"have you ever been in love?"

four

we walk home together. he lives in an apartment complex not far off from my own — three minutes walking, to be exact — on the fifth floor, apartment number seven. it's a cute place, with a front-door view of most of the residential area of suburban yokohama.

i lean against the wall as he unlocks the door, after which he looks up at me, holding it open with his foot. "i had fun."

"me too," i smile, "glad i finally had the guts to make a move. and that you said yes. that was unexpected."

"i couldn't say no to you," he said, his big, brown doe eyes earnest as he turns to me a little more, sweeping me off of my feet.

i step forwards, placing my hands on his hips tentatively before i slowly lean in, brushing my lips over his. he kisses back, placing his arms around my neck loosely as he reciprocates, pulling me closer.

it feels like seconds, minutes, hours, fireworks, butterflies, eternity, heaven, like all clichés and everything in between. and as we break apart, i'm sad to stop, but so glad to have started, as i look into his eyes and he stares back into mine.

"that's some goodnight kiss," i say quietly.

"it doesn't have to be," he says, almost hopefully, "you can come in."

"so you do keep your promises," i smirk, and he rolls his eyes, arms now away from his embrace.

"shut up," he says, opening the door for me to enter. i do so, kicking off my shoes before stepping into the hallway, listening to him following me.

it's a small apartment, with a smart use of space to give me the illusion that i'm in a much larger room than i actually am. not that i pay much attention. most of it goes to him, to how he grabs my hand, pulls me close again and kisses me with a lot more passion than he did before. the rest goes to how we stumble to his bedroom. how our legs intertwine as we find our way through the doorway, hands grasping through the dark so our eyes don't have to open.

i don't usually do this. i don't sleep with people on the first date. but fuck, it feels right, and i know that i may never have another shot at this. with him, right now, it's what i want. and it's exactly what i get.