Crossing Boundaries

The Kiss and Other Things

Several times during the car ride, Sang tried to open her mouth to say something but she quickly shut it again. Nothing she came up with seemed to be enough in this charged moment. Luke's knuckles were white from gripping the steering wheel too tight. She could feel the tension rolling of him in waves. Sang looked down, surely she had done it wrong. She was anxious to know whether Luke was mad at her or not.

"Luke, I really am sorry about what happened back there. I shouldn't have k...kissed you like that. I understand if you are angry." Sang hung her head waiting for Luke to admonish her.

Luke gave a bark of laughter, "Angry? You think I'm angry with you? God, Sang, you have no idea how much...how much I've waited. Sang, if we weren't standing in the middle of the street, I would have...would have..."

Sang had never seen Luke so lost for words. He was usually the confident one, the one who was not afraid to speak his mind.

"So, you aren't mad? You don't regret it?"

"Sang, what you did back there, I have been waiting for it since the day I found you on the jungle gym. I should get an award for the amount of restrain I've had to use when it comes to you."

Sang looked up at him, her mouth gaping. It really shouldn't come to her as a surprise; she could feel the sexual tension filling the air when she was with the boys. Until now Sang had never made the first move. A part of her still felt the low self-esteem she has had to live with her whole life; a part of her always felt like she would make the wrong move with the guys and the whole thing could fall apart.

"I...I didn't know. I mean I know about the no kissing rule but...I wasn't sure if you were ready for it, ready for me." Sang didn't know how to put this in words. She was sure her face was the color of a fire engine.

"Sang, trust me when I see I am ready for this. I think we all are. It's just that things are a little...complicated at the moment. In fact I'm not sure how far I can go yet."

"What do you mean?"

Luke stayed silent for a while, they took the turning to the animal shelter and Luke parked the car some ways away from the building where they could see the shelter quite clearly but they were hidden under the shadows of some trees, their black car blending in nicely. All was clear at the moment, there were some security lights on at the shelter and probably some night duty staff in the building, but everything else was quiet.

Luke turned to Sang then, his body facing her. He reached for her seat belt and unbuckled it. He hooked his arms around her legs and back and hauled her over to sit on his lap. Luke pushed his seat back so Sang wasn't squashed between him and the steering wheel.

Luke threading his fingers behind her and leaned his forehead onto hers. They held their positions like this for a few minutes, just breathing each other in.

"Things at the moment, Sang, are fucked up. This is the best way I can put it." Luke moved his forehead from hers and looked into her eyes. "As you already know, I am not the only one vying for your attention, there are 8 others. We are balancing dangerously on a rope now. One wrong move, and things could go tumbling down, including our hearts, which you hold in your hands." As Luke was saying this, he took one of Sang's hands in his own and stroked her palm gently with one finger.

Luke hesitated, how could he put this? "You are smart, Sang. I am sure you must have noticed...some changes in us lately, some things that we are doing differently?"

Sang's eyebrows went up at this. If Luke was talking about the subtle changes in affection towards her, then yes she definitely noticed it and was relieved that someone was finally bringing that up.