To Be or Not to Be
Kole and Asim stood facing each other.
This was the moment they were waiting for.
Everything had led up to this. The rivalry, the bonding, the friendship.
They had wondered. Worked. Waited. And they were finally here.
Their practice ritual had just finished. Successful again. It was starting to become a streak now.
Three times in a row it had worked. Three separate parts completed. And their hard work was finally paying off.
They had cleaned up and sent the others on their way.
Now it was the two of them.
In a room.
Exhausted, but adrenaline pumping nonetheless.
Kole wondered if it would be like in stories, and suddenly wished that she hadn't skipped all those sections in books where they covered this.
He leaned in first.
But of course he did. He was the one with flourish, with confidence.
For all her boldness and power, she had never achieved that "this comes naturally" air of self assurance.
Especially not with… well not with this… stuff...Let's call it stuff.
She was curious if he was faking it. He was a good faker. She didn't know if that came naturally, or if it was a carefully honed skill.
Either way, in this moment she was glad she could just stand there awkwardly, her mind a-buzz.
Because she had no idea what to do.
Where do your hands go?
By your sides?
She fought the urge to pace back and forth.
Maybe up? Should she reach up?
Or maybe just like cross 'em behind her, so they were out of the way.
Too late! The gap was closing. He was leaning in. His long, gorgeous, white eyelashes fluttering.
She took a breath and smiled. Surely it would feel better smiling. And she leaned in too.
Be bold, Kole, she thought. This is Asim. We are safe, we can explore this. We care about him. We lo- well we are working on it!
And then it was happening.
His kiss was soft and warm. Gentle on her lips, and not at all slimy which she secretly suspected kisses were like. His were like silk, and she wondered if hers were cracked or dry. Should she have done something to them?
His hand went to her curls for a moment. She realized the other one had found her waist.
Somehow her arms had rather naturally placed themselves on his chest.
She would have expected them to be pushing him away, but instead they rested there. It felt intimate, safe… close. She realized then that she felt close to him. Perhaps closer than with any other person she had ever known.
He knew who she was, what she was: an angry, gawky, blaze of fire on a stick. And he liked her.
He actually liked her.
It was at this point Kole realized she had gotten lost in her own thoughts and probably should be focusing.
Of course she had no idea what to do, so she just leaned into him gently, pressing her body just a pinch forward. That seemed like it could be read as an intimate gesture, right?
The kiss lasted a few moments.
His lips moved against hers three time, parting them ever so slightly.
He was skilled. Clearly he had done this before.
The hand on her waist was softly caressing her side, which like the rest was shockingly soothing.
Then he drew back and they locked eyes.
They understood each other.
They cared for each other.
Then at the same time their lips parted again, and tumbling out at the same time came:
"That was… nice."
Then they both laughed awkwardly.
"Did you like it?" he asked.
"Uhhh…"
"Me neither."
"Do we do it again?"
"No, no, definitely not."
There was a shared sigh of relief.
"Still friends?"
"The best."