I woke up by the sound of a loud thunder but didn't bother to open my eyes. I frowned as I felt something on my face, like somebody touching my skin. For a moment, I thought I was dreaming and then I realized that it was him. And slowly realized the touch on my face were his fingertips. Suddenly I was wide awake, wondering what he was trying to do. He caressed my cheeks gently then reached to trace the outline of my lips. Another thunder roared. I could hear the heavy rain outside.
I slowly opened my eyes. It was still dark and my eyes couldn't focus. But I knew his face was right in front of me because his hot breath was hitting my skin. His hand froze over my face.
"Oh, did I wake you up?" He whispered quietly.
I blinked my sleepy eyes. "Why are you not sleeping?"
"I...I had a nightmare and woke up by the sound of loud thunders."
My eyes focused in the darkness and I could see his face dimly. I shifted closer and pulled him in my arms. He buried his face in my chest and sighed. I closed my eyes again to sleep.
"Kwan?" He called.
"Hm?" I mumbled sleepily.
"Kiss me."
My eyes shot wide open and adrenaline rushed through my body. I was wide awake. "Huh?"
He leaned his head back and looked up at me. "Kiss me."
I didn't know what to do. My mind wasn't working. I obeyed. I tilted his chin up and crushed my lips against his. I kissed him gently but he seemed more urgent and intense. And sure enough, his intensity aroused me. I matched his intensity and climbed on top of him, the kiss turning a little rough as I couldn't help biting his bottom lip. He let out a soft moan, placing his hand at the nape of my neck, pulling me closer. Hesitantly, I slipped my hand under his t-shirt. I ran my hand on his warm skin over the abdomen. I kissed his neck as my hand explored his chest. His breathing turned heavy and he couldn't stay still. I took a moment to take my shirt off and continued to kiss him. He ran his hands on my bare back.
I pulled his shirt and took it off. I tried to see him in the darkness but there was just not enough light. I wanted to look into his eyes, know what he was feeling and understand what he wanted.
"Kwan." he breathed as I trailed kisses on his neck, shoulders, collar bone, chest and moved south.
I stopped just below his navel, contemplating if he really needed more. I was ready to move forward but I needed his permission. I kissed the line of his pants and went back to kiss his lips. Taking my chance to know if he wanted more, I hesitantly started to slip my hand under his pant. He broke the kiss and gasped. My hand froze.
I licked my lips, waiting nervously for his response.
"I...I feel like my heart is going to explode." He said, placing a hand over his chest.
"Mine too."
He reached to place his hand over mine that was slipping under his pant. "I just...feel like I am not ready yet."
I withdrew my hand and climbed off him, lying down on his side. I ran my fingers through my hair, staring at the dark ceiling. "I am sorry. I got carried away." I apologized.
"No, don't. Don't make it sound like a regret." he shifted to place his head against my shoulder.
I put my arm under him silently. I didn't know what more to say. Somehow I was glad for the darkness for saving me from the embarrassment. I must have crossed the line. The room turned silent except for the sound of the pouring rain outside. My eyelids turned heavy as I continued to stare at the dark ceiling. With the sound of the rain, I fell asleep comfortably.
I stretched my arm and blinked in a daze in the bright room. I sat up and scratched my head. I could feel how horribly my eyes had swollen. I looked around, realization slowly sinking in.
"Good morning."
I turned to look at him standing near the table, drinking a glass of water. "Oh, good morning."
He smiled and came to sit on the bed. "So this is what you look like after waking up."
My eyes widened. I knew I looked terrible after waking up. His eyes traveled down. I followed his gaze and realized I was bare chested.
"Oh Oh." I tried covering myself with my hands, my cheeks burning.
He laughed as I pulled the blanket over myself. "You look amazing even though you have just woken up."
I ran my hand through my hair, trying to arrange them. My hairs would be pointing to every direction after I had woken up.
"What's the time?" I asked.
"Eight in the morning."
I nodded, looking around for my t-shirt. But why was I not wearing one? Scenes came flooding to me and I froze. So it was real. Now that I was fully conscious, I could tell I was half asleep last night when I did that. I glanced at him. And as our eyes met, I felt goosebumps on my neck. I looked away quickly.
"Do you want green tea?" He asked.
"Huh?"
Something about his eyes seemed like he was so excited. "Green tea."
