Is this ours?
“W-we’re not just friends, are we?”
He shakes his head. “No.”
The entire last year flashes in front of my eyes. The way I wanted to talk to him, be his friend against all the rules. The way I hugged him without a thought, only on instinct, when I saw him here at the treehouse. His playful comments that made me blush. The way he spends hours making sketches of me. The fact that all I ever do is think about him. The way we are drawn to each other.
“Does that mean you’re my… boyfriend?”
Even though his eyes are burning hot, his lips twitch. “You figured that out, huh?”
I frown, suddenly feeling stupid. “Well, you never asked me to be your girlfriend. Boyfriends are supposed to ask their girlfriends that.”
“Yeah?”
“Yes.” I sniff, trying to move away, but he tightens his hold. “Let me go.”
“Never.” He says it like it’s a promise. I shouldn’t feel all melty and tingly but I do. “Will you be my girlfriend, Pixie?”
He’s looking deep into my eyes and it’s doing something to me, apart from making me feel all soft inside. “No,” I whisper, trying to keep my giddy grin from popping out.
Chuckling, he hangs his head. My fingers sink into his hair and I shiver with how soft it is. All golden and soft and smooth. I want to rub it all over my face, my lips, even. That gives me a pause. But my heart isn’t stopping. It’s galloping at the thought of putting my lips anywhere near Abel Adams.
He lifts his eyes and I forget all about his awesome hair. They are just so brown and shiny and his lashes are the most beautiful lashes I’ve ever seen. “You’re gonna make me beg, aren’t you?”
“Maybe.” Biting my lip, I shrug and the brown in his gaze glimmers. Glitters, shimmers, glows.
“What can I do to change your mind?”
I pretend to give it a thought. “Chocolates. Buy me tons of chocolates.”
“Done.”
“And then get me a bunch of flowers.”
“All right.”
I giggle but then raise my eyebrows, trying to look haughty and stern. “Well, then come back later and ask me again.”
Abel chuckles. “So that’s how it is, huh?”
“Uh-huh.”
He straightens himself up so that we’re the same height, even with him sitting and me on my knees. “How about I convince you some other way, right here, right now?”
My eyes go to his lips again. Immediately, automatically, like something inside me already knew what he meant. Like I already carry that knowledge somewhere deep. My tingles surge, almost knocking the breath out of me. “N-no, I just want chocolates,” I lie.
“And flowers, right?”
“Yes. So, um…” I move away from him, my hands nervously fisting my dress. “You should come back later.”
“Yeah, not gonna work for me.” He uncurls my hands and threads our fingers together. “How about you agree to be my girlfriend right now and we seal it with a kiss and I bring you all the stuff you so sweetly demanded the next time I’m here?”
Okay, so… I didn’t hear anything else except sealing it with a kiss. And of course, my heart chanting yes, yes, yes.
“Y-you want to kiss me?”
“Fuck yeah. Ever since I saw you.”
“But that was a year ago.”
“I know.”
My eyes and mouth both go wide. He’s been thinking of kissing me for twelve months now. All those things I’ve been thinking while staring at his lips and analyzing how his lower lip looks softer than his upper lip, and how it’s also thicker and redder… Has he been thinking about those things too?
Well, duh. What else would his staring mean, right? I don’t know why I’m so shocked. I should’ve known.
His eyes drop to my lips and he whispers, “Can I kiss you, Pixie?”
It’s a good thing he’s holding my hand and our palms are connected because I would’ve crumpled to the floor at that tone. His voice is raspy and thick. I keep thinking that one day I’ll get used to how different his voice is but so far it hasn’t happened.
I’ve wanted this for so long, but now I’m nervous. I don’t know what to do. Should I press my lips to his or like, nibble as I do my chocolate? It looks so easy on TV.
“Just one kiss,” I whisper, figuring it’s a good place to start. If I suck, he won’t know and I can sort of learn from it, too.
“You want me to die, don’t you?”
“No, I—”
He looks up. “Okay. Just one.”
“P-promise?”
“Yeah.” He nods and I feel his hair tickling my forehead, reminding me how close we are. I’ve never been this close to another human being. I didn’t even know people could get this close to each other.
“Okay,” I whisper.
Oh God. Oh God. Abel Adams is going to kiss me. He’s going to kiss me on the lips.