FIRST KISS (High School Romance - FYI - In need of redrafting/rewrites)

Chapter Thirty-Five

Taylor's visit had really shaken me up. I desperately didn't want to be the girl that broke up a relationship by getting in the way. If anything was ever going to happen with Bryce, I wanted it to be because he made the move; because he confessed his feelings, if indeed he did have any, for me.

*

Luke's parents were both out, but their housekeeper was busying herself with general household duties, as well as keeping one beady eye on Luke as she worked.

"He's through there," she said, pointing through to the little family room, where I found Luke with a bag of popcorn at his feet, and the playstation controller in his hand, his eyes glued to the screen.

"Your parents didn't confiscated the video games then?" I asked.

He pressed pause and looked up at me. "Mel, you should have told me you were coming over."

I hopped from foot to foot, feeling so awkward that I couldn't stand entirely still, and I didn't want to sit down next to him.

"I'm sorry. I should have called ages ago." I twisted the toe of my shoe into the rug, watching it. "I got your letter."

Luke lifted the popcorn and shoved a handful into his mouth. Some little yellow bits fell into his lap or stuck to his top. He chewed noisily.

"You read it?" he asked, spraying little bits of food into the air.

"I did."

"Good."

"Err..."

"What?"

"I think Bryce stole it. From my room."

Luke flopped back onto the sofa, sinking into the cushions. "So what?"

"You don't care?" I asked.

"Not really."

He smiled oddly and glanced down at the sofa next to him. I followed where he looked and noticed the extra controller sitting on the cushion that was itself indented, as though someone had recently sat there. There was a navy jumper that looked too small for Luke lying over the armrest.

"Is someone here?" I asked.

"I am."

I turned to see Bryce standing in the doorway, his hands in his back pockets, the muscles of his chest visible through a slightly-too-tight t-shirt.

I felt the fire rise to my cheeks. I hadn't been prepared for this in any way. I had barely worked up the courage to speak to Luke, let alone Bryce as well. And both in the same room? It was too much.

I made a noise, a small kitten-like purr in the back of my throat, like words held back by a fence of cotton wool.

"Are you looking for this?" he asked, pulling Luke's letter from his pocket, still neatly folded in the cream envelope, and thrusting it out at me. His forehead was creased, his eyebrows drawn together in an intimidating line.

"No." I shook my head. "I came to see Luke."

I couldn't take my eyes from his face; there was nothing in that room but Bryce in that moment.

"Why?"

I turned to look at Luke, but he wasn't there. At some point in the moments Bryce and I had been standing opposite one another, he had left the room. I hadn't even noticed.

"What did you think of what he wrote?" Bryce asked, stepping closer to me.

I shrugged, letting my hair fall over my face. "Oh, I don't know. It was just Luke. You know the way he is."

"I don't think I do." His features crumpled, and his face was unreadable. There was an intensity to the way he looked at me that I couldn't interpret.

I wanted to break through the barriers he put up; I wanted to get to the Bryce I loved, the one I knew was somewhere inside this handsome guy who stood opposite me. I stepped closer to him; now we were only inches apart, a strange force drawing me closer and closer to him. I wanted to feel his arms around me, to feel his lips on mine. I wanted...

"I'm in love with you."

"Mel..."

I hung my head; I had lost control; I had completely and utterly lost control, wanting nothing but to tell him how I felt, finally. And I didn't even care how he responded; I just had to get the words out as though they were a poison that was building up in my bloodstream, and letting them out somehow reduced the potency.

But it didn't reduce anything; it made me feel the emotion like acid on my skin, like a million needles in my pores. Everything became unbearably tense and uncomfortable.

I held out my arms, ashamed and frightened, creating a barrier between us. "Sorry, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to. Don't, please Bryce" - he moved even closer to me - "please don't touch me."

His arms dropped limply to his sides. "I don't really need to tell you how I feel about you."

He was looking out the window, scratching the muscles of his forearm with his other hand, both arms crossed over his body.

"What?"

"Because it was in that letter."

The confession took my breath away. My disbelief must have been apparent in my eyes because he nodded, his lips forming a small smile.

"Are you -"

And then he uncurled his arms from around his own chest and pulled me closer to him.

"Bryce, I don't want -"

"I broke up with Taylor," he whispered, his breath moving strands of my hair over my shoulder.

"You did?"

He nodded, pressing his forehead against mine. My heart began to thrum like an engine about to rev right up, just waiting for the gas. He had done it...he had ended it...

"Let's not talk about that," he said, eyes sparkling with excitement as he lowered his lips and kissed me.

It was as though every one of my nerves was imploding; the sensation was so much more intense than I had imagined it. He was so real; I could sense him in every way: the smell, the taste, the feel.

His hands were on my back, my shoulders, in my hair; there was a desperation in those kisses that we had waited so long for, and a sweetness to them because they had come so much sooner than I could have hoped for.

When he pulled away and looked in my eyes, I thought I might faint, but instead I leaned into him and rested my head on his shoulder.

"You bastard," I whispered.

"What?"

"You looked so angry with that letter in your hand."

He laughed and kissed me again, softer this time, but just as passionately as before.

"Wow, that didn't take long," said Luke as he blustered into the room with a can of soda. "I like to think it's the incredible romance of the PS3 and the theme tune to Grand Theft Auto."

I suddenly realised the background music had been playing the whole time, and I laughed. None of my senses had picked up on anything other than Bryce. I had zoned out the whole world, feeling, hearing, tasting only him. He still held me in his arms as Luke spoke, kissing his lips gently against the top of my head.

"Hey, Mel, can I get a kiss too?" asked Luke, bounding across the room and throwing his arms around us both.

He grabbed my cheeks and pulled my face to his, kissing my lips in a big cartoon-fish-like kiss, making a slobbering noise all at once. When he pulled back he smacked his lips and gave a big satisfied groan.

"Hey, you know what that was?" he asked.

Bryce shoved his chest, pushing him off us, but I pulled him back into our three-way hug.

"What?" I asked.

"My first kiss."