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Chapter 23

I shut the door behind me softly and walk over to my bed, on which Gale is currently sitting. He holds out his arms for me, and I move so that I am sitting in his lap, my head cradled against his shoulder. I slide my hands under his worn leather jackets and wrap my arms around Gale's waist. He smiles at me and leans in slowly, before pressing his lips to mine, one hand tangling in my hair. I return the kiss, pressing harder, and after a moment's consideration, I run my tongue slowly along his bottom lip.

I feel Gale recoil slightly at first, more from surprise than anything else, but after a few seconds, brings his lips back and bites the tip of my tongue, as gently as possible.

I don't know what to do here; before Gale, I had never even kissed anyone. Every moment was new to me, and I felt completely inexperienced, especially compared to Gale. He was popular at school, and the vast majority of girls there had chased after him at one point or another. I assumed that he had done this all before, and that scared me, although I hadn't admitted that to him.

I can feel a slight pressure on my back as Gale's hand pulls me against him slowly, our chests now pressed together. After a moment's consideration, I decide that I like this feeling, and hold him tighter, all the while my lips never leaving his.

We fall back onto the bed, the kisses coming faster and harder with each short breath. It's passionate, but at the same time sweet; I can feel that Gale is being careful, making sure that his hands do not go anywhere that they shouldn't. I push my tongue into his mouth, surprising myself as much as I surprise him in doing so, but it seems to be the right thing to do, as I can feel his tongue lick mine encouragingly, our mouths opening slightly to allow for the movement.

Eventually we break apart for breath, but as I inhale I feel Gale's lips trailing along my jaw to my neck, where he plants delicate kisses with his noticeably cool lips. I can feel his breath wash over my skin, which causes me to shiver slightly. We had never done anything like this before, but it felt good. Really good. What's more I felt that I could trust Gale; if I said I was uncomfortable I could be sure that he would stop right away, but right now I knew that I didn't want him to stop.

I gasp slightly as he lowers his lips to my collarbone, and he pauses, wondering if he'd gone too far. I say nothing, not trusting my mouth right now. Once he realises that I wasn't protesting, Gale returns his attention to my collarbone, and all rational thought disappears from my mind. As he sucks gently against my skin I try to bring about some form of conscious thought, but it's impossible. All I can feel, all I can hear, all I can think about is Gale, and I wonder if he has the same effect on me. I dismiss this thought immediately, knowing that someone as inexperienced as me could never make someone like him feel this way. It's not hard letting go of that thought, seeing as at that precise moment Gale's lips once again come into contact with mine, his breath as short and fast as mine. He trails one hand down my back and places it under my thigh, pulling my leg around him, which I allow.

I can't deny that throughout all of this I was frightened; frightened of what might happen, that I might do something wrong, that I might not be what he's expecting, or not enough. However my feelings are numbed as my lip is caught between his teeth, and my hands slide under his t-shirt, an action I wasn't really intending to do, but I did it anyway. My body now ruled over my mind, and it felt scarily new and exciting.

I run my hand across his chest, feeling the muscle there, his smooth, very warm skin. I guide my hand down to his abdomen, and he shivers, his breath catching in his throat. I begin to wonder if I am having an effect on him, similar to the one he has no me, as I bring my hands round to his back and pull him tighter against me. Gale's hands move to my waist, and from there slide around to my back and under my shirt, careful to stay away from my front, and holding me close. Now it is my turn to shiver – his hands are wonderfully hot against my skin. Wherever he touches, it feels like electricity running over the surface of my body, like nothing I've ever experienced before. As we kiss, he traces patterns on my back with one finger, spreading the electricity everywhere, causing my breathing to come much sharper and faster.

Finally we break away for breath once more, and Gale's hands slide out so that they may rest on my waist. I rest my head on my pillow, and he does the same, his face so close to mine that our noses almost touch. I move one hand out from under his shirt and Gale takes it in his, lacing our fingers and squeezing my hand slightly, comfortingly.

"That was… Wow." I say in between each breath.

"I know." Gale replies, his breath equally fast-paced. He smiles at me, and I smile back, watching his grey eyes.

We lie there in silence for a while, just looking at each other, needing no other type of communication than our eyes. I study Gale's face, at his ever-so-slightly crooked nose, the shape of his jaw, the firm arch of his eyebrows. I divert most of my attention either to his lips or his eyes, trying to count each eyelash, or find a name for the colour of his lips. I wonder if he's doing the same, or if I'm just being odd in doing what I was doing.

After a while I close my eyes, and Gale's hand breaks away from mine, only to wrap itself round my shoulders and pull me against his chest. I snuggle closer and inhale deeply, smelling him. He smelt of wood, and of smoke. He smelt like the forest beyond the fence, like wet earth and animals, which actually smelt pretty good. I found his smell comforting.

"I kind of feel… Odd, doing that stuff with you." I eventually say, half to him, and half to myself.

"Odd?" He asks, sounded confused, but there's an undertone of worry. I realise that he might have misinterpreted what I said as 'I don't like doing that stuff with you'.

"I love doing that kind of thing with you," I add hastily, and feel him relax slightly. "I just mean… You're so experienced, and I'm not, and it makes me scared that I'm going to do something wrong, and mess up what we have here." I hide into Gale now, using his chest to hide my face from him, so that he doesn't see the red warmth rushing to my cheeks.

Gale stays silent for a few seconds, mulling over what I've just said. Then, he begins to laugh silently, slight tremors running through his body. I'm confused; is he laughing at me?

"Madge," he begins between chuckles, "do you really think I'm that experienced?" Gale moves one hand to my chin and gently pushes upwards, so that I move my face away from his chest. I'm still blushing madly as his grin comes into my view.

"Well… yeah…" I say, not looking him in the eye. "All the girls at school want you… I assumed that you'd done everything before…" I can feel the heat radiating off my face as I blush a deeper crimson.

"Honestly, Madge, I've only ever kissed girls. That's all." He says softly. My eyes flicker up to his, confusion rushing through me. How could this be true?

My surprise must have shown on my face because Gale sighs and begins to try to explain again.

"I… I've kissed plenty of girls, but it never felt… It never felt like it does when I kiss you. It never felt special, it never felt right. So I never took a relationship further than kissing… Not that I've ever really had a real relationship." Gale says quietly, refusing to look me in the eye. "But when I kiss you… You're all I can think about. Nothing else seems to matter apart from you. I can't think straight, and I forget about everything else. That's never happened with any of the other girls."

It takes me a few moments to fully take this in. I couldn't believe it; I had thought that he had had that effect on me, and not the other way around.

"Wow…" I whisper, not sure what else to say.

"Do I… Do I have that effect on you, Madge?" He asks, moving his hand from my face and to my hair, tangling his fingers in it absentmindedly.

"Yes." I say firmly. "You have that exact effect on me Gale, and I had no idea that it was the same for you." I smile at him, and he finally looks into my eyes, and grins back.

Gale leans in and kisses me, his lips brushing against mine gently, and I instantly lose all conscious thought. It's not a kiss like before; this is not passionate, this is a sweet, slow kiss, a kiss that acknowledges what just happened between us.

We pull away after a few seconds and smile at each other again, not saying anything, just lying there in comfortable silence.

Sorry to cut it off there, I promise the party will happen in the next chapter.

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