Disclaimer: I own only Zelda. And she's mine and you CANNOT have her! *wink*
A/N: Okay, again, I apologize for the length of the last chapter, but I am working towards something for Lizzie, something you will see the makings of in the next chapter. I hope you like. And BTW, I wrote this chapter in like a half hour. I've been planning it in my head for a while. And a little hint for the next update time… You will a similarity between this chapter and the next…
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"You shouldn't kiss me like this,
Unless you mean it like that,
Cause I'll just close my eyes,
And I won't know where I'm at."
-Toby Keith, You Shouldn't Kiss Me Like This
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He paced around, his arms flailing. I laid back on my bed, watching my best friend's now visible frustration.
"You KISSED him!" he muttered aloud, his first words to me since leaving the theater. I stole another look at the clock It was only 10 p.m. meaning that he could be here doing this for easily another two hours.
I yawned. "Yes, Larry, I kissed him. But how many times do I have to explain? He was turning. He would have seen her and probably would have been really mad. And if he'd been mad, then she probably would have chickened out about telling him how she feels."
He glared at me, and I wondered what I had done that was so wrong? I told him it didn't mean anything. That there was nothing to it. Just a means to an end.
"And you couldn't have just said something to him?" His tone snapped at me angrily.
"There was no guarantee that he wouldn't keep his line of vision going in Lizzie's direction. This way," I explained, "I could know that he wouldn't look at anything but me. I figured she'd get out of there, and hey. Think of it this way. Maybe this will be the punch she needs."
It was a persuasive argument. He knew it and so did I. He had nothing to match it, so he simply sat in my desk chair silently, occasionally shooting glares in my direction.
Suddenly he leapt to his feet and pointed at me. "What if he falls for you?"
I moaned and dropped my head into my hands. "He's not going to fall for me."
"How do you know? Maybe for the next twelve hours all he'll do is think about that kiss and about how he wants to have 2.5 kids with you and live in a white picket house."
I rolled my eyes. "The house wouldn't be white picket. The fence would be. And anyway," I continued, catching his frown, "that's not going to happen."
"How do you know?! People don't just kiss for no reason."
"It was a moment thing. You weren't there, and I had to make an executive decision. I'm sorry if you don't like it."
His voice rose and I shushed him. "A moment thing? Are you saying that you were CAUGHT up in a moment?"
I picked up a pillow and shrieked loudly with it pressed against my face. "Please give it a rest."
He sat down beside me. "You know, if you like Gordo… My selfish desire shouldn't get in the way."
"Larry-"
"I can step aside. I mean, if he makes you happy, then…"
Agh! I couldn't take it anymore. Cutting him off mid-sentence, I did the only thing I could think of.
I kissed him.
With lips that had been aching for the feel of his against theirs, I allowed 16 years of pent up desires to take form. For a moment, he did nothing, just sat there in shock, but once it had passed, he pressed back, his lips exploring my own, with a passion that matched mine and I was so grateful for the lip gloss I had only recently applied. I wrapped my arms around him, and pulled him closer still. His hands were in my hair, around my waist, and when I finally pulled back, I allowed my eyes to lock with his.
"Now, I ask you," I forced myself to say, pretending not to feel the harsh racing of my heart, the jelly that my legs had turned into, "do you LIKE me, like me?" I was prepared for either answer.
He took a deep breath, perhaps fighting for control and then answered, "No, of course not."
I swallowed the lump in my throat and smiled. "See? And yet you kissed me back. No big deal. You just proved my point. Caught up in a moment, you did the only thing you could think of."
And so there it was. I was finally back in the driver's seat. He couldn't be mad anymore. I rested my case.
I got to my feet. "Wanna go grab some sodas or something."
He followed, but seemed to hover behind me for a minute.
"What is it," I asked, turning. I couldn't look him in the eyes. Or else my lips would start to burn again, the ache of missing his just too strong to take.
He took a step closer and automatically I backed up. And closer still he came and yet I continued my retreat. Until he had me against the wall. He seemed to loom over me and goose bumps shot up and down my arms and was it hot in here?
