The Love Scandal ♪ Nishimura Riki

32 ♪ I'm in a trance

Chapter thirty-two

The moon hangs aloft, luminous and alabaster in the pitch black and empty sky consuming them.

"Thank you," Jihyun whispers, brown eyes falling to hold Riki's all-encompassing gaze, an appreciative smile offered along with it. "Thank you for everything. I enjoyed every bit of it."

A warm blaze settles beneath the apples of his cheeks, turning them warm and red. "You don't have to thank me. I'm your boyfriend, it's the least that I could do," he said.

Even though he was right, she wanted to show that she was grateful for him at least. "Just let me thank my boyfriend this once then."

Riki grins, partially timid with it, but partially sincere and vain at the same time. "Then it's no problem, Ji. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Before you go..."

He stays for her, waiting on his feet, eyes locked to never rivet away. "What is it?"

For reasons that she overthinks, Jihyun hesitates in front of him. True desires staved off painfully and she gulps down nothing but spit. Wispy hair dancing in front of her eyes mingled in the wind.

"I..." She didn't know what to say.

Cold hands fitting around hers, Riki looks for ways to assuage the jumpy nerves underneath her skin. If only he knew that the contact made it worse.

A warm gaze is all it took for her to be able to breathe again, inhaling through parted lips. He moved closer, eyes moving down, voice dipping.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah." So much for getting control of her breath back, her one-word reply was breathless. "All fine."

"Then..." He took a pause between that word and the rest of his sentence, maybe there was reticence in him too, or maybe he was just thinking about how to ask, how to do whatever it was.

Jihyun's hand felt the chill of the night air against her skin all over again, and the warmth in her cheeks became accompanied by Riki's hand moving to cup one.

Her breath stutters, hitching.

She looked for his eyes that were distracted on her lips, and Jihyun willed herself to not shuffle in place.

"Can I?"

The racing heartbeat in her chest makes Jihyun almost want to beg him to look at her so that she can get something to ease herself regardless of how tangible it may be. But she doesn't mind where he is looking, even if it keeps her erratic evermore.

She spoke slowly, enunciating it carefully, and in a whisper. "Yes, you can."

The hand on her cheek traversed to the side of her neck, resting there with no intention, but the pulses of her heart were clear under his fingers.

She had one breath to take in before Riki placed his lips on hers, and she nervously kept it tight in her chest. Wanting to never let it go, but instead doing so in fractions.

A series of chills rack up her spine, shooting up or rappelling back down, reaching the tingling tips of her fingers. His lips touch hers softly, moving with light devotion.

The hands she had at her sides grabbed at his arms, she didn't know where else to put them. She felt like she needed to do something, anything else. Her head tips to the side, and Riki comes forward.

A fraction of time.

A fraction of this moment.

Riki moved his thumb to the corner of her lip when he pulled back, eyes moving up to catch the glint in hers.