Buzzed Hearts

102: hugs and kisses

CAMILA SWINGS HER LEGS from the bench she's sitting on as she waits for Laurent. When he had asked her what kind of flavor cake she preferred—chocolate or fruity?—she just told him to surprise her. In fact, Camila doesn't even really like cake all that much but the way Laurent spoke animatedly, she supposed he had a sweeter tooth than she did.

    It wasn't even a minute after Camila had sat down, before she could even warm her seat, that she felt a hand tap her shoulder from the right. A light peck lands on her lips, softer than a petal meeting the pavement—spring still felt years away as of that moment but warmth flushes from the center of Camila's stomach. The sweet scent of the guava hard candy the ramen shop handed them after they had paid the bill surrounds the minuscule distance between their faces after the brief kiss, too sudden and too short.

    "I think this is what you wanted, no?" Laurent asks cheekily.

    "Well-"

    "Because that's what I wanted. Sorry if it surprised you but this is kinda normal for us to do now."

    "As friends?"

    "Friends?"

    "Well, then what are we?"

    "Uh. Friends who hug...and...uh...kiss."

    "Sounds great. I'm cold out here though."

    "Okay, hold on. Be right back."

    The anxious feeling clouding Camila's heart (and mind) left with Laurent. It wasn't as if things really changed, when it was what felt like a natural progression, albeit with a little angst along the way. It wasn't as if she had approached him with the intention of staying platonic friends but it wasn't as if she didn't respect his boundaries either. It was simply...natural. It eased her thoughts the more time she spent with Laurent, knowing that he was approaching her with effort to correct his past transgression and that, at least this time, he was reciprocating her feelings and actions.

    It wasn't long before the seat next to her was occupied and Laurent appeared holding two hot drinks—hot chocolate for her, vanilla latte for him—and a small box from the bakery. "Do you wanna hear a secret?" he asks as he hands Camila a plastic fork. He peels back the sticker sealing the box together and opens it carefully, but with flourish somehow. It was a cupcake with a frosting that reminded her of a peony newly in bloom and a chocolate sign perched in the center of the immaculately-iced cupcake with the letters WYBMGF in red lettering.

    "Will...you...be my girlfriend?" Laurent laughs at his own corniness after sounding out the letters for her. "Something little to make it feel more official I guess. Unless you want a ring or something."

    "We can get matching ring pops."

    He raises an eyebrow at Camila, a look she had not experienced first-hand in a long time but a smile breaks his expression and spreads across his face. It's a beautiful smile that anyone could fall in love with and Camila can't help but smile back.

    "And now," he says, lacing his fingers between hers, "I can do this. In public too."

    "Hmm."

    "You don't like PDA?"

    "Hand holding is fine."

    "What about this?"

    She almost knew it was coming as he leans in and his nose grazes hers every so slightly. Before his lips meet hers however, he pulls back, streetlight dancing in his sea-glass stained irises.

    "Still too far for a first date, I think," he says and comes to his own conclusion.