I would like to send overwhelming thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. I'm struggling to keep going with this and seeing such kind responses is the only thing keeping me motivated to write more. Thank you so much everyone.
"Meet me tomorrow. By the middle mountain river. Noon."
Her words kept bouncing around in his head all day, the anticipation of what was to come carrying him through the monotony of his chores.
Because he had done it, at last. He had kissed Lillian. He was having a hard time hiding his satisfaction with the moment; not only had it been what he considered an adequate kiss, it had in fact left her somewhat breathless afterwards. And as much as he liked the regular, stubborn Lillian he usually had to deal with, he enjoyed the speechless and subdued woman who had been putty in his arms afterwards.
He could feel the familiar nervous knot in his stomach beginning to rework itself as he started his climb that morning, his eagerness to see Lillian sending him up the mountain a little earlier than he would have gone otherwise. He was more than a little curious as to what was to come next. He had a few reservations, knowing the history of the village; it wasn't uncommon for couples to wed as soon as they had had a first kiss, hardly any dating involved beyond the few dates that would formally acknowledge them as in a courtship. And while he quite liked Lillian...
All thought went from his mind as he saw her. Goddess, she was beautiful; he had always thought of her as pretty, had never once doubted that fact. And yet he was caught off guard now by her appearance; her long brown hair draped over her shoulder, her bare feet dipping into the water as she sat on the dock. He must have exhaled loudly because she looked up suddenly, her green eyes locking on his blue ones, a dull pink flooding her cheeks.
"Hi." She sent him an embarrassed smile. He knew that she too was replaying the previous night's events in her head.
"Hi." He shifted the positioning of her boots and moved to sit beside her, the narrow end of the dock forcing his thigh to graze hers. He didn't quite know what to do with himself; now more than ever the status of his relationship with Lillian was questionable. Should he greet her with a kiss? Or should he sit in silence, waiting for her to make the first move?
She answered the question for him, opening her mouth to speak before he had the chance to. "I'm going to be very honest." She said quietly, her cheeks still pink. "I don't quite know how to act around you unless I'm screaming at you." He was relieved she said it, a breath he didn't know he was holding having being released. As much as he ached to touch her, to kiss her... He simply couldn't find the right place to start.
He was acting much more confidently than he felt as he turned to her, leaving only one foot hanging over the dock, the other bending up beside him. The only things he knew about women he had learnt from Cam, who arguably had more experience in the area of seduction; in all romantic accounts, it was mostly the man who started these things. Where to start, really was the question... He cleared his throat, willing himself to sound much more sure about things than he really was. "Fair enough. Let's just take a moment to get... reacquainted."
He watched her closely for a few moments. She seemed to be steeling herself, her lips pursing every few moments as she stared unblinkingly in the waters. At last she let out a rather ragged sigh, her gaze finally meeting his. "Okay."
"Okay."
He leant forward and as gently as he could looped his fingers through her hair, trying to find something, anything, to say in the newfound yet not uncomfortable silence. "Have I ever told you how much I like your hair?"
"No, I don't believe you have." Her tone was sarcastic but her cheeks had flushed another shade of pink.
He allowed his hands to bring the locks to his face, the familiar floral scent hitting him harder now than it had before. "I always loved the way it smelt. Like lavender..." He replaced the lock behind her ear, allowing his finger tips to trace the outline of her face from ear to jaw, trying to hide his disappointment as she smirked and jerked out of his grasp.
"Sweet of you." He could tell she was distracted, even as she swung around to face him better, her dripping feet curling underneath her.
"What's up with you?"
She seemed to struggle with the words for a moment. "I was just wondering... I mean, how couldn't I, after last night but... Have you... Been with many women?"
She blurted out the last few words with an air of embarrassment, her awkwardness making him burst out laughing. "'Been with many women?' You sound like one of those radio dramas my mother listens to. 'Been with many women!'"
With all his snorting she had turned an uncharacteristic shade of red, punching him briskly in the shoulder. "You know what I mean! Answer the question."
He attempted to sober himself, still snorting every few moments. "No I haven't, not one. Have you been with many women?"
"No!" His teasing was sending her more red by the moment. "I have not been with any women! But, well... I've kissed a few guys. If you're wondering..." He could feel the air of awkwardness returning to her, thankful that she chose to keep talking rather than let it take over the comfortable atmosphere around them. "...So I was your first kiss then?"
He could feel his cheeks going red but supposed she was right; there really was no way around it. For once she read his face correctly, the loud laugh she let out making him realize that it was his turn to be mocked. "Really? Your first kiss?"
"Yeah..."
She hit him affectionately around the shoulder, chuckling as he avoiding her gaze in the depths of the river. "Well, how was it then? Everything you hoped for?"
He couldn't allow her to keep the smug look on her face; doing the best he could to maintain a stiff upper lip, he crossed his arms and kept his eyes on the water. "It was alright, I guess."
He could see hurt flash on her face momentarily before she grinned cheekily at him, something in her eyes telling him he was in trouble. "Hmm... Just alright, was it?"
