressing my back against the counter trying to steady myself my heartbeat was still racing I
told myself to calm down but how was I supposed to even in the darkness nothing had changed because feelings they didn't need light to be felt Jake straightened up again and I felt his eyes on me why do you seem so tense he asked his tone slightly teasing but underneath it something else I'm not tense I shot back immediately but Jake didn't look convinced I heard his footsteps in the dark One Step then another I know he said slowly I'm tense too something tightened inside me I didn't know what to do should I step back
should I look somewhere else in the room but I didn't do any of those things because Jake was right in front of me and I had let him get this close for a moment I had no idea what was going to happen next Jake was still standing there his voice still low and our bodies were almost touching at that moment I realized that turning the power back on had become just an excuse we didn't need excuses to stretch out this moment but then suddenly Jake pulled back let me take care of the fuse first he
said his voice still Rough Around the Edges I just nodded I couldn't bring myself to say anything Jake walked out of the kitchen toward the fuse box even as I listened to his footsteps fade the weight pressing down on me hadn't lifted then click a moment of silence and then a sudden flash of light filled the kitchen and the rest of the house as my eyes adjusted I realized something I felt exposed the darkness had been a shield wrapping around me but now now everything was out in the open Jake turned back around the dim
glow highlighted his face and his leather jacket still damp from the rain looked even darker under the light all right he said with a slight smile problem solved then he tilted his head slightly studying me his brows raising just a little but you still look tense I swallowed I just got startled that's all Jake let out a small chuckle but his eyes never lost their Focus or he said stepping further into the kitchen is there another reason that feeling inside me stirred again that uncomfortable but intoxicating feeling I don't know I admitted was that my
voice shaking Jake took another step now he was standing right in front of me Esther you've changed lately he said his voice quieter now but focused my breathing picked up what do you mean Jake didn't look away you used to be calmer stronger but now you feel lost don't you something in me clenched Jake I but I couldn't finish my sentence because he was right Gabriel had left me alone for years even when he was there it was like he wasn't at first I waited then I gave up then I realized I didn't even recognize
myself anymore I had become weak lost invisible and Jake saw it he placed his hand on the table close but not too close he wasn't trapping me but if I moved just a little I could touch him I care about you he said his voice soft but steady something inside me shivered you pretend like you don't feel anything he continued but you do don't you Gabriel left you alone he said he loved you but he never showed it and you got used to that but Esther he reached up fingers brushing lightly past my hair I
see you just like that everything I had been holding in got caught in my throat my eyes burned but I refused to look at him but I couldn't help it because there was something in his eyes too loneliness understanding and something else I took a deep breath and pulled back slightly but Jake didn't move I I wasn't always like this I whispered but now I don't even know who I am anymore Jake shook his head you're still the same you just need to remember and then just like that the tears spilled down my cheeks I
instinctively reached up to wiped them but Jake just tilted his head and watched me how long have you felt this way he asked it was too hard to answer so I just whispered a long time Jake didn't look away me too and that that was was what broke the last of my resistance because this moment it wasn't just about me he was alone too he wanted to be seen to matter the silence in the kitchen grew heavier as my tears kept falling Jake didn't judge me he just understood I had been alone for so long
that this warmth this moment wrapping around me felt completely foreign but it also felt terrifyingly right Jake let out a slow breath lifting his hand from the table and leaning back slightly come on he said nodding toward the living room you look exhausted no way we celebrating me fixing the fuse like this I forced a small smile but something inside me was still trembling we walked into the living room together Jake sat at one end of the couch and I settled beside him he had taken off his leather jacket his T-shirt clung to his body
still slightly damp he ran his fingers through his hair he looked exhausted I was exhausted too but not just tonight for years Lost In The Emptiness I had been drowning in for so long I didn't even realize when I let my head rest against Jake's shoulder his body was warm solid and for the first time in my life I felt like someone was actually holding me his breathing slowed so did mine and before I knew it my eyes drifted shut when I woke up the room was dimly lit for a moment I didn't know where
I was then I felt it my head was still resting on Jake's shoulder and more importantly his head was leaning slightly against mine too my breath caught Jake stirred slowly his eyes opened he lifted his head just a little just enough for our eyes to meet for a second we just looked at each other but that look there was so much in that look A warmth spread through me my heartbeat kicked up Jake's gaze dropped my lips and then he leaned in my breath hitched he kissed me at first slow hesitant but then everything we
had been holding back crashed into that moment my hands moved on their own sliding over his shoulders Jake's hand found my waist pulling me closer this was it something long buried something forgotten rising from the ashes and this time I wanted it I kissed him back fully deliberately and I knew nothing would ever be the same when Jake finally pulled away we were both breathless we looked at each other his eyes were still exploring me still wanting me and for the first time I wasn't trying to run from it Jake didn't look away instead he
whispered his voice deep and slow I've liked you for a long time my breath was unsteady but his words unlocked something inside me something that had been shut away for years I swallowed letting go of the turmoil inside me and took a step toward him I didn't break eye contact I let everything I had been suppressing pour out I've never felt anything this right before Jake didn't hesitate not for a second he just watched me and then we both moved at the same time slow at first then faster our lips crashed together again this time
there was no hesitation no restraint no denial my hands slid up to his shoulders his hands found my waist pulling me in closer my heart was pounding as we kissed my fingers Trail down his arms and then my hand reached for my straps my breath caught as my fingers hooked around them and slowly I slid them down Jake froze as he watched me but his eyes they never left mine he was seeing me he was loving me and that's why without a second thought I let myself sink down onto the couch Jake inhaled sharply and
in that moment I knew there was no turning back for him either Jake placed his knee on the couch turning his face toward me as I lay back I could see him freeing himself from his clothes and it affected me more than I could put into words he understood me he cared about me he was young and unbelievably handsome for the first time I didn't feel alone just then I noticed the slow movement of his hand and I loved it I felt something bigger than anything I had ever known before this time I didn't want
to surrender to excitement I wanted to surrender to emotion I wasn't alone I could feel that in every inch of my body I opened my eyes letting my hands slide down from Jake's shoulders I wrapped my arms tightly around my own legs Jake breathless and flushed looked irresistible and in that exact moment my body tensed my nails felt like they were almost piercing into my thighs my legs locked completely and with a loud cry I surrendered myself I was instinctively begging Jake to do the same it didn't take long he listened I felt a deep
warmth inside me and afterward I whispered a soft thank you when he lay down beside me he was completely out of breath we didn't say a single word I just listened to his heartbeat waiting for his breathing to steady and before I knew it I had fallen asleep right there I knew Gabriel wasn't coming home and in that moment nothing else mattered nothing but this sense of relief this peace as I slipped into sleep when I woke up that morning I had no idea Jake had a surprise waiting for me I had never woken up
this happy before never felt so in love that I wanted to throw myself into a man's arms the second I opened my eyes but this time everything was going to go even further stay tuned because this story isn't over if you've made it this far I know this story has pulled you in deep there's so much more to share and you don't want to miss a thing so hit that follow button turn on notifications and drop a comment below