Lend Me Your Heart

Nine

This had better be one damn perfect kiss, I thought to myself. All the time we’d spent getting to get to know each other, all the time spent talking, hanging out, laughing, crying, and yelling; I didn’t regret one single second of it. Zach and I deserved each other. I changed his attitude and he changed my view on people in general. Once I was able to look past Zach’s angry, emotional side, I was able to bring out the best in him. Now I know not to judge people so harshly by first glance; first impressions certainly do not last a lifetime.

My eyes fluttered shut in anticipation. And then our lips clashed together.

Chills shot up my arms and down around my spine, throughout my entire body. My breath got caught in my throat and I couldn’t feel my legs. His lips were softer than I’d imagined. Everything we’d gone through, everything we’d ever done together, was all collected and pushed behind us, leaving he and I together in the moment. That’s what it felt like: him, the kiss, and me. That’s simply all there was to it.

His hands snaked their way around my waist and held me closer to his chest. And then, after a moment of being interlocked by out lips, we pulled apart. I exhaled the breath I was holding in, my heart beating a million miles per second. It was so fast I felt like I was going to faint. My face was definitely the color of a strawberry, but I was warm. My stomach was warm and packed with butterflies, and my arms were warm, too, despite the goose bumps.

His head backed an inch away from mine so he could look into my eyes once more before his lips instantly found mine again. This time, his lips were more forceful, more eager. He kissed me again and again and again…so many times I lost count. And then all of his little kisses sort of blended together until our mouths were moving in harmony with each other. He kneeled up on the couch, moving my legs underneath his and crouching over me while I lied down on the cushions. My hands locked in a tight grip around his neck, pulling him in closer to my lips. His hands slid beneath my head, fervently grasping my hair in his fists. And then I moved my head to the side to catch my breath. When I exhaled, an exhausted sound came from my mouth, surprising me.

“Jesus,” he breathed, our foreheads resting against each other.

We spent a moment together in silence like that, breathing harshly and looking into each others eyes until we suddenly heard a car pull into the driveway, and I was grateful we’d stopped kissing because we definitely wouldn’t have heard it while locking lips. Our minds would’ve been focused on other things besides the sounds around us, but when it all stopped, we both heard the gravel roll and shot up, sitting upright on the couch instinctively and looking out the glass door, which showed inside our mudroom and the front porch.

Mike parked his car crooked, practically sideways, in the driveway and I knew he was drunk He’s so stupid! He could’ve gotten in an accident! A few seconds later, Mike and Ellie stumbled up the front porch together, arm and arm, leaning on one another for support. Out of peripheral vision, I saw Zach’s fist clench in fury. My eyebrows creased in worry, looking at him in curiosity.

“Zach, what’s wrong?” I asked, worry rising in my voice.

“Your brother’s an idiot,” he sneered without taking his eyes off of the door.

“Because he’s drunk?” I asked.

“Yes, because he’s drunk! How could he be stupid enough to drive himself and Ellie back home that intoxicated? He could’ve fucking killed her!”

“I know,” I said. “But it’s a good thing he didn’t.”

Zach’s head then turned towards me, his eyes narrowing in anger.

“But he could have, Layne! That’s the whole point! They’re alive one second and the next they’re dead! That’s it. That’s the end of it and only just because they decided to go out and get fucking drunk!” he yelled, his hands squeezing my wrists in anger.