What Love Entails

twelve

sous l’âme || twelve

♤

"My mom said okay," I ended the call and turned to face River with a big smile on my face.

River mirrored my smile. "Looks like its gonna be just you and me here for a while then, babe."

My stomach churned on hearing him call me "babe". We had been going out for a month now but I still wasn't used to him calling me names like that. I was currently over at his house- I had come over about an hour ago and ever since, it had snowed quite a lot and there were news of an expected blizzard. So I called up my mom and asked her if I could spend the night here and she had no choice but to agree due to the frightening weather. Mr. Hayes was still out in his office and would be stuck there for quite a while owning to the snow. So it was just me and River in the house.

"Come here," River gestured to the empty spot on the couch next to him. I wasted no time in plopping down next to him and snuggling with him. He wrapped the blanket over us and held me tight. The warmth of our bodies radiated in each other's.

"You're so pretty," he murmured as he stared at me. "Why are you so pretty, Kyla?"

I laughed. "I'm not really."

"You are," he insisted as he traced my cheekbones lightly. I closed my eyes, dwelling in the sensation of his light touch. "I love you, Kyla."

I snapped my eyes open, only to see his lips closing in on mine. Electricity zapped throughout my entire body as his lips met mine. Our lips molded against each other's, moving in perfect synchronisation. My arms wrapped around his neck as he snaked his arms around my waist, pulling me closer towards him.

His tongue traced my bottom lip, making me gasp. It was the first time he had ever used his tongue. Kisses before this had never escalated beyond the usual lip locking. He took the opportunity to slide his tongue inside my mouth. My body started feeling hot as his tongue explored each and every corner of my mouth. I moaned as his tongue pressed against mine. My breathing was erratic as my fingers tangled his mop of dark hair.

We finally parted, our breaths heavy and mingling. It took me a while before I could speak. "What the f**k, River."

A lazy grin took over River's face. "How sexy was that, Kyla."

I blushed furiously and pushed him off of me. I buried my face in my hands as I tried to overcome my embarrassment. River kept laughing at the back. "You're so cute when you're embarassed, Kyles."

_________

I was currently at the school library, reading a book. I was so engrossed in it that I didn't notice Kaden entering the library and waving at me. Only when he walked over to where I was sitting and tapped the table lightly with two fingers did he manage to snap me out of my trance. "Hey," he mouthed before taking the seat facing mine.

"Hi there, Kaden," I mused. "I didn't know you had a thing for libraries."

He shrugged. "I tend to frequent by sometimes." His attention shifted to the book I was holding. "Whatchu reading there?"

"Time and Again," I showed him the cover of the book. "It's pretty good."

"Hmm?" He leaned against the table and rested his chin on the palm of his hand. "What's it about?"

"Time travelling. There's this guy who gets sent to the future where he finds that his present girlfriend- whom he, might I add, loved more than himself- is getting married to some other guy. He desperately tries to find out what went wrong and tries to fix things right with her. It's heartwarming, actually."

He gave me a lopsided smile. "Sounds interesting."

"Speaking of romance," I kept the book down and turned my attention to him. "Isn't there anyone you're interested in?"

He clucked his tongue. "Nope, not really."

"Didn't expect to hear that from Mr. Popular."

Kaden laughed. "Honey, there's a lot of things about me you'd never have expected."

"Like what?" I mused.

"Like the fact that I change the subject when I don't like it."

I rolled my eyes. "Lame."

"Changing subject," he smirked. "You know, you're quite different these days. Its like you're more free and open now."

"Is that so?"

"And I'm guessing this change has something to do with River," he wiggled his eyebrows.

"It does not!" I hissed.

"Oh yeah? Because I'm sure it does."

"Why are you so obsessed about my relationship with River anyway?" I rolled my eyes. Glancing back at Kaden, I noticed that he had a nervous smile on his face as he scratched his neck awkwardly.

"Wait," I narrowed my eyes. "Do you know something?"

"What do you mean?" He chuckled nervously. "I don't know anything. At all."

I raised my brow. "Really, Kaden?"

"Yes, Kyla, really." He looked into my eyes and we had a staring competition for about a minute before he averted his gaze and let out a sigh. "Fine, you got me."

I grinned triumphantly. "Out with it."

"Just make sure not to tell River about what I'm about to say," I nodded, growing more and more curious as the seconds went by.

"It happened some months back," he looked at me with a serious expression. "I was at a bar and I saw River drowning himself in liquor. He was totally wasted. I went up to him and tried to convince him to stop drinking, but he wouldn't budge. At last, he stopped and started talking- spilling everything to me."

My heartbeat started accelerating as he went on. "He kept rambling about how he broke up with his girlfriend- you- and how betrayed and broken he felt. He said that he was so angry and upset- at you, at himself, at everything. He was really mad at you and even told you to screw off." I winced at that.

"But when he calmed down, his voice was awfully emotional as he confessed how much he loved you and how much he hated the way things turned out. In the end, he muttered to himself that it was best if he moved on."

My chest tightened as I took in how much pain I had caused River. "I wondered what it was that happened between you two but more importantly, seeing him that way made me feel that you two might just somehow end up back together."

I blinked. "Oh, wow."

"I hope I didn't come off as an intrusion.."

I waved my hands dismissively. "No, no you didn't. It's perfectly fine."

Kaden grinned. "I don't know about now, but he was so whipped for you back then."

I blushed. "Shut up."

"Oh right," he suddenly said. "I'm having a party this Friday. You'll come, right?"

"I'm not so sure."

"River will be there," he teased. I threw him an unamused look. "Come, okay? Pretty pretty please."