What she did next caught him off guard; reaching across the dock she grabbed him roughly by the suspenders, manoeuvring herself to settle onto his lap. Keeping a firm grip on his shirt, she smiled devilishly down at the shocked expression on his reddened cheeks.
"L-lillian, what-" He could have killed himself for stuttering, feeling blood rush to his face as she reached up to run her hands through his hair, knocking his hat onto the dock behind them. He couldn't think, but more importantly couldn't think of what to do with his hands, the smooth flesh of her thigh brushing against his clenched fists.
"So what are you saying then, Ash? That I'm not a good kisser?" He had never been more frightened of her than he was in this moment, her finger trips trailing across his neck and up his jaw, tilting his face up to hers. His head was spinning, the thoughts inside them whirring so fast he could hardly think; on the one hand, he wanted her, wanted her to kiss him so badly he nearly ached. On the other, he was horrified of being spotted by his mother or some other member of the village in such a compromising position... Her one hand on his shirt was tracing the outline of his chest, pausing to slip beneath the leather of his suspenders. The coy smile hadn't left her lips once, a small part in his mind understanding that she knew the effect that she had on him, knew how she sent his blood pumping and thoughts whirring... And even worse, she enjoyed it.
"Lillian, stop it." He pushed her roughly off of him, her posterior colliding with the wood of the dock with a satisfying 'thump.' He collected his hat and placed it quickly on his head, suddenly filled with too much energy to sit down.
"What's wrong?" She had gotten to her feet as well, watching as he paced towards a nearby oak tree, trying to put as much space between the two of them as he could. "I... I thought this was what you wanted?"
"Screw what I want." He was breathing far too heavily, trying to keep control. "What do you want? I... I don't want to be some play-thing for you, some guy to keep you preoccupied until some other unlucky bastard catches your attention. I just... I hate this once-sided friendship... relationship... whatever this is."
She was very still, her hazel eyes wide. "What are you saying?"
He hesitated for a moment before the words burst out of him, the words he had been rehearsing in his head for weeks spilling between them on the river bank. "Dammit Lillian... I like you. You drive me half-crazy, but I like you." He let out a half-laugh, his breathing still coming fast as he ripped his hat off his head, running a hand through his hair. "And if you don't feel the same or... Aren't willing to put up with me, say it now. I don't want to be just another guy you kissed the one time. That's not what this is to me. I'm not... I'm not like you."
She looked half-offended by the time he finished his speech, a hand cocked on her hip. "So what's this then? Just how many boys do you think I've kissed?"
He let out an exasperated laugh. "You're kidding me. I go through all that, and all you manage to pick up is the fact that I think you've kissed too many boys? Is everything always a fight with you?"
She was pacing slightly, her wet feet becoming caked with dirt, the annoyed look on her face. She evidently decided to drop it, her eyes becoming clouded with thought. "You asked what I wanted..." She took a deep breath, her eyes falling suddenly to her toes. "I guess... I don't think this is as one sided as you think."
Recognizing that that was as close to a confession as he would get, he risked a few steps forward. "... Then what is this, then? This... thing we're about to get ourselves into."
She firmly avoided his gaze as he approached her, her eyes fixed at a spot on her skirt. "I won't act like I don't know how things work in this town... Same as they do in any small town..."
He didn't want her to continue to speak, didn't want to breach the subject of courtship they both knew they were dangerously close to and entirely unprepared for. He cleared his throat, trying to get his point across. "I like you Lillian. And I'd rather risk it than fight these feelings anymore... Let's settle it then. Regardless of what happens between us, to everyone else we're just friends."
"Friends it is, then. Except... Friends who kiss each other, in private. Perhaps more than once?" She was still avoiding his gaze, yet her cheeks turned the familiar pink colour as she said it. Looping his fingers through her hair, he turned her face to meet his.
While their first kiss had been one filled with anger and passion, their second was one of a gentler nature. Pressing his lips to hers, he felt a rush of heat through his body as she sighed into his mouth, allowing herself to relax against his chest. His hand dropped to her neck, his thumb pressing against her throat and tilting her face up to his. Vaguely, he felt one of her hands grab hold of his suspenders, the other snaking around his neck and pulling him to her.
They broke apart after a few moments, both exhaling heavily. He had been unaware of lifting Lillian off her feet, only becoming so when he set lower her a few inches back to the earth. He nearly laughed at her expression; she looked as if she had been recently clubbed over the head, her lower lip swollen and her cheeks a rosy red.
"I'm never going to get used to that." She sighed shakily, attempting to smooth a crease in his shirt.
"Get used to what?" He tried to catch her eye as she turned a deeper shade of red.
"Well... there's a reason why I asked if you had been with any women. For someone who's never even kissed a girl before you certainly are... satisfying."
He nearly whooped in celebration, finally settling after a few moments to chuckle smugly into her hair.
Please read and review. I need the motivation; I can't decide if I should just leave it here or keep going!