And for a moment, I let myself really look at Marley. Really see her. The way the dim light caught the gold flecks in her dark eyes. The strong line of her jaw. The way her lips curved just slightly, like she was holding back something she wanted to say.
“You’re so beautiful,” I heard myself say, which was crazy because I hadn’t meant to. But it slipped out anyway.
Something changed in her expression then, and she stepped closer, and I found myself backed against the glass door, trapped between the cool surface and the heat radiating from her body. My breathing became shallow, each inhale bringing more of her intoxicating scent, making me feel dizzy with what I didn’t fully understand.
“Can I?” she asked quietly, her hands hovering near my face.
I didn’t even ask what she meant. I just nodded, not trusting my voice, my pulse racing so fast I felt lightheaded.
She reached up, slowly cupping my face in her hands. Her thumbs traced along my cheekbones, and I shivered at the gentle touch. Her hands were warm and slightly calloused, and the contrast against my skin undid me.
“Your eyes,” she murmured, leaning forward to press the softest kiss to my left eyelid, then my right. “They’re so beautiful. So deep and expressive, I could get lost in them.”
What is happening to me?
My legs felt weak, trembling slightly as heat spread through my limbs. No one had ever touched me like this, with such reverence, such careful attention. Each gentle kiss sent waves of sensation through my entire body, awakening nerves I didn’t know existed.
“Your cheeks,” she continued, her voice barely above a whisper as she kissed each one in turn, her lips lingering against my skin. The warmth of her breath made me gasp. “They’re so soft, and I love how they turn red whenever I’m close to you.”
This can’t be real.
But the warmth of her lips, the scent of her so close, the way my skin seemed to come alive under her touch, it was the most real thing I’d ever experienced. My hands trembled at my sides, unsure where to put them, my body responding to her in ways that felt both foreign and completely natural.
“Your nose,” she said with a small smile, pressing a quick, playful kiss to the tip that made me let out a breathless laugh despite the intensity of the moment.
But then her gaze dropped to my mouth, and her expression grew serious. The playfulness faded, replaced by something deeper, more urgent. I could feel her body heat through her sweater.
“Your lips,” she whispered, her thumb tracing across my lower lip so gently it made me gasp. The touch sent a bolt of sensation straight through me, pooling low in my stomach. “God, Kelechi, I’ve been thinking about kissing you senseless since that night in my car. Since the moment I met you, if I’m being honest.”
She’s going to kiss me. Really kiss me. On the lips.
The thought should have terrified me, but instead I felt myself leaning toward her, drawn by that same invisible force that had been pulling me in her direction since the beginning. My body seemed to know what it wanted even as my mind struggled to catch up.
Her forehead rested against mine.
“Kelechi…” she whispered.
“We shouldn’t,” I breathed, but didn’t move. Neither did she.
And then her mouth found mine.
It was soft at first. More like a question rather than a demand. Her lips were incredibly warm and soft, and the taste of her was something I knew I’d never forget in my life.
For a second, everything went silent, every thought, every doubt.
And all that existed was just her, just the strangest, sweetest feeling unfolding inside my chest… something finally clicking into place.
Oh.
I realised with a mixture of panic and wonder that this was my actual first kiss.
I’d always imagined it would be with Chukwuma on our wedding day. I never imagined it would be like this, in another country with a woman, on a patio overlooking the city, my entire world turning over.
Her lips moved against mine with a gentleness that made my knees weak. This was nothing like what I’d expected a kiss to feel like. It was raw and consuming, and it made me feel like I was dissolving and coming alive all at the same time. My body pressed instinctively closer to hers, seeking more contact, more of her warmth.
As our lips clashed and moved against each other, my father’s voice echoed in my head: Do not follow the Western way.
To him, almost everything they did was a sin.
