Undercover

One Step Closer, Two Steps Away

"Nate."

A faint familiar voice came from behind the barrier.

Nate closed his eyes and pinched his lips to a curved line out of dissatisfaction.

Fuck.

"Why didn't you leave?" He asked wishing it would happen.

Bina did not answer at first, so he added lightly, "Don't return me the question, I still need a few moments."

"I can't, it's going to take a while for me as well." She finally said, trying to hide her shaky voice through whisper.

"Well that's a quick turn off, I guess", Nate tried to ease the situation with a gig.

"Nate, it's already too embarrassing, don't make it even more."

A subsequent sob or two followed her last sentence.

"Bina, are you crying?"

"No. I am just unwell."

Of course, by that point Bina couldn't hide it so well, as more sounds of tight crying breath and a runny nose replaced the still silence from before.

"You are crying."

Nate went out of the cell and knocked on her cell's door. "Come on, get out. There's nobody in here."

"Nate, just leave!" Bina cried and let out a long whine.

Nate almost had given up. Checking that indeed nobody was around, he climbed the wall from the cell next to Bina, and jumped inside to see the lost girl sitting on the toilet lid curled up, crying.

Bina panicked both from the sudden appearance of Nate inside her hidden place and from the fact that her breach of privacy could have been very unpleasant.

"Nate, I could have been in a very intimate situation here!"

"But you aren't. You locked yourself here to cry, right?"

Nate looked at her with sorrow.

"Don't look at me." Bina turned aroud to hide her face. "I look terrible."

He grabbed her cheeks in his palm and aligned her face in front of his, looking in her eyes. "Let's go somewhere nice, Hm?"

Nate unlocked the door, wrapped his arm around Bina and pulled her out of there. He also noticed her hands were very cold so he put his jacket on her.

He led her through a back door of the faculty to the exit on a different floor of the building, from which they made their way to the highest spot in the campus.

It was a simple hill with a small table and a bench under an arched roof, that revealed a great view on the city.

"This is a hidden gem." Nate said when they arrived there.

They placed theselves on the bench and listened to the natural sound around them.

"I am sorry." Bina apologized.

"Sorry? About what?" Nate couldn't understand the motive.

"I ruined your evening." Bina looked down at her feet with a grief.

You definitely did... Not for the reason you think, though.

Nate couldn't bring himself to words.

Instead, he debated with his inner self about a proper way of acting in his current situation, yet couldn't form to a better idea than the absurd one that was on his mind roughly all evening.

He slid his hand in between her let-down hair and the back of her neck, and in a fast and a sudden motion he brought his face to hers and kissed her.

He did that passionately and gently, a slow, deep and indulging kiss, that lasted for less than five seconds but felt like time had stopped from going by in these moments.

He then immediately drew himself back from her.

What the hell are you doing?! Nate was shocked by his own actions, but even more amused from the taste of her lips and his desperate feeling for more of it.

Bina, who uncontrollably cooperated with full feedback, was dazed as well.

Did he just kiss me?

...It is probably just because he is drunk.

"Punishment." Nate finally utterred, looking away.

Bina sneered with anger. "Punishment? Going around and forcing kisses on people is simply a punishing method?"

"Relax, it's just a kiss. You've done things worse, haven't you." Nate tried to run away from his actions.

"I am honestly shocked by you, Nate."

"Most girls would take it as a reward, actually."

"Well, I am not most girls, Nate." Bina frowned. "Far from that, to be honest."

Nate was speechless. Does she refer to what Danny said? He looked at her with a distant face.

"How can you even be rewarded by this?" Bina asked herself loudly.

Did she really dislike it? With that passionate reaction?

"Well, some girls actually feel lucky to share even a moment with me." Nate tried to flatter himself despite his feeling of being turned down.

"They probably don't enjoy having a moment they can never dream of having again."

Bina stop thinking out loud.

Nate looked back at her, trying to assess the cue. Is she... Talking about herself? Or am I a complete i***t?

"That leaves that a punishment anyway. Nothing incorrect in my judgement earlier."

Bina got tired of their conversation.

"I want to go home." Bina stood up and took off Nate's jacket.

"I will take you, it's late."

"You are drunk, you are not going to drive."

"I had only one shot about three hours ago. You can ask Danny."

Danny. I didn't even see him! Bina remembered.

Nate saw her worried face at the mentioning of Danny.

That sickhead.

"He's busy, don't worry." Nate waited for her to remember her will of going home. "Come."

Bina followed Nate to his car and he took her home as he promised. None of them spoke a word through the whole road.

When they finally arrived, Bina released her seatbelt and remained seated, struggling to phrase her thoughts.

"Thank you" was all she eventually said.

"I didn't mean to hurt you." Nate interrupted.

Bina stared at him with untrusting eyes.

"Nate," that addressing that alamed him again, "you are lucky that I am not the person to talk all day about your prank with others. But as for the girl from earlier... I honestly hope for you she won't bring your last mutual experience to the ears of the one you are fond of."

Nate's eyelid twitched to the harsh words. He tried to not overreact to them.

"You know nothing eventually happened there."

Bina nodded. "Nothing initially should have happened." She looked at Nate with a disappointed look. "You don't go squinting left and right and spreading kisses as punishments when you have a single goal straight in front of you to aim for."

Nate clenched his jaws. She makes me feel disgusted by myself.

"And Nate," Bina opened the door of the car, ready to step out, "I already got my punishment today. You could spare me."

She got out of the car and through the open door wished him, "Happy new year, Nate."

"Happy new year, Bina. Good night."

She moved away towards her house until she disappeared behind the door.

Her words were very penetrating for Nate. He covered his mouth through dismay, still sitting in the car and thinking about the unfavorable situation he was in.

Why couldn't I just tell her?