Marlene forgot to breathe. If Skipper hadn't been holding her so tightly, her legs would have given way. Of course, if Skipper hadn't been holding her close, her legs probably wouldn't have turned to jelly.
None of this occurred to her at the time though because her brain switched to shock mode. All she was aware of was his beak pressed to her lips and her body pressed to his chest.
It took her a minute when he pulled away to remember where, and even who, she was. The sound of his voice brought her back to her senses.
"I hope that worked," he murmured, more to himself than her. Marlene pulled herself together and framed her face into an expression that she hoped read 'You owe me an explanation' rather than 'Gaaa!'.
"May I ask why you burst into my place and without so much as a by-your-leave…" she struggled to put the experience into suitable words and hoped he couldn't see her flushing bright red. He glanced back at her and coughed.
"Sorry about that Marlene… but Kowalski said it might work to… well, you see… there's this mink."
"Mink?"
"Yeah. She's got it into her head that I'm the guy for her." He rolled his eyes.
"Really?" Marlene tried to sound sarcastic.
"Kowalski suggested that if she saw me with someone else… she might forget about it."
"Huh," Marlene considered this and had a sudden idea. "Except… she might not be convinced by this alone. We girls aren't that dumb you know. And we can be quite persistent. She'll expect to see us together now… and if she doesn't she might realise she's been tricked." Skipper stroked his chin thoughtfully.
"I suppose that's true. But I can't ask you to pretend…"
"Skipper," she interrupted. "We're friends. Of course I'll help you out." He smiled.
"In that case I suppose I should stop by again tomorrow?"
"Sure." He nodded to her once before turning and disappearing as suddenly as he'd arrived. Marlene wandered to the edge of her enclosure to watch him as he returned to his habitat.
Then she leant her head against her wall and tried to bring her swirling thoughts and feelings back under control.
He'd kissed her! She wished she hadn't been caught so off guard by his arrival so she could have enjoyed the sensation more… No! That wasn't right. He was her friend. He needed her help to get rid of a girl. She felt a sympathy for this mink who'd obviously fallen for Skipper just as Marlene had. Only she wasn't so good at concealing it. And look where it got her. Skipper was actively trying to discourage the poor love struck girl. Marlene tried to take some comfort from the fact that so long as Skipper didn't realise her true feelings she could at least stay close to him. As close as two friends could be anyway.
Only… now he wanted her to pretend to be his girlfriend. She felt a thrill, though whether terror or excitement she wasn't sure. Her heart pounded at the thought she might be able to kiss him again… but her blood froze at the thought he might realise her feelings. This was going to be trickier than she'd thought. But maybe… if this was just a crush she had… a temporary fling with Skipper might cure her. She sighed.