ENG - My best friend's sister ᵐᶦᵏᵉʸ ˣ ᵒᶜ

30

⊱ ────── {⋅. ✯ .⋅} ────── ⊰

"Thank you for saving me," she whispers, and only now do I look at her. She smiles, and a moment later I feel her lips on mine.

It's only a brief moment, just two or three seconds, but those seconds are enough to completely upset me. She breaks away from me and looks at me, with a slight smile on her lips. My eyes widen as I look at her and I notice a tear dripping down my face. I jerkily sit up with her sitting on my lap, as she was still on top of me. If not for my hands on her waist, she would have fallen backwards off the bed. Still looking at her in surprise, at least as best I could. The dim light shining through the window from outside is the only illumination in the room.
"Why did you do that? Why did you kiss me?", I ask her, continuing to hold her close. She widens her eyes wide and looks away. Knowing her, I know she's turning bright red now, even though I can't see it. Luckily, she also doesn't see my face, which has definitely gone a shade darker, as well as my heartbeat, which has sped up. I swear she can hear it.
"That wasn't a kiss, that was a thank you!" she starts to speak way too fast, hiding her face in her hands, even though I can't see her very well anyway. She apparently feels more comfortable that way.
"A thank you?", I ask skeptically.
"Yeah, that's what you do, isn't it?" she asks me, lowering her hands a bit again. You can see her trying to mask her nervousness.
"In the movies, series, and even in the manga I read, they always give each other a quick kiss when they say thank you, too?" she explains, but it still sounds like a question. Her answer, however, surprises me even more.
"And the men in the brothel also still give the women a kiss as a thank you...so I thought...that it was a normal thank you...sorry..." she continues stuttering, and I look at her incredulously. If she had been anyone else, I would have laughed at this person right now, but I believe her every word because I know she means it.

I sigh and shake my head as I brush a strand of hair from my face.
"You shouldn't do it like that, that's just how you show your gratitude when you love someone," I explain to her, feeling like someone who has to explain something to a small child.
"Just don't do it like that anymore. Just say thank you next time," I add and sigh again. She hides her face in her hands again and mumbles a soft, "I'm sorry," before getting up from my lap and sitting down next to me on the bed.
"Mei... I'm ap...", I want to change the subject, but she interrupts me.
"Don't apologize! You saved me. No matter what you say, who knows what else they would have done," she says, getting a little louder and looking at me seriously as she does so.
"Stop saying that I saved you. You were only in that situation because of me," I explain to her again, feeling my heart tighten. I still feel guilty about it. After all, it's obvious that she's only in this situation because of me and is now feeling pain.
"That's not true!" she says. This girl is so damn stubborn.

I put my hands on her shoulders and push her back onto the bed. Her body gives way under my weight and I bend over her and look into her face. I look at her intently and hold her hands above her head.
"And who says you're safe with me?", I challenge her, bringing my face closer to hers to watch her reaction. I notice her wince a little.
"You wouldn't hurt me," she whispers softly and I see the shiny gleam in her eyes as she starts to cry again.
I whisper in her ear and ask, "How do you know I'm not worse than those guys?" Her breathing quickens and she closes her eyes as I watch her reaction carefully.
"You're right, maybe you are worse than them-..." she starts, tugging at her arms to get free, but I still hold her.
"...But not to me," she continues her sentence, and I see something glittery leave her eye and run down her cheek as she turns her head in my direction and looks at me.
"What makes you so sure about that? What if I just forced you to kiss me right now?", I whisper, leaning even closer to her so that my nose is almost touching her cheek "Or what's stopping me from ripping your clothes off and raping you? You can't even manage to free yourself from my grip, and I'm not even holding you tight," I continue to murmur in her ear, stroking her sides with my free hand to provoke her further. I hear her swallow and think about it, as it stays quiet for quite a long time.
"I trust you, you wouldn't do anything to me that I don't want," she finally says and I sigh.

I slowly release my hands from her wrists and lower my head next to hers, but I still can't stop smiling.
"You're right. I wouldn't do anything you don't want me to. Only when you say 'kiss me' to me, only then will I kiss you," I say and then straighten up again, still bent over her.
"I also told you not to touch me if I didn't want you to, but yet you keep doing it. So I think your statement is a lie," she replies, sitting up as well. I can't help but laugh at her statement and turn slightly to look at her.
"True, then maybe it is a lie," I admit, grinning at her.
"Or do you want me to kiss you?", I actually ask her jokingly.
"What significance would it have if we kissed?" she asks cautiously, looking at me. My grin disappears. I'm surprised by this question and have to think for a moment before I finally answer, "None. It would have no meaning, even less than your 'thank you' kiss."
"Absolutely none?" she asks me again and I just give a nod, "Absolutely none," in confirmation.
"Then kiss me," she says suddenly.
Without giving it much thought, I lean over to her, take her face in my hands and place my lips on hers to kiss her. Our lips touch gently as I hold her face, and I feel a tear run down the back of my hand. This kiss means nothing, but then why is my heart racing?

It's just a kiss without meaning, isn't it?

⊱ ────── {⋅. ✯ .⋅} ────── ⊰