Cold Sweetness

❆ chapter eleven

The sensation was so unexpected that Nevada was frozen for a few seconds, their breathing the only sound to disrupt the silence. His lips were soft against hers, and while she wanted nothing more than to respond, her body had stilled in shock. She had no idea how to proceed. She lacked experience in this department.

Most people lost their first kiss before they turned eighteen, and she didn't fall into that category. She had never been extremely saddened by the fact, the thought of becoming that intimate with someone sending a stake of fear into her heart. But now, she wished she had the confidence to reciprocate his actions.

This was so unlike her. Even though it felt like a lifetime had passed, she had lost her first kiss to Sam a few days ago. That could've been brushed past with the excuse that the others had pressured them into it, but this time, there was no one watching. Sam had initiated it—and Nevada liked it.

As soon as Sam realized that her lips had yet to move against his, he pulled back, his breath hitching. Though his gaze failed to waver, there was a hint of uncertainty in it that made her insides soften.

"Sorry," he mumbled. "I—I should've asked. I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable." He scratched the nape of his neck. "I—"

"Wait," Nevada cut him off.

She broke his gaze, instead focusing her attention on the flames that burned within the fireplace. Even as her vision blurred, her eyes remained on the fire. She was all too aware of his presence beside her, his chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm. Her heart raced, and her own breathing quickened at the same time. She waited until she felt calm enough to speak again.

"I—I just," she started, "I don't know how. I've never done this—" Her chest stuttered, and she worked up the courage to flick her eyes over to Sam to gauge his reaction.

To her relief, there was no judgment to be found. A gentle smile graced his features, his dimples poking out on either cheek, and she realized that she wanted to kiss him again—even if she didn't know how. He made her want to learn how.

"Can we ... take it slow?"

"I like slow," Sam said.

His eyelids fluttered shut, and Nevada mimicked his actions, leaning forward until their lips met again. This time, that uncertainty didn't hold her back, and she did her best to reciprocate the kiss. Their noses knocked together, and for a brief second, her face warmed.

But the embarrassment passed the second Sam let out a cheeky laugh, brushing past the incident by returning his mouth to hers. The art of kissing was strange to her, but she grew familiar with it as the seconds ticked past. His lips were soft against hers, tasting of the hot chocolate he'd made himself that morning, and from this distance, she could inhale the sweet scent of the cologne she had started to associate with him.

True to his word, their soft kisses moved at a slow pace for the first minute. Her glasses knocked into him a few times, but it wasn't until it happened for a third time that Nevada reached up to pluck them off.

"But you can't see without them," Sam said, his eyes wide as he watched her set them down on the table on the left side of the couch.

"I'm not kissing you with my eyes open, am I?" was her only response before she brushed her fingers over his cheek.

Her hand lingered there as he leaned forward once more, his lips capturing hers. His tongue teased the front of her teeth, and his hand had just dropped to her hip when the front door banged open.

The sound startled them away from each other, Nevada shoving her glasses back on her nose in an instant. Sam scooted away, snatching up the controller where he had discarded before they had gotten distracted, and acted like he had been in the middle of GTA V.