No Longer Afraid (Complete)

Kiss and Change

          She then made her selections. She ate heartily without looking up from her plate. She was pretty hungry after all. Anrian leaned over on the pool table and just watched her with a smile. “Where have you been all my life?”, he whispered under his breath. Sadie didn't hear him.

          Sadie finished everything that was on her plate when she looked up to see Anrian staring at her. Her face burned with embarrassment. Was he watching her this entire time? Did he see how much of a pig she was? She stood frozen. Anrian laughed as he rested himself on his pool stick. “Why are looking at me like that?”, he asked. Sadie blinked. “Because you’re watching me eat.”, she said in a ‘duh’ sort of tone. Anrian smiled as he slowly approached her. He took the plate from her hands, placed it on the table, and looked into her eyes. “Well, excuse me for wanting to look at such a beautiful girl.”, he spoke in a deep voice as he took another step closer. “I watch you because I just can’t take my eyes off of you. You’re so cute and adorable, so much so that when I’m with you I can’t imagine anywhere else I’d rather be.”. Sadie looked down at the ground as Anrian spoke, trying not to look into his piercing blue eyes. He then lifted her face up to look at him and stared at her, coming closer to her face. Sadie swallowed hard as the warmth of his breath tickled her lips. “O-okay…”, Sadie managed to say, trying to breath but her lungs wouldn’t let her. Anrian chuckled. “Okay then, let’s play some pool.”, he said as he walked over to the pool table. Sadie quickly exhaled and inhaled deeply. She could feel her heart beating in her ears. “I thought he was going to kiss me or something.”, she thought as she slowly acquired a pool stick. 

          Anrian explained the rules of the game to her and then proceeded to show her how to use the pool stick. He put his hands on her hips and spoke gently into her ear. “Hold the pool stick out in front of you with the blue tip at the top and the round smooth part at the bottom”. Sadie quickly adjusted the pool stick accordingly. “Okay.”, Anrian said as he grabbed onto the pole with her. “You wanted to bring the pool stick down onto the table with the stick resting at rib level. Don’t tilt the tip up or down.”, Anrian said as he began to lean her down over the table. Sadie started to panic again as memories of William flooded back into her head. She fought them back and began to focus again. “He’s not William. He’s not William. He is not William.”, she thought as she felt his warm body on her back. “Now, hold your fingers like this. Use this hand to push the stick through your fingers, like this.”, he spoke gently as he hit one of the balls with the stick. Sadie nodded and wasted no time creating distance between her and Anrian. "Thanks for teaching me how to do this.”, she spoke awkwardly. Anrian smiled at her. “Of course.”, he said, walking over to the other side of the pool table with his pool stick. “Let’s play.”, he said cheerfully. They played one game and, of course, Anrian won. “YES!”, he exclaimed as he did a crazy victory dance. Sadie laughed. “Okay, you won. You don’t have to rub it in.”, she said. Anrian danced over to her, making Sadie laugh even more than before. “Dancing isn’t your strong suit at all.”, she said while holding her stomach. Anrian laughed as he stopped dancing and looked at Sadie. “So, I won.”, Anrian started and Sadie gracefully admitted her defeat, “So that means you have to give me a kiss.” Sadie giggled as she shook her head. “Do you really think that I’m going to kiss you over a game of pool?”, she asked with sass. Anrian looked up and nodded. “I mean, it’s only fair. Right? The winner does usually get a reward and I want my reward to be a kiss from you.” Sadie looked away and smiled. “Or the winner gets some other kind of reward that doesn’t involve a kiss.”, she stated as she coyly moved away from Anrian. “True, but also, as the winner, I should state what I want and I want a kiss.”, he spoke as grabbed Sadie’s hand and pulled her into his arms. She gasped slightly as she fell into Anrian’s arms. She could feel how warm his chest was against her hands as she looked up at him. His hands rested naturally around her waist. “...Can I kiss you?”, he asked with gentle eyes. Sadie’s heart began to race as he brought her closer to him. She couldn’t bring herself to fight him or even say anything as he leaned into her. She didn’t fight. She didn’t pushed him away. She just waited until she felt his warm lips on hers. She inhaled deeply at the instant reaction she felt deep within her heart, such an incredible and head-spinning feeling that left her absolutely breathless. Anrian wrapped Sadie in his arms more firmly as he began to passionately kiss her. When he stopped kissing her, he just looked at her. The two exchanged very confused and astonished looks. “W-whoa…”, Anrian breathed as he stared into Sadie’s eyes. Sadie exhaled sharply and backed away. “What...what just happened?”, she asked between heavy breaths. Anrian shook his head in utter disbelief. Sadie just looked down at the ground. There was a moment of silence and separation before Sadie spoke. “This is all very new to me...the last guy that kissed me...took something from me…”, she paused. Anrian looked over at her as Sadie looked up at him. She held herself. “It was a long time ago but...it has haunted me for some time...he invited me to a party...and I went...that was the worst decision I could’ve ever made….”,