“Last time we tried convincing people we were together, we faked that kiss on the paddleboard,” I say. “So, we’ll probably need to top that.”
She snaps her fingers. “Genius. Come with me.”
I’m not given much choice. We sneak farther away, behind our cabin, just into the treeline of the surrounding woods. It’s cooler here in the shadows, but Seyoon’s face only blazes redder. My heart works overtime at the proximity.Whydid I have to develop a big, fat, annoying crush on her? This is what I get for fraternizing with the enemy.
“What are we doing here, Seyoon?”
“You said we needed to top our plan from last time. What’s better than a fake kiss? Arealone.”
We both blink dumbly at each other.
“Huh?” I say.
“‘Huh’? Didn’t you hear me?”
“Yeah, I did, that’s why I said ‘Huh?’”
Seyoon frowns, maybe to distract from her blush, which is starting to spread everywhere, even across her throat and under the collar of her—focus.
“This worked last time, didn’t it?” she says.
“Yeah, but,” I sputter, “that was just pretend. And for the cameras. No one can see us back here.”
“We don’t need the cameras to seethis part. And pretend’s not going to cut it—I don’t want to risk the othersorthe viewers figuring out we’ve been faking it the whole time. Everyone will hate us for tricking them.”
Seyoon drops her gaze, and from the way her voice lowers, I can tell this is her real motive. “I… I hate that I wasn’t able to do this. Kiss you. I froze when Blake asked us to during our make-up scene, and that bothers me. After I stalled in the first challenge, I promised myself I’d never freeze again. I want to prove that I can do this.” She drags her eyes back up, gazing at me through long, straight lashes. “So… do you want to? You know. Kiss me?”
Of course I want to. My eyes haven’t stopped tracing the curve of her lips the whole time she’s been talking. They’re a deep orange-red from the lipstick the makeup department put on her. But this wouldn’t feel right. Not now, not when I want to for a very different reason than she does.
It takes all the willpower I have to step away. “We shouldn’t.”
She takes a step forward and plants her palm over my racing heart. Those soft, pouty lips utter, “Please?” and my brain short-circuits.
Well, I used all the willpower I had to step back earlier. I’m out now.
Hesitantly, I hold her hips, just like I did when we faked this on the paddleboard. I drag my fingertips up, grazing her waist through the fabric of her shirt. Seyoon’s eyes are wide and curious, flickering across my face, lingering on my mouth. She lifts her right hand up and snakes it around the back of my neck.
“Are you sure?” I ask.
She nods. “You?”
“Yeah. But… I don’t…”
“That’s why we’re practicing, right? Besides, this isn’t the real thing. It doesn’t have to be perfect.”
I can’t pretend that doesn’t sting. But it’s true. This isn’t real. It doesn’t mean anything to her. It doesn’t have to mean anything to me, either.
She pulls. I don’t have it in me to push anymore.
Our lips meet. My first thought is how pleasantly surprised I am that they’re softer than I imagined. And warm. Her mouth is pliant beneath mine as our lips slot to fit each other. The blood rushes to my head so fast, I hear it in my ears. The kiss is chaste—over in a second. Both of us pull back.
That was my first kiss.
Seyoon huffs, smiling. “See?” she says, her other hand looping around my neck. “It isn’t hard.”
Not exactly.
I lick my lips. Her eyes dart to the motion. “One more?” My fingers splay over the small of her back. “For good measure.”
