The Exchange

Chapter 28- Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

"How many boyfriends have you had?" Julien asked softly as they lay together in bed. He had his arm wrapped around Sasha's shoulder, hugging her body close to his.

With wide eyes she tilted her head to look up at Julien so her cheek brushed against his chest. She'd been lost in thought and gently tracing the muscles of his torso when his question caught her off guard. His words startled her.

Suppressing a wince she bit the inside of her cheek, embarrassed by the answer. The thought of telling Julien that she'd never been in a relationship before filled her with anxiety. Probably because he seemed to have such an enormous amount of experience in that department.

She also hated sounding so naive and innocent. It made her feel silly and insecure, and she didn't like being seen as the 'baby' who was always left out in the games of chinese whispers.

"Well, I haven't really had any yet", Sasha replied quietly, skipping over the words so as not to linger on the conversation. Realising her cheeks had begun to glow she looked away from Julien, attempting to hide her embarrassment.

"Stop joking", Julien laughed, nudging her on the side with his elbow, "Really, tell me how many?"

Sasha was silent for a moment, not sure of what to say. So now she was being made fun of! Great. Wetting her lips she turned to study his face, her brow quivering.

She gulped, "I'm not joking".

Julien's face froze mid-laugh and he searched her steadily, unsure if she was telling the truth. Realising she was serious he wiped the grin from his lips and hooked a hand below Sasha's jaw, pulling her head towards his own. Gazing deep into her eyes, he began to caress the nape of her neck softly with his fingers.

"Never?"

The way he spoke was tender and his body was close enough that Sasha could feel his warm breath fan over her flushed face.

Clearing her throat, she shook her head and gazed up at him through her lashes, still slightly embarrassed. Her heart had begun to palpitate heavily in her chest and butterflies erupted in her stomach at Julien's touch.

He paused for a moment, watching her gently before turning his attention to her pink lips.

"When you meet a boy" Julien said in a low, husky voice "how do you show them that you like them?"

Sasha was quiet for a moment, allowing his accent to wash over her. She trembled as his fingers started to travel down her body causing goosebumps to erupt in their wake. Reaching her waist he carefully lifted her top, exposing a small portion of her stomach. The cool air hit her navel and she writhed as his touch advanced to her hips.

With a shaky breath, Sasha attempted to find her voice, "Well, I smile at them".

"And what else?", Julien asked, now rubbing her thigh.

She sighed in an attempt to stifle a moan, "I might kiss their cheek", she continued, turning to putty in his hands.

Earlier in the day she had told Julien that he would only get a kiss if she initiated it. He really didn't deserve one after the way he had acted at the party, but holding out was proving to be very difficult.

"Show me," Julien said, his own voice raspy.

Sasha blinked slowly, wondering where he was going with this. Leaning forward she brushed her lips across his cheek.

"In France we call this une bise", he murmured "and un bisou is another type of kiss".

Encircling Sasha's waist with his arms, Julien tugged her onto his lap, and stared at her lips aware of their former agreement. He couldn't touch her until she gave her proper consent.