The First Time
He kissed her hand
He was waiting for her in the lobby of the hotel where the banquet was to be held. His presence was surprising, but not disappointing. She exited the elevator, her heel catching on the hem of her dress, causing her to stumble and catch herself. Biting the inside of her lip, she pulled up the fabric so she could walk towards him the rest of the way without fumbling. Amusement glittered in his eyes, but at her stare, he refrained from commenting.
"You're here early." She greeted.
"Rubbing elbows with some important people this evening, I didn't want to be late."
At the mention of the "important people", Sonja felt her blood pressure rocket and immediately had to fight the urge to hurl. "Do me a favor," She murmured quietly, leaning in close. "Don't remind me how high ranking these people are."
He looked her over, clearly confused. "What's the matter?"
Several other cadets were entering the hall, she smiled politely at them as they passed before answering. "Ever feel like people expect more than what you have to offer?" Her hands began to shake, she swept back strands of hair behind her ear in attempt to hide it.
He gently touched her elbow, leading her to the doors of the ballroom, but tucking her in a corner for privacy.
"They're expecting heroes in there. I'm no hero, Jim."
"Hey, you're going to be fine." He held both her hands reassuringly, letting her squeeze as hard as she needed. "It's just dinner. Dinner with some old folks who will talk more of their own accomplishments than inquire about yours. Sure, they'll probably expect a gracious thank you and a small speech;" her eyes widened and she stopped breathing. "That was a joke."
She exhaled, forcing a "hah!" from her lungs.
"You've got this. Come on, you're Sonja Laxely, nothing ruffles your feathers. Right?"
She looked up at him, wanting to believe his words. When he saw doubt still lingering, he added: "You could always give me all the credit. I was there too."
Then she did laugh, it was short and mostly exhaled air, but it was genuine. "Alright, you're right. It's not a big deal. I can…let's go."
"Oh, one more thing," He held onto her hand before she could step inside the ballroom. Without warning, he lightly pressed his lips atop her knuckle. It was strange. In an endearing kind of way. His lips quirked and his eyes glimmered playfully. "You look beautiful."
Something fluttered inside of her and she wanted to laugh again. Instead, she pulled her hand from his and planted it on her hip. "You're going to be unbearable tonight, aren't you."
He smiled unabashedly. "Oh, almost definitely."
A/N: This is not dead. And neither am I. Thank you Kat7CA and dauntlessmermaid so much for your reviews! And thank you everyone for the addition to favorites and alerts lists, I do appreciate your support and am so happy to know that even though I haven't updated in so long, there are still people who enjoy this story. I hope to be bringing more to you soon!
10-6-2017 edit: I've separated the different kisses into their own chapters with more elaboration and slight alteration on each one. Hope you don't mind the changes and enjoy them!