ONCE (One-shot Story)

Once (Pt. 3)

                 

As the days passed by, Katerina and I became friends. Lee and Travis remained my best buds and we still used to hang out, but most of the time, my attention was with Katerina. We spent each day with each other, and if we needed to part ways after classes, there's not a night that we would sleep without each other saying good night over the phone. When people saw us together, they always looked at us with mockery in their eyes. But I don't care! The only thing I knew was that being with her meant happiness for me.

Probably, for Katerina, everything had been just purely friendship, but I knew deep in my heart that an unexplainable feeling toward her was beginning to develop.

One Saturday afternoon, I walked to their house and the first thing I noticed was that their car wasn't in the driveway. When she answered the door, I knew that I didn't have to ask her if I could come in. She had already introduced me to her parents when I was invited to the couple's wedding anniversary.

"Hello, James," she said, as if it was a surprise to see me again. Her hair was slightly tousled - I thought that she came from a short nap - but she still looked fresh.

"Hey, Katerina," I greeted back casually.

She motioned to the chairs. "My parents' not at home, but we can sit and talk at the porch if..."

I couldn't explain how the next thing happened. One second I was standing in front of her and instead of moving toward the chairs and sit on one of them, I found myself taking a step closer to her. Another second, I found myself reaching for her hands. They felt warm on my skin. She didn't step backward, but her eyes widened just a little with a touch of confusion on it. I was afraid I'd done the wrong thing and thinking twice if I should go further.

I paused, with my hands holding hers, and looked straight into her eyes. The next thing I saw was that she tilted her head and closed her eyes, and that our faces were slowly moving closer together.

I could feel the warmth of her lips as it touched mine. The kiss we shared wasn't that long, and it certainly wasn't that kind of the one you see in romantic movies these days, but for me, it was so wonderful in its own way. All I can remember was that the memory of that kiss would last forever.

"You're the first boy I've ever kissed," she said to me.

Our eyes were intertwined. My arms were now draped around her narrow waist, and hers were looped through my neck.

"I know," I replied, painting a naughty grin on my lips.

"Why-"

I didn't let her finish her words as I felt the urge to seal her lips into another kiss again. Then again, we shared the best kiss I've ever experienced in my whole life.