The Kiss

Chapter One

    Lips covered hers, stifling any words of protest that might have tried to escape—hot lips, firm and pliant at the same time, that fit perfectly against her own. He let out a breath in her mouth, and she tasted alcohol and tobacco before losing herself in the kiss. His tongue didn’t waste any time with gentle probing before invading her mouth. His fingers tightened and loosened their hold on her hair.
    She sucked on his tongue and felt more than heard the moan that rose up in his throat. She wanted to touch his face, trace it with her fingertips, but her hands refused to do anything more than bunch his shirt in their grip, holding onto it as if onto life itself.
    She pulled back to catch her breath, and he let go, brushing his stubbled chin against her cheek for a moment. Blindly, she sought out his lips again, but they were nowhere to be found.
    The lights came back on, and everything was exactly as it had been before the blackout. She was sitting alone at her table, studiously trying to avoid catching the eye of her ex boyfriend and his friends at the next table while waiting for Alan to get back with their drinks.
    And she had no clue who’d just kissed her.
    ***
    She and Alan had been flirting for weeks before he’d finally asked her out. They’d been smiling as they passed each other in the hallways, and he’d winked at her once for letting him cut in front of her in the queue at the campus cafeteria. That was when he’d asked her name, too—which had led to hours of speculating and giggling with her roommate that evening. She, on the other hand, had made sure to never slouch when he was around and always have on fresh lip-gloss when she smiled at him.
    He was the quiet type, the one who seemed to always be ready to talk about poetry, but at the same time edgy enough to keep a girl on her toes. The fact that he had those big, dark eyes and pouty lips helped his case of course, but it was the air of mystery he exuded that made girls swoon in his wake. Nobody knew where he’d spent the first two years of his studies or where he’d lived before that. Eliza, sophomore in college and with only one relationship in her past , that hadn’t exactly left her with the best of memories , would not be the one to resist him. He’d asked her out. She’d said yes, and meant, yes please, with a cherry on top .
    Truth be told, she’d been hoping for dinner and a movie when he’d said he wanted to take her out, but The Zoo wasn’t all that bad. Not when she was with him. He’d picked her up at the dorm, told her she looked beautiful, and kept on treating her like a princess by getting the car door for her, holding her hand on the way into the club, and sending those mysterious smiles of his her way.
    Things started going screwy when they sat down at the table Alan chose. The club wasn’t packed yet, but Eliza knew it would be. A lo cal band was performing that night, and people would soon be streaming in, so they were lucky to find a spot that close to the stage. Or so Eliza thought, until she saw her ex-boyfriend and his buddies sitting at the table to her right. She hadn’t noticed them when she’d first sat down, as Alan had been saying something incredibly profound. She really couldn’t remember what, but she recalled his eyes had been shining, his brow had been furrowed, and he’d seemed sad. When she did see the guys in the next table, it was too late to do anything but turn her chair sideways to keep them at her back , and focus all her attention on her date.
    Alan was talking about his last relationship. She could sense a lot of repressed feelings there, and felt honored she was the one he’d chosen to open up to about it. She smiled encouragingly, but he suddenly stopped talking and took hold of her hand in both of his. “Enough about me,” he said. “I want to know all about you.”
    She smiled, flattered by his interest. “Well, there’s not much to tell, really.” She lowered her eyes to the table, wondering where to start. “I’m a sophomore, as you kn—”
    “Actually…can you hold that thought?” He looked somewhere behind her and let go of her hand, smiling disarmingly. “I’ll get us something to drink.”
    “ I’ll have a diet Coke.” She had to say it to his back; he was already leaving the table by the time it took her to decide whether to be offended or not by his apparent lack of interest. If he weren’t that cute, she’d have probably written him off.