CHAPTER THREE | THE KISS
1175 Words
"Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!" Ten people chanted.
Confused, Kasey looked around and discovered that she had walked into the unexpected.
Kasey stood on a podium covered with a red carpet. Red curtains were parted behind the podium to reveal a large pink heart-shaped sculpture. In white, the word 'Mistletoe' was inscribed in italics on the sculpture.
A beautiful floral arrangement formed an arch above the podium. At the right side of the podium, a white banner displayed words in colourful fonts that seemed quite disturbing to Kasey at that moment.
One kiss under the Mistletoe,
One kiss before you go.
Kasey stopped reading and looked up. A mistletoe wrapped by a beautiful red and gold ribbon dangled above her.
She turned back to the banner and kept on reading.
One kiss as a couple together,
One kiss to seal love forever.
Couple with the best kiss, wins the
gitfs from Vulgari.
The word 'Vulgari' caught Kasey's attention. Vulgari was a jewellery brand known for their stunning and expensive products, often hand crafted by professional jewellers.
Kasey turned to the left side of the podium and saw jewels glimmer under the rays of fluorescent light in a show glass. Kasey's eyes were however, fixated on two gold rings studded at rims by tiny diamond pieces.
The green-eyed man gazed at Kasey and smiled at how captivated she was by the rings. He smiled and took her hands in his.
Shocked, Kasey turned to the green-eyed being in front of her. That moment should have been awkward but for some reason she could not explain, Kasey felt safe.
"Miss Weepy, I know I'm a stranger and we just met but can I ask for this kiss?" He asked.
"Also, you really seem to love those jewels." He whispered into Kasey's ears. She chuckled.
"Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!" The small gathering chanted.
"Just kiss already! You're both so cute!" A woman screamed from the crowd.
"Gorgeous girl plus a gorgeous guy equals the perfect couple!" Another lady chanted.
Kasey thought of her life in its entirety. She proclaimed it a bore and after a flashback to the cause of her sorrow earlier that day, Kasey gazed at the pretty eyes of the stranger before her and uttered words she never believed.
"We only live once." She said.
Kasey stood on her toes and threw her arms around the stranger's neck. She thought herself tall at five feet and eight inches, but the human before her was the real definition of tall. He seemed six feet and three inches.
Kasey stared into the green of the stranger's eyes and thought of how disappointed the principled and old version of her would feel about her present self. She ignored the thought. She considered herself a new being, ready to take risks. She recalled the events that occurred earlier that day. Tears began to well up in her eyes.
The green-eyed being, stared into Kasey's brown eyes. He saw the sadness in them. He placed his forehead on hers. Her kinky curls smelt like Jasmine.
"I don't know what's going on but you'll be fine. This isn't me taking advantage because you're vulnerable. This is me saying it's okay to live differently from how people expect you to live. Do want you want. Live." He whispered and bit her upper lips lightly.
He kissed her lips and so did she. In a second too fast to count, their lips were interlocked and their tongues did a sensual dance that stopped time for a while.
Two minutes went by in a flash and they stopped kissing.
Kasey took in a few deep breaths and so did the stranger. Still in his arms, Kasey smiled like a fifteen-year-old kissed for the first time.
The crowd grew from ten to twenty-two. A loud cheer echoed and an applaud followed.
A young lady dressed in a red swim suit, with a pair of thick leggings beneath, sleeve cuffs and white bunny ears, stood on the podium and winked at the crowd.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I think we have the winners! This beautiful couple wins the first prize for the 'Mistletoe' game, hosted and sponsored by Vulgari! They're the lucky winners of the 'Shakespearian Couple ring'! Congratulations!" The bunny dressed lady announced in a fancy red microphone.
With a smile so wide, Kasey followed the lady to the show glass full of jewels, bright and gold.

An hour went by quickly after Kasey's kiss with a stranger. It was the twenty-second hour of the day and Kasey knew she should have been home at such a time but something made her stay.
The green-eyed stranger had escorted her to the car park. She thought him polite and kept a smile on her face, but she bled within at the thought of parting from him.
"Um...I...It's weird to say this but thanks for tonight. I needed it." Kasey told the green-eyed stranger.
"It's fine. I'm glad you had fun." He smiled awkwardly. Kasey thought it cute.
"Oh. Here." Kasey said, as she offered the stranger a ring.
"It's fine, you can..."
"I insist. We both won the contest. We both get to keep one each. It's only fair."
The green-eyed stranger took the ring from Kasey's right hand and smiled.
"So, what's your name?" He asked.
Kasey laughed.
"We really haven't introduced ourselves, have we? I kissed a guy, when I didn't even know his name."
"Hey, you only live once." He said. They both laughed.
"My name's Kasey. Kasey Jones."
"Kasey. Pretty name. I'm Luca Brandon. It's nice to meet you Kasey." He said with his hand stretched out for a handshake.
Kasey took his hand and smiled.
"It's nice to meet you Luca."
"Well I guess this is goodbye." Luca said.
"I guess so."
Luca and Kasey stared at each other for an awkward minute until Kasey bid Luca goodbye, got into her red Lexus and drove off.

Luca Brandon stared at Kasey's car until it was out of sight. He caressed the curls on his scalp for
a
while.
He looked at the ring in his hand and smiled.
Luca took off a gold chain on his neck and slid the ring into the thin fine line of gold. The ring made a perfect pendant.
He placed his hands into his pocket. He felt something silky at that instant, in the right pocket of his jean trousers. He pulled out the silk object. It was Kasey's vintage scarf.
"I should've asked for her phone number." He said as he walked towards a motorbike.

The night was long but it was one Kasey could not forget. She thought of her kiss with Luca while she drove on the streets of New York. A smile swept across her face.
The smile disappeared after she caught a glimpse of an envelope on the dashboard.
"We only live once." She said, while tears poured down her cheeks.
With a smile on her face and pain in her heart she whispered "I should've asked for his number."

- Writer