I nodded. "Okay, sure. Let me freshen up." I wanted to get up but I was shy to remove the blanket. I couldn't spot my t-shirt either. He smiled and went to boil some water. Taking that chance, I quietly slipped off the bed and looked around for my t-shirt. I found it neatly folded on the chair. I quickly put it on and left for the bathroom.
"Here." He handed me my tea and continued to look at me.
I smiled. "What?"
"I want to see how you drink this nasty thing." He sat down beside me and gazed.
I shook my head in amusement and took a sip.
He scrunched his nose. "Damn. You are pro."
I leaned and pecked his lips. He looked surprised and then broke into a smile, blushing scarlet.
I grinned. "Try."
"No. No. Never." He waved his hands, laughing.
"Should we go for a movie today? And just walk around for the day?" He asked as I placed the cup down.
I nodded. "Sure. Which movie do you want to watch?"
"We will see what's available."
I smiled, gazing at him.
We got ready by nine and left for breakfast. He looked so cute in his light blue sweatshirt with an animated cat print that I couldn't keep my smile off my face.
"Are you a cat?" I asked, taking a bite of my bread.
"Huh?" He looked confused. "Oh. Coincidence." He grinned.
I shook my head with a smile. "I know you are trying to be cute."
"Ehhh. No. It's just a coincidence."
"What coincidence?"
"Huh?" He realized.
I laughed.
His cheeks flushed in embarrassment and he took a bite of his sandwich, avoiding my gaze. As I stared at him, scenes from the night before came flooding to me. I just couldn't shake off the way I felt at that moment at night. The urgency and intensity of his lips were seductively arousing. He never ceased to surprise me. Who would expect him to ask me to kiss him in the middle of the night?
"Hey?" He called.
I came back to reality and focused. "Yeah?"
"What's wrong? You are staring at me."
I smiled. "It's because you are cute."
He blinked, flushing again. "You..." He shook his head.
I laughed.
We finished our breakfast and made our way out in the rented car. I turned on the navigation and started driving to the movie theater. The day was bright. The rain had cleared the sky and cleaned all the dust. The sun was shining but the strong wind served as a shield from the direct hit from the sun. We drove with "Scars to the beautiful" by Alessia Cara playing in the background. Maybe it was the atmosphere at that moment because I felt very happy. I was still in disbelief that he was with me, right beside me.
The music stopped abruptly and I turned to look at him. He had been playing music from my phone.
"You have a call." He said.
"Who?"
"Your sister."
"Ah, pick it up. It's connected to the bluetooth anyway."
He picked it up.
"Oi Kwan. You haven't given me a single call after you reached. It made me wonder if you have actually run away from home." Naomi said her own type of greeting.
I sighed. "I have talked to mom. You didn't call me either."
"Aye, I thought you must be having fun with your friends."
"Yeah yeah."
"So, how is it going?"
"Good. We went to the beach yesterday."
"Oh wow. It must have been fun."
"A lot." I grinned and glanced at him. He blushed.
There were some shuffles from the other end.
"Kwanie!" it was my little sister.
"Yes my little princess?" I greeted.
"Why have you left? When are you coming back? I wanted to go with you." She whined.
"Calm down. I will be back the day after tomorrow. Wait for me." I smiled.
"Come fast and don't forget your promise."
"Alright."
"Okay, enjoy. I will be waiting. Bye."
"Bye."
The line went dead.
I glanced at him. "My siblings are kind of annoying, isn't it?"
He shook his head, looking away. "Not at all. Your younger sister sounds so cute."
I smiled.
Since it was daytime, there weren't many people in the theater. It was expected though. Who would be coming to watch a movie during weekdays in day broad light? Since there were less people, it was better for us. The theater was huge. We looked at its map in the entrance and it had several theater rooms for different movies. They even repeated hit movies in some rooms.
"What should we watch? Something romantic?" I asked, staring at the list of movies displayed on the T.V screen at the entrance.
"Um...No I guess." He said.
I glanced at him. Yeah right. Why would we bother watching straight romantic movies on our first date?
"Oh wow. What about horror? You like it." He exclaimed, looking at me.
I smiled. Something about his aura was bright and friendly. He seemed and felt like a happy-go-lucky person. "Sure. I hope you like it too."
"Aiy, you know I do." He grinned and went through the list again and pointed at one name. "There."
