KISS ME PLEASE
1012 Words
VERA
He doesn't blink or glaze over like most people when I start talking philosophy. Instead, he tilts his head with attention.
"So you spend your time thinking about why people lie to themselves?"
"Basically." I laughed at his summary.
"And do you?"
"Do I what?"
"Lie to yourself."
The question doesn't sit well. Because yes. Yes, I do. Constantly. About money. About loneliness. About why I'm sitting here with a stranger who makes my heart pound.
"Everyone does." I deflect.
"Not everyone admits it." He leans closer. Close enough that I feel heat radiating off him.
"Tell me something true, Vera?"
My name in his mouth sounds different than it's ever sounded. Like it means something.
"Like what?" I managed to choke out. His intense eye contact is making it hard for me to concentrate. My gaze kept slipping lower.
"What do you do when you're not philosophizing?"
"I lie on my bed and read most nights before I sleep. Sometimes I work at the library." I wrap my hands tighter around my coffee cup to maintain a semblance of composure.
"You read in bed." He repeats it slowly, like he's tasting the words. "What position?"
"Sorry?"
"On your side, back, or stomach?" His eyes hold mine. "I'm trying to picture it."
Heat floods my face. "On my side. Usually."
"And what do you wear when you're reading in bed on your side?"
My breath catches. "That's,"
"Too personal?" That curve of his mouth again. "You're right. I'll behave." He doesn't look sorry about it at all.
He leans closer. His forearm brushes the table. His cuff rides up, exposing wrist bone and watch. "I just like knowing things about you."
His fingertips touch mine. I gasp.
Heat races through me at the contact. Pools low in my stomach. His fingers are warm, slightly rough. I feel my pulse hammering where his skin meets mine.
He takes my left hand in his. Traces slow circles on the back. My breath comes faster. His thumb presses against my pulse point.
"Your heart," he says quietly. "It's racing."
"I know."
"Are you always this reactive, or is it just me?"
I can't breathe. Can't think. "Just you."
His smile is slow. Like he already knew the answer and wanted to hear me say it.
His thumb keeps tracing those circles. "You know what I think?"
"What?"
"I think you spend so much time in your head that you forget what it feels like to actually be in your body." He presses harder against my pulse. "But your body knows. It remembers."
"I should go." It comes out breathier than intended.
"Don't." He pulls a puppy dog's face. His face was too rigid but I still find him cute.
Oh gosh, I have it bad.
"Drake." I say, laughing at the poor representation.
"Fine, I'll walk you." He stands, still holding my hand, and pulls me up. We're close now. Bodies almost touching. I tilt my head back to look at him. Notice flecks of silver in his gray eyes. His dilated pupils.
He reaches for my jacket. His arm brushes my shoulder. I feel it everywhere.
He helps me into my jacket like it's the most natural thing in the world. His hands linger on my shoulders. I feel the weight of them. Then he steps back and I can breathe again.
"Where are you headed?" His voice is rougher now.
"Harper Hall."
"I'll walk you all the way."
"It's on the other side of campus."
"I know." He glances at me. Something feral in his expression. "I know exactly where it is."
Something about the way he says it makes my skin prickle. But I don't pull away.
Outside, the afternoon has turned golden. Fall leaves scatter across the sidewalk. The air smells like smoke and apples.
We walk in silence for half a block. Hand in hand
People stare. Girls with phones out. Guys with expressions ranging from curiosity to contempt. I want to disappear.
Drake's hand tightens on mine. . As if daring anyone to comment.
We walk through campus and I become hyperaware of everywhere we're touching. His hand engulfing mine. His arm occasionally brushing my shoulder. Heat radiating through the small space between us.
"You live in Harper?" he asks.
I stop walking. Stare at him. "How did you know?
"I know things, remember?" He's smiling. That slow, satisfied smile.
It mesmerized me I heard myself whisper
"Kiss me,"
His eyes darken. He didn't appear shocked. Instead his thumb presses against my lower lip.
"If I kiss you now, I'm not going to stop there. And we're in the middle of campus, and you deserve better than an audience."
He leans in, mouth brushing my ear.
"When I kiss you, Vera, I want you somewhere private. Somewhere I can take my time and hear every sound you make."
I make a sound right now. Small. Involuntary.
He pulls back. His smile still etched on his face.
"Walk you to your dorm?" he asks.
I nod. Can't speak.
We walk. He holds my hand the whole way. At the steps of Harper Hall, he stops.
"This is you."
"Yeah."
He still doesn't let go of my hand. Just stands there, looking at me like he's memorizing my face.
"I'd like to see you tomorrow."
"Okay."
"No coffee this time. Dinner. Somewhere quiet." He pauses. "My apartment. I'll cook."
My brain short-circuits. "Your apartment?"
"I don't bite." That smile again. "Unless you ask nicely."
"I—okay."
"Okay?" He looks almost surprised. Like he expected me to run.
"Okay." I'm nodding. Can't stop nodding. "What time?"
"Seven. I'll text you the address." He lifts our joined hands, presses his lips to my knuckles. Lingers there. His eyes close for just a second.
When he opens them, there's something raw there. Something real.
"Sweet dreams, Vera."
Then he's gone. Walking backward for a few steps, still watching me, before he turns and disappears into the golden afternoon.
Drake is breaching my walls. Brick by brick.
And I'm handing him the mortar
- Writer