I laughed. "I'll consider it."

It so turned out that I decided to attend the party. Kaden and I had exchanged numbers earlier so when Friday rolled by, he made sure to text me reminding me about the party.

Don't forget! Party starts at 7!

I rolled my eyes and typed in my reply.

Geez you're like an annoying mother.

He replied.

You know you love it. ;)

I shook my head as my lips curled into a smile. I never thought that a day would come when Kaden and I would become friends. It was kind of funny actually.

I wasted no time and got dressed up in a crop top and denim shorts. I pulled my hair up into a messy bun and applied some lipgloss and eyeshadow. I put on a pair of high top converse and grabbed my black bomber jacket as I headed downstairs. "Mom, I'm leaving!" I yelled.

"Have fun, dear," she yelled back. "Just not too much though."

I hailed a cab from my house to Kaden's and got off on reaching. I grimaced as the loud booming music let vibrations into my ear. There were red cups everywhere and people were either dancing, drinking or making out. Kaden was at the door, greeting his guests, sort of. When he saw me, his face welcomed a grin. "You came."

I snorted. "I didn't have much of a choice thanks to your constant reminders."

He smirked. "Well, loverboy isn't here yet so you can go in and get some drinks."

"Gee thanks a lot for the information," I retorted sarcastically before pushing past him and entering the crowded room. I made my way past the mob to the food counter and got a plate of chips. I stuffed my face with it, only stopping when I found myself feeling thirsty.

I grabbed a cup and poured myself the red punch. I was about to take a whole gulp of it when a hand took the cup away from me. I turned to glare at the person but stopped when I saw that it was none other than River. "It could be spiked you know," he scrutinised the red punch before sniffing the content of the cup. "Yep, definitely spiked."

"Oh," was all I could say. "Thanks, I guess."

"So what are you doing here?" He raised his brow. "You aren't the party type after all."

"Um, just like that."

He chuckled. "Alright. Since you're here, wanna do something fun?"

"Like what?"

"Dance?"

I gave him an unimpressed look. "Dance? Seriously?"

He shrugged and grinned. "Just come on," he grabbed my hand and led me to the dance floor. "Relax for once." He chuckled on seeing how stiff I was.

Relax, I told myself. And I did. I didn't think letting myself loose and busting out moves would be so much fun. I laughed as River did some dorky moves and I followed suit. I was beat after about three songs and I basically collapsed on the couch. River laughed, taking a seat beside me. "You want something to drink?" I nodded eagerly. He got up and returned a minute later with two cans of coke in his hands. "Here," I took a can and gulped down its contents.

"I'll just come back from the restroom," he stood up and walked off. My eyes trailed his figure as he moved past the throngs of people. I was full on alert when I saw him bump into Bree. They were talking. Bree smiled at him briefly before going her way. River just stood there for a moment before glancing behind him. When his eyes met mine, he immediately averted them and walked out the back door of the house.

I straightened up as I couldn't help but worry about River. His expression looked conflicted. After he didn't return for almost fifteen minutes, I decided to search for him. However, even after searching everywhere I couldn't find him. I started to panic. That's when I realised that I hadn't checked one place.

The pool area. Which Kaden had said was off limits the last time I was here.

Oh, well, screw that.

I made my way to the pool and my heart skipped a beat when I saw the dark mop of River's hair. He was seated by the edge of the pool, looking deep in thought. "Hey," his eyes snapped up. "What are you doing here?" He asked as I sat down next to him, leaving enough space between us.

"I was looking for you. What are you doing?"

"Just thinking," he kept his eyes on the ground, staring off into space.

After about a minute of awkward silence, I popped the question. "Did something happen with Bree?"

"That's none of your business," his voice was cold and icy.

I winced but still felt the need to apologise. "Sorry.. I just wanted to see if you were okay."

"Well, you can see that I'm doing just fine, so you can go back now," he snapped.

I bit back my tears as his icy tone crushed my heart. "I don't understand you at all, River." River remained deadly silent, his eyes still fixated on the same spot on the ground. "You keep doing this, drawing close then pulling back over and over again."

"You just don't care, do you?" I whispered after a moment of painful silence. River finally looked at me for the first time since we'd been out here.

"I do," he paused. "I've always did, and I still do."

I shook my head as I closed my eyes. My mind was spinning. "It's so f*****g confusing," my voice shook. "You're always doing things to make me believe that you do but then the next moment you-"

With one swift motion, River's hands snaked around my waist, pulling me closer towards him and pressing his lips against mine. A thousand memories flew into my mind at the sensation of his sweet and gentle kiss. His lips felt soft against mine as I finally kissed him back, our lips moving together in sync. His grip around me tightened as I proceeded to wrap my arms around his neck.

"River, you here?" We immediately sprang apart, looking up to see a guy from the football team walking through the door. "Oh, there you are."

"What's up, man?" River cleared his throat and ran his fingers over his hair. His lips were red and swollen from our kiss just now, and the tint on his lips matched the colour of his cheeks.

"You're needed inside, Michael’s asking for you."

River nodded. "I'll be right there."

"Hurry up," the guy walked back inside.

River stood up and I followed suit. "Well, I guess I need to head in then," he looked to his side, avoiding any eye contact with me. I nodded. "See you," he said as he left.

I, on the other hand, stood rooted to my spot. My mind couldn't comprehend what had just happened. I could still feel the sensation of his lips on mine as my fingers flew up to my lips. My heart was still experiencing the after effects of the kiss. Even after I got back home an hour later and laid on my bed, I couldn't stop thinking about the kiss.

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They kissed! What do you think? Stay tuned for the next chapter. Follow and comment :)