by Marian Tee
Whoever Kellion wanted, he would have.
“Why won’t you tell me what happened?”
I rolled my eyes.
He frowned. “Is it…embarrassing?”
Hallelujah. He got it.
His lips twitched at my exaggerated expression of relief. “You could have just said it, too.”
I shrugged. I’m not the one in need of answers here.
“How embarrassing?”
My cheeks turned red.
Kellion’s eyes gleamed, which only made my cheeks turn even redder. “That embarrassing?” His eyes lowered, resting on my lips. He asked in a low, husky murmur, “Did I kiss you?”
I wetted my lips, unable to help it. And then slowly, I nodded.
Kellion suddenly groaned, startling me. And then I frowned and scribbled on my board. AM I TOO HEAVY?
Kellion shook his head. “That’s not why I’m groaning, terataki.” He shifted me on his lap. “Do you understand now?”
Since I now felt something growing harder and hotter right under my butt, I could definitely say ‘yes’. I understood quite well.
He curled a lock of my hair around his index finger. “I’m sorry, though.”
I cocked my head to the side.
“When I drink too much, I forget. And I never remember.” His tone became flat. “Which means I will never be able to remember our first kiss.”
Ah.
The thought did sadden me, but only for a second. In a way, I was glad that Kellion had his own imperfections, however selfish that sounded. At least this way, it made him feel less…unreachable.
I wrote on my board again. IT’S OKAY.
“Of course you’d say that.”
BECAUSE IT ONLY MEANS WE CAN HAVE TWO ‘FIRST’ KISSES.
His eyes widened.
Gaaah.
Did I really just write that?
Before I could convince myself I had just dreamt being that foolish, Kellion was once again cupping my face. When our eyes met, I saw that he was smiling, a dazzling and wicked one that had my heart skipping more than a beat.
“You are absolutely right.” It was the only warning I had before we had our second first kiss.
It was everything I imagined – and more. Kellion Argyros, when under the influence of liquor, was impossibly tender and heartbreakingly sweet. But a fully sober, completely conscious Kellion?
In one word: irresistible.
Just one touch of his lips and he made me feel all kinds of things. One kiss and he made me forget we were in a public place, made me proud that he was attracted to me. Seductive. Poignant. Passionate. Every word that could be used to describe a toe-curling kiss? I felt all of them.
When he lifted his head, I was once again dazed and breathless. He was breathing almost as hard, and his eyes were fierce with need. “Did we kiss like that?”
Somehow, his question had my fingers curling against his chest.
It seemed enough of an answer for him because he was speaking again. “Did I force you?”
I shook my head vehemently.
“You don’t have to lie.”
I shook my head more firmly.
His body relaxed under me. “Good.” His voice dipped low again, something I knew by now meant I was in danger of—
“Did I touch you?”
My cheeks flamed.
—that.
I glared at him. Kellion!
He smirked. “I did, didn’t I?” He bent close, nibbling my lip. “You probably didn’t notice, but I always had to control myself when I was around you.” A soft chuckle escaped him at my doubtful look. “No joke. Every fucking time.”
The innuendo had me wetting my lips.
Kellion groaned. “Don’t do that.” He bit my lip after.
I was tempted to groan back. If that was a punishment, I was half-inclined to wet my lips again.
“Don’t look at me like that either.” Another bite.
If he really meant that, then I could never look at him anymore.
Kellion was suddenly lifting me off his lap. When he placed me on the chair beside him, I tried not to be hurt.
“Don’t get me wrong, baby.”
I shivered at the endearment. It was the first time he had called me that, and it sounded…good.
“I want you more so than ever, but I don’t want to rush it. And right now, I’m too fucking close to taking you back to my room and making you mine.”
My eyes were wide by the time he was done talking.
“Do you want that?”
Slowly, I shook my head.
His smile was strained. “Thought so.” He started playing with my hair again, and I tried not to shiver every time his fingers unintentionally brushed against the sensitive skin of my nape.
His mouth was suddenly next to my ear, his voice husky as he asked, “Where else did I touch you?”
I shrugged, unable to meet his eyes.
His chuckle tickled my ears. “Tell me or I’ll start touching you until you give me a clue.”
Oh.
I quickly grabbed my phone. What I was about to say, I definitely didn’t want anyone to read.
I typed one word. Chest.
His eyes gleamed at my answer. “You mean your brea—”
Panicking at the thought that someone might hear him, I covered his mouth, not wanting him to talk. But then his tongue started to move against my hand, and I became just as worried about making a sound.
I begged him with my eyes. Please don’t say a word.
He nodded obediently.
Slowly, I released his mouth and he immediately spoke. “Aria?”
Aaaargh.
If it turned out that he lied to me—
“Say something to me.” It was that voice again. A plea. A temptation. Kellion at his proudest and most vulnerable.
