Mismatched

Chapter 7

Jace dropped me off in front of my apartment building. I turned around and waved him goodbye. He was still staring at me. His gaze never fails to send my heart fluttering. "Bye, Belle. I hope to see you soon."

"Me too," I replied after some thought. My mind drifted back to the dramatic kisses we had not long ago. I blushed. I can't believe I actually threw myself onto him. What was I thinking? I didn't know I had it in me to do that.

Once I get home, I better give myself a nice hot shower. I need to calm my nerves. I went upstairs and into my apartment. Sitting in the living room was none other than Yvette. "Hi, I'm back. Have you been here the entire time?"

"Yeah," she replied. "I want to know what happened. Did you tell him how you feel? Did you tell him you want to be friends again? Did you tell him you still love him? Oh, please don't tell me you gave him a restless bitch face again. What did you promise me, Bella?"

"Chill, dude," I said with a confused frown. "I did. I told him everything. Gosh, I can't believe I just poured everything out like a waterfall. He was damn surprised because I'm quite sure he thought I still hated him or something."

She nodded. "Okay, what else?"

"Oh, and I kissed him. Then, he kissed me back," I added.

Her eyes widened at that instant. I don't know if it was because she was so surprised and happy for me that she couldn't think of anything to say or if it was because she wanted to show me how shocked and upset she was that I actually kissed Jace Leighton.

"What?" I asked.

"I told you to tell him how you feel! Not kiss him and let him kiss you back!" she yelled.

"Well, ever heard of 'kiss and make up'?" I asked.

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, the song by Dua Lipa and Blackpink. It's like sung in both English and Korean but mostly in English. I know that. Don't try to change the topic!"

"No! Not the song! The phrase. It just means 'to reconcile'. Anyway, you should've expected some kissing or whatever. We were a couple so if we reconcile, we would definitely hug, kiss, et cetera," I replied.

"I thought you two were going to remain as friends. Friends don't kiss each other," she said firmly. "So, of course, I wouldn't expect you two to kiss! Twice, especially. You kissed him twice. What's up with that?"

I shrugged. "It was in a spur of the moment. Also, that's what I thought six years ago when Jace kissed me at his party. Guess what happened after that?"

"Ugh, not that again," she groaned.

"Weren't you rooting for us?" I questioned.

She heaved a deep sigh. "Look, Bella. I don't want you to get hurt again. Didn't you always say it would be so stupid to get hurt by the same person twice? I know love is blind but... please, Bella. I hope you thought this through very thoroughly."

Images of earlier today splashed across my mind. The park, the lunch, the other park, the kiss... oh, the kiss... I'm not going to lie. I kind of miss the feeling of his lips. I know that sounds very disgusting but it's true. Ugh, I feel disgusted in myself now.

"I'm honestly not so sure about this," I sighed. "I can't help myself. He's like a bottomless pit. Once you fall for him, you can never stop loving him. You helped me realise that I still loved him but I also realised that love isn't everything. The trust isn't there."

Yvette nodded. "If you really want this relationship to work out, you have to build your trust in him again. Well, he has to build it. He has to show you how worthy he is of your trust. You only have two options: become a couple or remain as friends."