Cassandra's Dead Sister's Bucket List ✔

-14-

·Cassandra·

I can't stop pacing the floor. "Why am I so nervous?" I ask but the walls remain silent. Katie is downstairs talking with Georgina, while here I am...a nervous wreck about to crash against Tobias in front of his one thousand and thirty-two followers.

I wasn't expecting this. I wanted just a simple, yet epic kiss. Maybe he would take me to the cinema to watch a movie, but he would end up kissing me instead. To be honest, the backyard from school would have sufficed.

The thing is that even when I showcase this super-strong, careless girl behavior, I still haven't actually kissed someone. Well, there it is. I said it. I'm not that reckless. I mean I am reckless but not in that particular aspect of my life. One thing is for me to dance in underwear in front of all the guys from school, and a very different thing is to let someone touch me.

Someone knocks on the door and I gasp. "Jesus, Cassandra, chill the heck down," I command myself as I near the door. Then, I frown. Who could be knocking? No one ever cares to knock in this house.

"Ulysses?" I voice, shocked.

He ruffles the back of his head, a troubled look printed on his face. "Um- I-, Um... nothing." He turns and walks away, leaving me baffled.

I start closing the door while my brain tries to process what has just happened. Then, I shrug my shoulders and unlock my phone to check my notifications. I sigh, annoyed when someone knocks on the door again.

"What do you want, Ulysses?" I bark, opening the door.

"I need to talk to you," he declares, stepping inside. "I'm sorry. I'm not good at this," he offers and then goes quiet.

I stare at him waiting for him to say something—I swear I don't get guys.

He strides toward Katie's desk and sits on the wooden edge of it. "I wanted to say..." he trails off, taking a deep breath, "that I'm sorry for the power cut and that because of that you couldn't get the tickets you wanted for the Coldplay concert."

"Oh." I look at him, puzzled. "That's okay," I assure him. "You made it up for me by playing all those songs for us. It was really special. I'm sure that's what Jazmin wanted: to have fun and enjoy life."

His dimples show as the corners of his lips curl up, satisfied with my response. I think it's the first time I see the mole under the right corner of his lip. At that specific moment, an idea sparks in my mind.

"Ok, then if we're okay, that's all I needed to say," he states.

My heart knocks against my ribs as I brew the words in my mind. He stands up and walks away from me. I know it's now or never.

"Ulysses," I call him and he stops in his tracks right before closing the door.

"Yes, Cas?" His emerald eyes compel mine.

"I kind of need a favor," I confess, twirling a lock of my hair around my index finger.

🖤🖤🖤

"So you want me to kiss you?" he asks for the umpteenth time. He is sitting on the desk, his legs dangling, and I stand there before him.

"I just want to practice. It's like a rehearsal for tomorrow," I explain, waving my hands in the air.

"Why would you need practice, Bambi?" His brows furrow. He scans my face, trying to find answers.

"Don't make me say it, please."

He laughs, tipping his head back.

"If you're gonna make fun of me, just leave," I urge him, covering my face.

"No. Okay. Wait. So, this that we're about to do...is your first kiss?"

I nod my head, with my hands still stuck on my face.

His hands carefully reach for mine, pulling them off my face.

"Are you sure this is how you want your first kiss to be?" he queries.

Biting my lower lip, I reply, "Having been so close to death, one learns to appreciate the lasts, not the firsts."

His eyes blink twice, his head shaking ever-so-slightly. "Of course. Okay, let's practice," he finally agrees.

"Okay. Yes," I add, but I just stand there, my teeth roaming around the hem of my white, cotton sweater.

His emerald gaze lingers on my lips, and I'm not sure if I want to pee or if that's butterflies in my stomach—It's definitely something I haven't experienced before.

"You've to come closer," he speaks in a baritone, draping his hand around my waist.

I gulp, feeling my chest almost pressed against his. My eyes are glued to his reddish lips, and it just happens. I crash my lips against his.

Gravity is to blame—or whatever force pulled me to do that.

"Hey, hey." He grabs my shoulders, detaching me softly from him.

"Did I do something wrong?" I question, scared.

"No. It's just that Tobias doesn't like forward girls. He likes to be in charge, bossing people around," he informs me. "So, it's better if you let him kiss you, okay?"

"Yeah, sure. Can we try again?"

He nods.

"Try to relax. Take a deep breath." He rubs my shoulders, standing up from his place until he's towering over me and I'm forced to look up.

His green irises delve into mine, and I close my own, sighing in relief when his hands cradle the sides of my neck. His cold touch feels amazing against my warm skin.

I breathe heavily. The warmth of his minty breath fans gently against my lips. His mouth parts on mine. He stays there for a second too long—or maybe too short. He tilts his head, accessing my mouth from a different position. This time, his tongue delicately grazes my own.

Jelly, that's what my knees feel like. I'm not sure how am I standing. If this is what kissing Ulysses feels like, I can't wait to see what it would feel like to kiss my actual crush. And I'm sure Tobias cannot be as bad as the Wilkinsons depict him.

My hands act on their own accord, traveling to his tousled hair and pulling him closer to me as we deepen the kiss.

He presses his forehead against mine, and my lips mesh with his one more time—I swear the floor keeps shifting below me.

"That's enough practice for today," he declares, our mouths separated by a mere inkling of air.

"Is it?" I ask. "I'm scared. What if-"

"You'll do well, Bambi, trust me." He strides away from me.

"But-"

The door shuts behind him, and I'm all alone again—my sentence left unsaid.

My phone beeps, my eyes breaking from the lock they had on the door. I look at the screen and my heart swells with happiness when I see that Tobias just sent me a message.

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