Slowly, he leaned down, and gently applied his lips once again to my own. I felt my desires take hold again as his arms rested on the wall behind and this time my hands found his hair. I could feel his heart pounding against my own and the heat between us was enough to steam an engine. He didn't stop. The kiss deepened and deepened still until I wasn't sure I could breathe and certainly didn't care.
He moved his hands from the wall to my waist and I had a realization. I didn't care. I was in love with this guy. Friendship, boundaries, they didn't mean a thing. It didn't matter what I'd have to do, how many Gordo's I'd have to "date," I was going to do whatever it took to make sure that his mouth remained on mine for the rest of eternity.
Finally he pulled back, gasped for breath and gaping. Oh crap.
"I am… SO sorry," he gasped.
I blinked, unsure. He stared at me, waiting for me to do the necessary repairs to our friendship. Well, I WAS the older one. It was my responsibility.
"No biggie," I was able to choke out. The heat ebbing from my body, I was finally aware of just how bad a thing this was. "I mean, we're a buy and a girl best friend and we've been spending a lot of time together." I began rationalizing. "I mean, it's probably been on the back of both of our minds for a while now. And now… Now it's out of our system." I chanced a look at my friend who was VERY transfixed with his shoes. "Right?"
He was flushed, and his eyes were kinda glazed. But otherwise, there appeared to be no physical damage. He nodded after a moment of silence.
"Right." He allowed his eyes to meet mine, albeit briefly. "I'm so sorry."
I summoned my courage, mildly fearful that I wouldn't be able to do this without kissing him, but pulled him close, into what I hoped came off as a friendly hug.
It did not, however, FEEL like a friendly hug. For one thing, it was too long. And for another… I couldn't help myself… For just a moment, I snuggled against his chest, and he gently stroked my hair. I sucked in a deep breath, memorizing every detail of this moment, his scent, the feel of his arms, of his fingers dancing across strands of my hair, of everything that that second of my life was composed of. Because I had a very funny feeling that things were about to change and that the strings of our friendship were pulling tighter… And were getting ready to snap.
A/N: Okay, again, I apologize for the length of the last chapter, but I am working towards something for Lizzie, something you will see the makings of in the next chapter. I hope you like. And BTW, I wrote this chapter in like a half hour. I've been planning it in my head for a while. And a little hint for the next update time… You will a similarity between this chapter and the next…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"You shouldn't kiss me like this,
Unless you mean it like that,
Cause I'll just close my eyes,
And I won't know where I'm at."
-Toby Keith, You Shouldn't Kiss Me Like This
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He paced around, his arms flailing. I laid back on my bed, watching my best friend's now visible frustration.
"You KISSED him!" he muttered aloud, his first words to me since leaving the theater. I stole another look at the clock It was only 10 p.m. meaning that he could be here doing this for easily another two hours.
I yawned. "Yes, Larry, I kissed him. But how many times do I have to explain? He was turning. He would have seen her and probably would have been really mad. And if he'd been mad, then she probably would have chickened out about telling him how she feels."
He glared at me, and I wondered what I had done that was so wrong? I told him it didn't mean anything. That there was nothing to it. Just a means to an end.
"And you couldn't have just said something to him?" His tone snapped at me angrily.
"There was no guarantee that he wouldn't keep his line of vision going in Lizzie's direction. This way," I explained, "I could know that he wouldn't look at anything but me. I figured she'd get out of there, and hey. Think of it this way. Maybe this will be the punch she needs."
It was a persuasive argument. He knew it and so did I. He had nothing to match it, so he simply sat in my desk chair silently, occasionally shooting glares in my direction.
Suddenly he leapt to his feet and pointed at me. "What if he falls for you?"
I moaned and dropped my head into my hands. "He's not going to fall for me."
"How do you know? Maybe for the next twelve hours all he'll do is think about that kiss and about how he wants to have 2.5 kids with you and live in a white picket house."
I rolled my eyes. "The house wouldn't be white picket. The fence would be. And anyway," I continued, catching his frown, "that's not going to happen."
