He nods again. "Okay, one kiss. Then it’s over."
My pulse spikes, but I keep my face flat. "Exactly. Simple. No problems. See?"
We keep staring at each other.
Then Gio shifts and moves closer, and then closer.
"Ay," I accidentally say before I can stop myself.
His eyebrows lift. "What? Does it bother you that I’m close? We are literally about to kiss. What did you expect?"
I nod and sit up straighter, trying to act normal even though I know that nothing about this moment is normal.
"Okay," I say, tapping my thigh in a pathetic attempt to stay calm. "It’s just a tiny kiss. Two seconds. It’s basically a reset button."
"Mhm," he hums, eyes glued on my mouth.
"It’s not deep," I add. "It’s not romantic. It’s just a practical solution to stop us from acting like five-year-olds."
"Totally practical," Gio repeats, still looking.
I ignore him. "We kiss for two seconds," I say, holding up two fingers. "Two. Then we breathe, we relax, and all this tension finally shuts up."
He nods slowly. "Sounds easy."
"Of course it’s easy, we’re adults."
"Sure," he says, leaning forward so subtly it’s almost rude. "So do I do it? Do I kiss you?"
My heart stops, then comes back with a vengeance.
"No," I say instantly. Probably too instantly. "I’ll do it. It’s my idea." I scoot closer. "Just a small kiss," I say.
"Two seconds. Max."
He nods once.
Okay. It’s just a kiss. A tiny kiss. I lean in carefully. Do I… remember how to kiss? Of course I remember. Probably. I mean… how hard can it be? People do it every day.
"Okay, wait," I mumble. "Do you mind closing your eyes?"
Gio’s mouth curls into the tiniest smirk.
"Why?"
"Because you’re looking at me and I’m getting stressed."
He actually laughs under his breath. "Alright," he murmurs, and slowly, he does close his eyes.
I lean in carefully.
My lips brush his, a little, enough to feel the cold metal of his lip ring. Then I actually kiss him, slowly.
My hand touches his neck accidentally.
Shit. I yank it back. We stare at each other, wide-eyed.
He licks his lips, dragging his tongue over the spot my mouth was.
