It started as a kiss to the palm of her hand: soft and ticklish, yet teasing. It was their first date, and the look in his eyes said it all. They were glowing with admiration, much like a child meeting their hero. He had told her that the palm kiss was the first of many, much like their dates. But the second date never came. Francis never called her back.

The next kiss she received was one on the top of her right foot, placed delicately on the tattooed heart near her ankle. It was soft and innocent, unlike her lover at that time. The foot kiss was on their second date at a spa that he had owned himself. He treated her like a foreign princess, but that's all he had treated her like: foreign. There was no third date; she had called it off. Sadiq never called her back.

The third kiss she had received was one on her ear, the third date. He had taken her out to a nearby fair with a couple of his friends and their dates. Now, he was definitely a sweet man but had dangerous antics. His friends had told her that he was a bit of a stuntman and definitely a wild one, but she ignored them in favor of getting to know him. After the third date, she didn't have the energy for him, but he called it off anyways, saying that he was heading into the marines and didn't fair well with long-distance relationships. Alfred never called her back.

The fourth kiss she received were on the ear, given by two Italian men on their fourth date. They looked like they were twins, but one was older than the other by a few years. She had admired how they took care of each other and her like a princess. From the beginning, they had chosen to share her, so that the other wasn't jealous. That didn't last long. After the fourth date, the brothers were fighting over her, and - her being a pacifist - broke it off gently. Lovino and Feliciano never called her back.

The fifth kiss she received was a soft one on her nose on their fifth date. The usually busy man had a day off and decided to take her a park for the day. The two had enjoyed themselves in the quiet part of the park, petting ducks and walking through beautiful flower gardens that were trimmed by his younger brother. Her date had taken a red tulip and placed it behind her right ear before planting a small kiss on her nose, making both of them blush and smile shyly. He could always make her smile unlike the past ones. But their alone time always ended early. He had received a call from work and quite a few from his sister. He had always put work first before anything else. Benoît never called her back.

The sixth kiss was a drunkard's one. The sixth date she had been on. He was a caring man, but he had a drinking problem. So, naturally, she had met him at a bar. The night of their first kiss as a couple, he was insanely drunk, laughing and stumbling and all of that. But his strength remained in him. He had smirked at the barista then dipped his girlfriend into a drunken kiss. She could taste alcohol in his mouth, and she hated it. She couldn't deal with him. She politely called off their relationship and left. Mathias never called her back.

The seventh kiss was barely even considered a kiss due to the lightness of it and who gave it to her. It was given to her by the end of her seventh date on her doorstep. The date he had taken her on was one to a free petting zoo/pet adoption, where he had picked up a baby bunny and had given it to her with no words. It's not that he was a rude man, her date at that time was just stingy with money and a bad communicator in general, better than one of her past dates' friends. Tim never called her back.

The eighth kiss was the second most love-filled kiss she had received: a deep French kiss. Her date at that time took her on a moonlit picnic in a vast sunflower field, just the two of them. It was sweet what he has done for her, and she was grateful to the usually scary man. Their night had consisted of talking about each other, their families, and their friends – or her date's lack of friends. During the last hour of the night that waned into the morning, he had leaned over and kissed her deeply, him tasting of vodka. She was surprised but ended up kissing him back, unlike with the kisses of the past. The next day, he had told her what's been going through her mind, and she agreed. Their fire and ice romance wouldn't have worked. Ivan never called her back.

The next kiss she had been given was a simple yet intimate neck kiss, also known as the night she lost her virginity. It had been a stormy date night - the ninth date for them - before her lovely date pulled her into a deep kiss, but that doesn't mean anything. The real excitement was when he laid her back on the couch and gently placed kisses against her neck, which ended up on the floor. It was… vivid. She didn't mind it, but she didn't like it. A few weeks later, the test came back positive. Gilbert never called her back.

The last date she went on ended in a stomach kiss, right on her small baby bump. The date was pretty simple: a candlelit dinner for two with food provided by a close friend of both of them. Her date had been a total gentleman to her, even before the date.

"Tonight's been wonderful. Thank you, señor," she had said, smiling softly as her date kissed the back of her hand gently.

He smiled back warmly, standing back up to his full height whilst still holding her hand. "It's been a real delight to spend these last few months with you and the baby, my dear. And I would love to spend the rest of our months together."

"A-Are you–"

"Will you marry me?"

"Yes!"

Arthur had definitely called her back.

First installment of my new three-part horror-esque fic. This is dedicated to my lovely hubby Chase, who gave me the idea.