Kiss Me Slowly

Sixteen: Spin the Bottle

Daniel sat on a park bench, his nose in a book, completely oblivious to the world around him. Children ran past him laughing and screaming, men made their way to the nearest pub, ladies came home from shopping trips, but all Daniel did was read. And think of Katia, that too. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t get her out of his mind. Every girl he saw, every song he heard, everything he did just brought her up, one way or another.

But Katia wasn’t the only person on his mind.

A girl with beautiful brown hair that cascades down her shoulders; a girl with a contagious smile; a girl with wide blue eyes and specks of gold; a girl with a heart open for forgiveness and love. Alice.

Daniel came to the end of the chapter and closed his book. His eyes went to the watch on his wrist and he stood up, ready to go to Kory’s party which was starting soon. His feet crunched on the gravel and he stopped to dust off his brand new shoes, afraid his mother would yell at him for being careless.

Though he knew he wasn’t stopping because of that. He was stopping to buy himself more time, to think about what to say, because tonight was the night he told everyone about his true feelings. Everyone. That was the only way Katia would ever accept the fact that he was truly and irrevocably in love with her. That she was all he could think about, that he loved every minute spent with her almost as much as he loved her. That although Alice was a beautiful, smart, funny, open-hearted girl, she wasn’t the one he wanted to spend every minute with.

Yes, she did make him happy. Very happy. Being in the same room as Alice was like being in the same room as a warm sun; it was impossible to be gloomy, and if you were, Alice would soon fix that for you. She was beautiful, her eyes were enchanting and her voice was like milk and honey mixed and warmed and drank. Every boy loved Alice and would’ve killed to be in his position. Everybody but him.

Because every second spent with Alice was a second not spent with Katia. Oh, Katia. Gorgeous, kind, true Katia. The girl of his dreams, literally—he couldn’t even escape her in his sleep. She haunted every waking and sleeping moment he had and would until he could get her back. He’d made a mistake thinking what he felt for Alice was love, because, yes, I mean, he did love Alice. But as a best friend, a person he could share secrets with and be close to. Not somebody he could spend hours speaking to, telling her everything, trusting her with his life, loving her with all his heart, speaking to her like nobody could hear.

Because Katia was all those things to him. She was the gorgeous girl who loved her sister and missed her so much sometimes it hurt even Daniel. She was the beautiful girl who was kind and understanding and who would drop everything if anyone called on her. She was the radiant girl who always stood by his side in times of need, who could listen and give advice and know when silence was a better answer than words. She was the heart-stopping girl with lips he could kiss all day and all night and all day again. And although Alice was the sun of the room, Katia was his sun. Daniel’s sun.

He picked himself up again and started a slow jog down the street, dodging cars as he crossed and turning onto the road where Kory’s grand house stood. Taking a deep breath, he stepped into the driveway, his mind set on the fact that tonight he would say how he felt and nobody would stop him. Little did he know that he wouldn’t be the one speaking his feelings tonight.

***

“Alright! It’s time for… spin the bottle!”

Aleks whooped in delight, her mind fuzzy from the alcohol she’d been drinking. Somewhere in her damp, curly hair, Katia spotted a black bow that matched Aleks' short, puffy black dress and high-heeled shoes. Her shoes clacked on the porch as she ran across to the grass and tumbled down next to the fire crackling in the garden.