LEMONS / 𝗺𝗹𝗺 (✓)

9: where they're scared

CHAPTER NINE
where they're scared

Did Kalen want to kiss Hwan? Yes.

Did he not do it because of the lack of bravery found in him every time he saw Hwan, despite already having kissed him before? Also yes.

Was Ria not having it? Also, also yes.

"I mean, you kissed the man once, if you wanna do it again, tell him!" she said as if Kalen was half as brave as she was.

With her sock-covered feet in his lap, she wriggled them back and forth as to get Kalen's attention, but he was already giving it to her, so he didn't really know what the meaning with the action was. He let his head fall back against the back of the couch until he was staring at the ceiling and fake stars were staring back at him.

"That has nothing to do with it," he stated, his voice as flat as possible.

"That has everything to do with it," she replied. "I mean, that means you know he got a thing for you too."

"That doesn't mean he want to do it again."

"That's where the asking comes in," she responded and closed down the lid of her laptop, so she didn't have to look past it to see Kalen. "You ask him if you can kiss him—like you did last time, and then he either says yes or no." She paused. "I feel like we're having this conversation too late. It already happened."

Kalen sighed. "You're so confident I can do it again."

"Yes."

He deadpanned, "It makes me wanna puke."

Ria rolled her eyes. "Of course, it does." She retreated her legs and crossed them as she leaned against the back of the couch with her cheek pressed against her arm. "You're giving yourself too little credit, Kalen. You're hot— no, ah-ah, don't give me that look."

"What look?" he sputtered. "I'm not giving you any look."

"You are," she argued and hit him on the shoulder as if she was punishing him for something, she had already told him multiple of times not to do. "You keep giving me that there she goes again with her bullshit look and you need to, just, erase it." She made a grimace as she tried mimicking the look she claimed he had made.

She continued, "You're literally gorgeous and I'm not just saying that because we share Netflix account," —Kalen rolled his eyes— "'cause you're a really cool person, Kalen and I'm confident enough to say that Hwan thinks so too."

"You can't read minds, Ria. Not everyone thinks like you do."

"And not everyone thinks like you," she argued once again, but before she could continue her praising—because once Ria started her talk about how amazing Kalen really was, she would never stop—he shook his head lightly and interrupted,

"What about you and Joe?" He rested his elbow on the backrest of the couch and turned his body, so he was facing Ria completely. "You keep bugging my relationship with people, never talks about your own."

Ria shrugged, but Kalen saw right through her. He noted that it was definitely easier for her to keep the contentness he knew she held for his coworker inside when they weren't around. "Joe's cool."

"Joe is cool," Kalen agreed.

Ria shrugged again, her cool demeanor kept strong as she looked at everything but Kalen.

After a while, he heard her say, "There's a problem, though." She kicked the table in front of the couch with her feet away and moved position. She stared directly at the wall in front of them, leaning against the backrest with her arms hanging limp by her sides. Kalen thought she almost looked like a corpse.