My chest tightened. Did he ever show this side to anyone else?
I…hoped not.
I whispered, “I really…want…to…make you…smile.” Slowly, it was getting easier to talk. Because of him.
Something flickered in his eyes, too fast for me to understand what it was. All I knew was that it was the part of him that was secret and vulnerable, the part that made me want to protect him the way I hadn’t been able to protect Ashton.
He said gravely, “You know what I want?”
I shook my head.
“I really want to make you…come.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. The sound was rusty, and it hurt my throat but the pain was worth it when I saw how my laugh had made Kellion smile.
I told him, “I’m…serious.”
“I’m serious, too.”
“Be very…very…scared,” I warned him even as I did my best not to smile.
I expected him to return the warning, but instead his smile faded. “No, baby. You’re the one who should be scared. Because I have a feeling…” He swallowed. “No matter what I do, I’ll end up making you cry.”
CHAPTER TEN
Dear Ashton,
I think…I think I’m dating. Yuck, right?
Love, Your Big Sis
“Wow.” Professor Edison had an amazed look on his face when he saw what I was working on.
I scribbled on my board. GOOD WOW? BAD WOW?
“What-happened-to-you-wow,” was the prompt reply. Witty, my art professor was, and according to him, it was all because he was gay.
I looked down on my current work-in-progress. It didn’t seem any different from my past works.
Mmm…maybe because I had used a different style today? Lettering was my passion, and I tended to gravitate towards casual-styled fonts. But this time, I had gone for the old school look, mixing elegant swirls and aristocratic curves as I aimed for Old English calligraphy with a twist.
Professor Edison clucked his tongue above me. “You don’t get it, do you?” He took my drawing pad and flipped to the previous page. “What did you write?”
I frowned.
Start tomorrow ri
ght with a good day’s work today.
I had written the words entirely in uppercase and using only block letters.
“And what did you write before that?”
I flipped back another page. This time, I had create a heart-shaped variant of a word cloud.
Every person’s destiny starts with the choice to believe in one’s dream.
My frown deepened as I scribbled on my board. I DON’T GET IT.
“Go back to today’s WIP.”
I did as asked. My eyes widened.
He loves me. He loves me not. He loves me!
And to make matters worse, I had used hearts rather than tiny plain circles for my exclamation marks.
Yuck.
This was what I got, for tossing and turning the whole time last night, replaying the way we kissed and touched in the cafeteria over and over in my mind.
When I tried to tear out my current page, Professor Edison burst into laughter. “Don’t you dare!”
I made a face. It was so yucky. I had to get rid of it.
“Seriously, don’t. The message may be too prosaic for you—”
I shook my head and wrote on my board. PROSAIC = NICE WORD FOR YUCK.
“Possibly. But I’m the teacher so you’re supposed to do what I say. So finish that and don’t throw it away. I’m going to include it in the exhibit.”
As my art professor turned to leave, I lowered my head to the desk.
*Head desk*
My life was over.
Beside me, KC peeked at my work. “Oh. Wow.”
Eyes still closed, I just fumbled for my phone and typed. IT’S GROSS.
“I think it’s sweet.”
I typed again. You’re sweet. This is gross.
“I take it things are going well between you and Kellion Argyros?”
I shrugged.
“Details please?” KC was practically begging.
With a sigh, I opened my eyes and started typing. I just want to make him smile.
KC inched her chair away from me.
I frowned.
And then she said, “That is so sweet.” She laughingly inched her chair further away right after, knowing her words would tempt me to shake some sanity into her.
I was not sweet. Ridiculous. I was just being properly…grateful, on behalf of the people he had helped in his life. I was sure they were many.
“You know,” KC began, making me glance her way. “I think I know what you have to do…” She paused then took her phone and started typing.
KC: Draw a photo of him—
Me: Yuck.
KC: —naked.
Me: That is your forte, not mine.
KC: Haha. I know. Wait, I got it. Tell him he’s the most beautiful man you’ve ever seen in your life.
I nearly gagged. Looking at KC, I drew an imaginary line across my throat. I’d rather kill myself than say that.
Her eyes lit up. “Oh my God, I know – I really mean it this time.” She typed the words.
KC: Be grumpy.
Me: YOU ARE NO HELP. GRR.
KC laughed. “See? You’re already making me laugh.”
The bell rang, saving her from being killed and saving me from being sentenced for murdering my seatmate. When we came out of our classroom, the first thing I saw was…him.
He wore a simple black shirt and jeans, but somehow, he still managed to look like a fashion model in them. Seeing me, he immediately crossed the distance between us. “You’re scowling,” were his first words.
Before I could tell him why, he grinned and said, “This is going to sound strange, baby, but I like seeing you scowl. Major turn on.” He bent down and placed a brief, toe-curling kiss on my lips as if to emphasize his point.
When he lifted his head, I saw KC laughing silently behind him. Told you, she mouthed before walking away.
