Everlance Academy

Chapter 11

If you'd told me just ten minutes ago that I'd be standing here on my tip-toes, holding onto Nikolai Coleman's face for dear life, kissing him, I would've thought you were crazy.

Well, I guess I'm the crazy one.

Connecting our lips had been a very spontaneous act, and now, a second after it happened, my brain is starting to process the current occurrences.
Panic begins to overtake me.

Because he wasn't kissing me back.

I was kissing him, and he just stood there, his body the tensest I've ever felt, not moving an inch.

I shrink to my normal size again, letting go of his face while slowly opening my lids. I am terrified to meet his eyes, scared of what I will find in them. Mockery? Anger? Disgust?

But what I see when I finally look up to him is utter shock and surprise. His lips are slightly parted, and he's staring at me, completely stunned.

I clear my throat awkwardly. "I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me... I shouldn't have-"

Suddenly, in one swift movement, he bends down to me, grabs the back of my head, and presses me to him, our lips colliding once again.

This time, I'm definitely not the only one in motion.

Given the sudden movement, my hands had flung up in surprise, shielding my body, so now one of them rests on his chest while the other one is buried in his hair. It's soft and feels exactly like I imagined.

Not that I imagined touching his hair.

Yes, I did. Sue me.

I don't think I've ever felt something quite like this. His lips are soft and warm and so gentle, it makes me go insane. My head starts spinning and my legs begin to feel weak, but he doesn't let go of me, doesn't stop steading me.

At first, his hands traveled all over my upper body, sometimes touching my arms, exploring my back, or caressing my cheeks, as if he wasn't sure what the right way to touch me was, what I'd like, or what position I felt comfortable in.

So I take it upon myself.

I guide his hands to where I want them, which is one on my neck and the other snaked around my waist, pulling me close to him. He smiles at my initiative, almost breaking the kiss.

But that doesn't happen. We don't let go of each other for a very long time.

At some point, I feel the need for oxygen and break apart from him, leaving both of us breathing heavily.

"Well, that was, uh, unexpected," I pant, watching him carefully, searching for even the slightest sign of regret. But there are none.

"A long time coming, that's what that was," he replies.

"Excuse me?"

"I mean, you did throw yourself at me at that one par-"

His sentence gets put to an end by my lips connecting with his again. Even though I just felt them a minute ago, their softness and warmth surprise me anew. Slowly, I draw distance between our mouths, leaning my forehead against his.

"Shut up," I whisper, a smile tugging at his lips.

"You know, I could get used to you shushing me like this," he whispers back, smiling. I think this is the first time I've seen him smile. He usually does these smirking things, and they're nice to look at and all, but this? This is a real smile, and it may just be my god complex speaking, but I convince myself that he has designed that smile just for me.