"How do you know?! People don't just kiss for no reason."
"It was a moment thing. You weren't there, and I had to make an executive decision. I'm sorry if you don't like it."
His voice rose and I shushed him. "A moment thing? Are you saying that you were CAUGHT up in a moment?"
I picked up a pillow and shrieked loudly with it pressed against my face. "Please give it a rest."
He sat down beside me. "You know, if you like Gordo… My selfish desire shouldn't get in the way."
"Larry-"
"I can step aside. I mean, if he makes you happy, then…"
Agh! I couldn't take it anymore. Cutting him off mid-sentence, I did the only thing I could think of.
I kissed him.
With lips that had been aching for the feel of his against theirs, I allowed 16 years of pent up desires to take form. For a moment, he did nothing, just sat there in shock, but once it had passed, he pressed back, his lips exploring my own, with a passion that matched mine and I was so grateful for the lip gloss I had only recently applied. I wrapped my arms around him, and pulled him closer still. His hands were in my hair, around my waist, and when I finally pulled back, I allowed my eyes to lock with his.
"Now, I ask you," I forced myself to say, pretending not to feel the harsh racing of my heart, the jelly that my legs had turned into, "do you LIKE me, like me?" I was prepared for either answer.
He took a deep breath, perhaps fighting for control and then answered, "No, of course not."
I swallowed the lump in my throat and smiled. "See? And yet you kissed me back. No big deal. You just proved my point. Caught up in a moment, you did the only thing you could think of."
And so there it was. I was finally back in the driver's seat. He couldn't be mad anymore. I rested my case.
I got to my feet. "Wanna go grab some sodas or something."
He followed, but seemed to hover behind me for a minute.
"What is it," I asked, turning. I couldn't look him in the eyes. Or else my lips would start to burn again, the ache of missing his just too strong to take.
He took a step closer and automatically I backed up. And closer still he came and yet I continued my retreat. Until he had me against the wall. He seemed to loom over me and goose bumps shot up and down my arms and was it hot in here?
Slowly, he leaned down, and gently applied his lips once again to my own. I felt my desires take hold again as his arms rested on the wall behind and this time my hands found his hair. I could feel his heart pounding against my own and the heat between us was enough to steam an engine. He didn't stop. The kiss deepened and deepened still until I wasn't sure I could breathe and certainly didn't care.
He moved his hands from the wall to my waist and I had a realization. I didn't care. I was in love with this guy. Friendship, boundaries, they didn't mean a thing. It didn't matter what I'd have to do, how many Gordo's I'd have to "date," I was going to do whatever it took to make sure that his mouth remained on mine for the rest of eternity.
Finally he pulled back, gasped for breath and gaping. Oh crap.
"I am… SO sorry," he gasped.
I blinked, unsure. He stared at me, waiting for me to do the necessary repairs to our friendship. Well, I WAS the older one. It was my responsibility.
"No biggie," I was able to choke out. The heat ebbing from my body, I was finally aware of just how bad a thing this was. "I mean, we're a buy and a girl best friend and we've been spending a lot of time together." I began rationalizing. "I mean, it's probably been on the back of both of our minds for a while now. And now… Now it's out of our system." I chanced a look at my friend who was VERY transfixed with his shoes. "Right?"
He was flushed, and his eyes were kinda glazed. But otherwise, there appeared to be no physical damage. He nodded after a moment of silence.
"Right." He allowed his eyes to meet mine, albeit briefly. "I'm so sorry."
I summoned my courage, mildly fearful that I wouldn't be able to do this without kissing him, but pulled him close, into what I hoped came off as a friendly hug.
It did not, however, FEEL like a friendly hug. For one thing, it was too long. And for another… I couldn't help myself… For just a moment, I snuggled against his chest, and he gently stroked my hair. I sucked in a deep breath, memorizing every detail of this moment, his scent, the feel of his arms, of his fingers dancing across strands of my hair, of everything that that second of my life was composed of. Because I had a very funny feeling that things were about to change and that the strings of our friendship were pulling tighter… And were getting ready to snap.