Kissing the Demon (Seoksoo)

Joshua

I tried to keep my cool as we headed for the multi-storey car park, pretending I was the confident, devil-may-care guy Seokmin believed me to be.

Internally though, I was a chaotic mess. Half of me was screaming and happy dancing at the thought of spending one-on-one time with Seokmin. The other half—the wiser half—was metaphorically whacking me upside the head and cursing me for being a fool.

The only thing both sides of me could agree on was that Seungkwan was in trouble for being an interfering old hag. When he'd persuaded me to go to the cinema tonight, not once did he let it slip that Seokmin would be joining us too. Or that he would be dropping out at the last minute.

My heart had skipped a literal beat when I'd spotted Seokmin in the foyer and put two and two together. Was there ever a moment when I'd see him and not be caught breathless? His jaw was dusted in blond stubble, and his usually styled hair hung in disarray like he'd stepped out of the shower and couldn't be bothered to fix it. It made me yearn to see what he looked like when he first woke up in the morning.

Preferably after a night of me riding him into exhaustion. Or him riding me...despite what people assumed when they looked at me, I was an equal-opportunity bedfellow.

He'd ditched his usual teacher gym clothes and gone for a winter-casual look. Wearing a leather jacket and red scarf, he looked so snuggly that I wanted to wrap my body around him and bury my face in his neck.

This. This was why I was so torn. Because no matter how much I wanted to spend time with Seokmin, no matter how often I promised only friendship, I'd always want more.

Seokmin had the power to destroy me like no one else on Earth, in Heaven, or in Hell.

And that fucking terrified me.

Now, out in the cold night, Seokmin shoved his hands deep and peered at me in concern. "You warm enough there? You're not exactly dressed for a February evening."

No, but I wasn't about to admit that now he'd pointed it out. I didn't regret my choice of a skin-tight shirt and artfully shredded jeans. Not when Seokmin looked at the bits of skin showing through the rips like he wanted to lick them. Lifting my chin, I willed my body to stop shivering. "Nope, toasty warm, thanks. Besides, fashion doesn't exist for comfort, and it's nearly March, which means it's basically spring."

Seokmin snorted. "In Britain? Good luck with that."

"We've had heatwaves in March in the past." Once, possibly.

"If you say so," he said. He dropped behind me by a couple of steps, and before I could wonder what he was doing, I felt the warmth of his coat fall on my shoulders. His scent, an addictive combination of cinnamon and woodsmoke, wrapped around me like a caress.

"Thanks," I said, wriggling deeper into the warmth as he pulled level with me again. "This doesn't make you right though."

He smirked. "The fact you're burrowing into it like a kitten suggests otherwise."

I ignored him as I drew the coat tighter around me, imagining it was Seokmin's arms instead. Could I maybe persuade him to let me keep it? If I couldn't have the real thing, this could be a poor man's substitute. I'd have to return it occasionally to keep his scent fresh, but it'd totally be worth it.

Seokmin drew to a stop at his blue Ford Focus. He looked at me questioningly over the top of the car. "Did you drive here?"

"No, I got an Uber." The lie fell off my tongue with ease. Seungkwan's warning to not hint about anything to do with my true...nature was ringing in my ears, so I wasn't about to tell him I'd flown here. "I can get one to your place?"