I smiled as I saw the name of the movie. "That's not horror. That's horror-comedy."
He frowned in confusion. "Zombieland Double Tap?"
I nodded. "Yes. I don't think they are playing any horror movies today. We can watch this if you want."
He pouted. "Have you already watched it?"
I shook my head. A lie. "No, not yet. I heard from a friend about it. They said it's horror-comedy."
He grinned happily. "Then let's watch this. You like zombie movies anyway." He held on my arm, pleading with his eyes.
I flushed. "Sure, let's grab some pop-corn. We still have half an hour left."
As I waited in line to get the pop corn, I noticed a young girl giving out some brochures but nobody seemed interested to take it from her. I glanced at my back at the line. There weren't many people anyway. Only few. I cut out of the line and walked to her.
"Hi, please come to our store at the book fair today." She smiled, handing out the brochure to me.
I took it from her. "What is it about?" I could see the visible bliss on her face as I asked.
"It is a brochure of our little store at the book fair today. We sell all kinds of quality products. And if you use the code from this brochure, you can get discounts on your purchase."
The term 'book fair' caught my interest. "A book fair? Where?"
"Just another mile north from here. It starts today. If you go, please visit our store."
I smiled. "Sure."
She flushed and turned to hand a brochure to another passerby.
I walked back and joined the line with only two people in the queue. For some reason, a chill ran down my spine, making me shiver for no reason. Why was it suddenly so cold? Oh, maybe the air condition was too low. I shook it out. I ordered a medium pop-corn and two cokes and waited patiently.
"I want some ice cream too."
I flinched at his sudden appearance beside me. "Ice cream? Are you sure?" I smiled.
He nodded seriously.
"Okay. Two ice-creams please. Vanilla and chocolate." I ordered and looked back at him. He was staring at me oddly. It felt weird and awkward for some reason. Before I could ask him, he looked away.
We entered the movie hall and looked around. The room was huge with almost all empty seats. There were only a couple of people including us. So even though we had our tickets, we were actually free to choose any seat we wanted. Sneakily, I took him to a corner seat so no one else could see us from anywhere.
"Oh see! We can push up the arm rest. That's so convenient." He exclaimed, pushing the armrest between us up. "I can hold you comfortably this way." He giggled, clinging onto my arm.
I flushed, smiling broadly. He was silly sometimes. "We should eat our ice creams before it melts away." I said.
He nodded in agreement. "I know. But let's wait for the movie to start."
"Sure." I leaned closer, inhaling his scent.
He looked up with a smile. My heart couldn't stop hammering against my chest. I looked away.
As the lights went out, he took the ice creams out and handed me one.
"I hope the movie doesn't show anything hideous. I swear I might end up puking." He said, unwrapping his cone.
I shook my head. "Nah, there is nothing like that."
He turned his head sharply towards me. "How would you know? Have you watched this before?"
"Ah no no. My friend actually told me the whole plot in details. That is how I know." I said, staring at the screen.
I could tell he was staring at me. I turned to look at him and pecked his lips before he could say anything else. He looked dazed for a moment.
I grinned. "Focus on the movie."
He nodded and turned to stare at the screen.
As the movie went on, I started to feel drowsy. I had watched that movie several times already and knew each and every scene. On the other hand, he seemed quite fascinated and amused by the humor in the movie. He was deeply focused on the movie and I didn't feel like playing any tricks to distract him. I leaned my head back comfortably. And the comfort made my eyelids heavy. Why was I so exhausted? Was it because I didn't get proper rest and sleep?
"Kwan?"
I opened my eyes and stared at the screen with the ending score. I frowned. I realized I was sleeping on his shoulder. I leaned away and looked around.
"The movie is over?" I asked.
He nodded. "Yes. You fell asleep right at the beginning. God, you can surely sleep well anywhere." He laughed.
I frowned. We didn't even get to do any romantic things that couples do in movie halls. What a waste. How dare I fall asleep? I should have just slapped myself.
"I am really sorry. I didn't realize I fell asleep." I apologized, upset that he might be disappointed.
He shook his head. "Aiy, It's alright. I am glad you got some sleep. Alright, let's go. There is an arcade in here. Let's go there. You gotta win me something to make up for this."
I smiled and held his hand. "Lets' go." I said, noticing the empty pop corn bucket.