She's always told him that guys are the perfect best friends. Despite the seriousness of her face, he'd always laugh and ask her why. She'd raise an eyebrow and get insulted by his taking their friendship so lightly. First off, she'd say, guys won't steal your boyfriend, unless they're gay, which she doubts Dino is, of course. She'd say it with such dignity that he'd laugh even more. She'd roll her eyes and tell him he's hopeless.

Of course she never meant that. They're best friends and they both love each other. But he knows too well that their relationship will be just that, and nothing more. It might be impossible for others to think that he, Dino Cavallone, would have a girl best friend. And a klutz, at that.

Not even her own mother knows her the same way he does. He knows that she gets cranky when she's hungry. She doesn't spread rumors with no apparent reason. He's probably the only one who knows that she's really good with the piano and that her wrists hurt on some occasions because of too much pressure that she absent-mindedly exerts on them when playing. He also knew, better than anyone else, that she cut her wrist once when she was ten just out of curiosity, the permanent scar on her wrist being proof, and that she still feels stupid for doing it. He knew that no matter how strong she might appear on the outside, deep inside she's weak, she's vulnerable, and that she doesn't care, either.

Once she fell in love with a guy. It was too unusual and unreal, that at first he thought she was kidding, but seeing the look in her eyes, he knew she wasn't. Soon enough, she started learning how to deal with boys, and vowed to get close to the guy she likes. She even bought instructional guides about dating, much to his amusement.

One day, he saw her reading a guide on how to kiss, and he burst out laughing. Her cheeks turned pink and got irritated, asking him what was wrong. He stopped for a moment and tried to suppress his laughter. "Should you really be reading that?" he asked.

She looked at him incredulously and maintained the frown on her face. "Well, yeah! Unless I know how, of course."

He sat down beside her on the floor and studied the book in his hand. "I mean," he snickered, "this thing's not going to help you, you know?"

"Oh, really?" she asked, not keeping her eyes off him. "Well, then, what else would?"

He couldn't help but smile at his best friend's naivety and thought for a moment. "You wouldn't really remember all those in the midst of things, right?"

She frowned and contemplated on what he said. "And besides," he added, "Don't you think it would be better if you practice it with someone else?"

The look on her eyes changed and at first he wasn't sure what she's thinking.

"I know what," she said smiling.

"What?"

"You teach me."

"Teach you what?"

"Teach me how to kiss, I said."

His jaw dropped for a moment and he knew she was serious. "Me? Teach you how to kiss? What makes you think I'll do that?"

"Come on, you're the only one who can do that!"

"And why would that be?"

She stopped and thought for a second. Why did she want it to be him, again? "Because you're my best friend."

He shrugged, "So?"

"And best friends are supposed to help each other."

"That's all?"

"And I'm confident I won't fall in love with you."

He stared at her and wondered if she did mean it. He then raised his eyebrows and crossed his arms. "What makes you so sure of it?"

For the first time, she became unsure of what to say, and she tried to avoid his gaze. "I don't know. I'm just sure of it."

He chuckled, "Doesn't sound like a pretty good reason to me."

She frowned and tugged at his shirt, "Oh, come on. You're supposed to help me!"

"Well, what happens if you do?"

"Do what?"

"Fall in love?"

"With him?"

"No. You idiot."

"With whom?" she asked a little impatiently.

"Stop playing dumb. With me, of course."

And she was playing dumb. She was trying to avoid the question, and he could see it.

"Of course, I would never let that happen," she said. "You wouldn't."

"Oh, really?"

She looked at him unsurely. "Well, yeah. I'm sure it won't happen."

"Oh, so now you're challenging my charming abilities?" he smiled sarcastically.

"No. It's just that-"

"That?"

She sighed impatiently. "I'm telling you: it's not gonna happen."

He stopped for a moment and studied her face, and he still wasn't sure what was motivating her.

"What makes you think that I'd want to do it?"

"God, Dino! It's just a kiss."

With that, he cut her off, and a frustrated groan escaped her as he pressed his lips to hers. She was too surprised by what happened that all she did was to let his lips move and his tongue explore her mouth. The shock of all thatﾒs happened made her a bit dizzy that she closed her eyes and he had to hold on to her wrist to keep her steady. Her other hand was tightly clinging to his shirt, afraid that her dizziness might keep her off-balance. She then felt his hand guiding her neck, and it slowly went through and got tangled in her long hair. She moaned at this gesture and clutched his hair, pressing his neck deeper and absorbing the sweetness and the warmth of his lips. All the while, nothing else seemed to matter; only the sound of their faint moans and gasps for air filled the entire room.

Finally, she pushed him off slightly and panted. He rested his head on her shoulder, still hesitating to let her go, and held her back to keep her steady. When he looked at her, she avoided her gaze. He smiled and pinched her cheek hard. "You're annoying," he said.

"Ouch, what was that for?"

He leaned against the wall and ran a hand through his hair. "You were fine," he was gasping. "You were pretty good actually."

She tried to suppress the reddening of her cheeks and hugged her knees. "And what made you think I won't be?" she murmured.

"Haha. Well, it was pretty good for a first-timer."

"Oh, shut up!" She grumbled and threw a pillow at him, which he dodged effortlessly. She stood up and tried to punch him with her fist.

He caught her wrist and smiled, "I'm sure your guy will like it."

She looked at him, and then to the floor. She hesitated for a bit and smiled, "Thanks."

While he was sitting in his limo on the way to his house, nothing else was in his mind other than what happened that afternoon. He thought of how her lips tasted, how tender they felt. He momentarily lifted his hand and touched his lips, as he looked out of the window and thought about his best friend. He wasnﾒt sure what the tightening of his chest meant when they kissed, but he was sure that there was going to be a change in their relationship from then on. He might not know what to do, but he was certain of one thing: that he'll do anything to keep her in his life.