Eliot tasted like blood the first time she kissed him. It was during a job in Paris and she had just jumped off the Eiffel Tower, and he had just taken on ten thugs with weapons and won, and she just grabbed him and kissed him so passionately she felt it in her knees. She didn't hear Nate's voice in her ear, and though her eyes were closed she saw everything. Fireworks. Galaxies. She felt as though she was being electrocuted. She felt her hair stand on end and her fingers, caught in Eliot's hair, tingled like she'd touched a live wire. It lasted about four seconds, but it could have lasted centuries and not been enough. But they had to run. They had to continue the job like nothing happened, like they weren't high as kites because of that one little kiss.
The second time was secret. It tasted like spearmint and orange soda and 4 am in Lucille. It was fast and forbidden, and all theirs. It was followed by an unanswered, "What was that?"
The third was a show. They were in the middle of a job and he was wearing a black tux and she an elegant pink dress. It tasted like champagne and she knew Hardison was watching, and Eliot's hand rested on the small of her back and Sophie blew her cover and Nate was speechless. It was about everyone else. It was vindictive and obnoxious, but it took their breath away.
The fourth time scared her. It was in a supply closet in a rich man's office building, and she was pressed so close to him she could feel his heart against hers. A lock of her hair had fallen from her cap and he brushed it off her forehead, tucking it behind her ear. She could see her reflection in his glasses, and when he kissed her she could feel his stubble against her lips. Her throat closed up and she felt a pressure behind her eyes. It was intimate and special, and frightening. That was when she tried to run away, and when she found out she couldn't. That was when she was either in or out. Yes or no. Go or stay.
The fifth time was desperate and tasted like adrenaline. She ended up on her back in the backseat of his car, and he pulled her hair and she left scratches on his back. It was the first time, it was terrifying, it was epic. It changed everything.
The sixth time was the end. It was sad and it was her saying, "I lost you" and him agreeing. It was wrong timing, it was uncomfortable uncertainty. It was "This was never meant to happen'.
The seventh was her favourite. It happened on a helicopter landing pad with the wind blowing their hair, and her cheeks were flushed and she was crying, but she didn't know what for. And then he kissed her and it was wild and scary and brilliant and euphoric and it tasted like Eliot and Parker. It was a beginning of something great. It was the beginning of their lives.