Kellion turned around to see who I was looking at. “Your friend?”
I nodded.
“You actually have a friend?”
I wrinkled my nose. Ha-ha.
He kissed my nose.
Gaaaaah.
He always, always took me by surprise.
Kellion took my hand, and I almost tried pulling away before I reminded myself that it wasn’t like that between us anymore. Sort of. As we started walking, Kellion asked, “Did something bad happen in class?”
I shook my head, typed on my phone, and showed it to him.
Me: She told me the way to make you smile is to be my usual grumpy self.
Kellion said cheerfully, “That’s true.”
I glared at him while typing my answer.
Me: That can’t be true because I am NOT grumpy.
“All right, whatever you say, baby.”
Hmph. His face showed how much difficulty he was having, keeping a smile off his lips.
“If you really want to make me smile…”
I looked up.
He said softly, “Just be happy.”
This time, I gagged. Yuck.
Kellion laughed and squeezed my hand. “Anything else that happened today?”
Me: We have an exhibit tomorrow.
“Can I go?”
It took me a while to answer. I didn’t want him realizing just how ridiculously happy I felt at the way he readily expressed his interest in attending. That was sweet. Kellion Argyros, no matter what other people thought, was sweet. I wasn’t. Nodding, I typed again, adding an important caveat.
Me: Just you though.
He frowned. This time, he took my phone from my fingers and began typing.
Kellion: Why? I was hoping to bring my brothers with me and have you finally meet them.
Me: I already know who they are.
Kellion: Not officially.
Me: I just don’t want others to think…you know?
Kellion: What?
Me: They might think I’m just using you and the club to make myself popular.
Kellion: It would really make me smile if you allowed me the honor of introducing them to you tomorrow.
Gaaah. When he said it like that—
Me: You win.
Kellion: I knew I would.
Me: Shaddap.
Kellion: Your friend was indeed right. The grumpier you are, the more it makes me smile.
When we reached a particularly secluded part of the campus, Kellion suddenly stopped and faced me. “Aria?”
Mm?
“I really don’t understand, though.”
I frowned. Don’t understand what?
“Why you want to make me smile. I’m not the one who doesn’t smile.”
Oh.
My fists clenched at what I wanted to do, but I forced myself to relax. Forced myself to speak because I wanted him to know how much this meant to me. “I…want the…smiles…that…come…from here.” Carefully, I placed my hand over his heart.
After a beat, he said, “It’s decided. I’ll have the entire club with me at your exhibit.” Kellion bent down, stealing a kiss from my lips. “They have to know I’ve got the sweetest girl—”
My hand on his heart turned into a claw. Kellion!
He laughed as he tried to avoid my scratches.
I shook a fist at him. You will NOT bring them.
Kellion cupped a hand over his ear even as he continued walking backwards, dodging and evading my punches. “What?” he said laughingly. “I caaaan’t heaaaar yooooouuuu.”
Grrrrrrrr.
I ran after him, not like how couples ran in romantic comedies, where one or the other was really itching to get caught. I ran after him, more like how good cops ran after bad guys.
I just wanted to kill him so bad.
But of course he was too fast for me.
When we reached the street where my dorm building was, Kellion suddenly halted and spun around to face me. He knew what it would do to me, of course, and he was smiling with his arms wide open as I crashed into his chest.
Before I could snarl and kill him, he was already cupping my face
, his mouth devouring mine.
Aaaaah.
That was me, sighing an embarrassing, toe-curling sigh as his kiss once again made me feel like it was just the two of us in the world.
When he pulled away, I was swaying on my feet.
Kellion cursed.
My head jerked up. What?
“I want you,” he bit out. “And when I see you like that, almost drunk with wanting me—”
I gasped, automatically slapping his mouth with my hand. How could he say something like that, I wanted to wail. Yes, it was true. I did feel drunk, intoxicated by his beauty, his passion, everything that made Kellion who and what he was. But he didn’t have to say it!
Kellion was dragging me now, and I tried my best to keep up with him. I tugged on his sleeve, wanting to know where we were going since this was not the way to my dorm.
But Kellion only just kept walking, his stride brisk and powerful, his body stiff with purpose. He was a man on a mission, and his mission was—
“Thank fuck.”
My eyes widened when Kellion suddenly stopped in front of an ATM center, its door and windows made of frosted glass, preventing anyone from seeing the people inside.
His mission was to withdraw money? He didn’t have cash with him? Couldn’t he have just asked me instead?
Kellion pushed the door open, his body noticeably relaxing. “Good.” Pulling back, I was even more confused when he flipped the sign to Closed. Then he was pulling me inside.
Click.
Did he just lock us inside?
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Dear Ashton,
Your sister did a bad, bad thing. Forgive me, but don’t ask me what it was.
Just say you forgive me.
Love, Your Big Sis