Take Flight - Josie's journey #Wattys2017

Chapter 18: Four steps to a perfect evening

The moment I inhaled, a burning sting brought tears to my eyes. Squeezing my eyes shut, my hands let go of the knife and fumbled for a tissue. My upper lip was dank from my runny nose. Sensing the soft yet papery texture beneath my fingers brought relief to my dilemma. With one powerful blow, I freed my nose before drying my tears. 

"Don't you cry tonight."

Andrew's voice was soft and gentle when I heard him sing. So gentle, it sounded more like humming than singing. The words were rasping in the back of his throat and his voice sounded deeper than usual. The melody as sweet as caramel, lulling me and indulging my senses. The heat of his breath tickled my neck, sending a pleasant shiver down my spine. I could sense his proximity and knew he was standing close behind me. Not really sure why, I closed my eyes and listened to him sing.

"There's a heaven above you baby. Don't you cry tonight."

I knew the song. It was a ballad by Guns N' Roses my dad used to play on the stereo a few years back. A beautiful and very romantic song. When I felt his hands cup around my waist and he pulled me closer, my body gave in as easily as if I'd been waiting for this all along. Hushing any kind of protest in my mind by engulfing every doubt, no matter how small or big, in a sickly sweet cloud of excitement. His head was now resting on my left shoulder and my back brushed against him. The touch of our bodies brought content satisfaction to me that came from deep within, warming my whole being. 

"Give me a whisper."

My heart was beating a little bit harder as I joined him in the song. Every muscle in my body felt relaxed and smiling felt effortless. I was happy, from the tip of my toe to the last strand of my hair, I felt happy and content. I thought that you could even hear it in my voice, I sounded at peace. 

"And give me a sigh."

I listened to the sound of our voices that seemed to be dancing together in an air that was filled with sizzling. When Andrew ever so tender turned me around, I knew what would come next. The next line of the song was predicting it. 

Give me a kiss before you tell me goodbye.

Neither of us continued singing. The line was left unspoken. Instead, I rested my hands against his chest when he wrapped his arms around me, holding my waist in a strong and comforting embrace. His warmth was radiating and I absorbed it with every single pore of my body, thinking how comforted I had felt when he'd hugged me last night. I hadn't opened my eyes yet and my breathing hitched the moment his forehead gently nudged mine.

"You sure know your music, girl."

His lips brushed against mine when he spoke, his voice hardly audible. It sounded hoarse and caused little butterflies to jitter through my stomach. We just stood there in this intimate embrace, nuzzling innocent Inuit kisses and savouring the moment. Our lips brushed against each other from time to time, leaving mine with a heat and prickling sensation while my heart was racing. Once or twice we stopped in our movements when our lips touched, empathizing the lingering sensation.

 But we didn't kiss.

Maybe we were both too shy. There was something inside me that wanted to open my lips the moment I felt his on mine, nibbling on his lower lip and find out what it tasted like. I couldn't do it, though. Not because I didn't want to, I could feel all my senses craving for this kiss. It just didn't feel right.

For a while, I waited for him to kiss me but he didn't do it either. So we just remained the way we were and in that moment, it felt as exciting as an actual kiss. I couldn't tell how long we were standing like this, it felt like hours to me but it probably wasn't more than a few minutes. Eventually, I cleared my throat and turned away, finding an excuse to bring some distance between us.