Our breaths mingled in the air, and she unconsciously stuck her tongue out to wet her lips maybe, but mine ventured close to it, and so the tips of our tongues met halfway. They darted in and out, playfully rubbing against each other.

She covered my lips lightly with her own, and I felt my heart hammer in a primal beat.

Just when I thought she was going to kiss me, she whispered, “I haven’t kissed anyone on the lips since Chris, Harley, so I’m not sure if I’m doing this right.”

I found this so touching but also strangely amusing at the same time, given her evident reputation.

So I smiled against those lips still hovering less than a millimeter away.

“Do you want me to lead, Aerin?” I asked saucily.

She smiled also. “That depends. Have you been kissing a lot of …”

“Men,” I supplied.

“Men lately?” she continued.

And then all of a sudden, after a moment of shared, quiet, sexy laughter, she drew back.

She edged back a little further away from me, too.

“Just men, Harley?” she asked after a few minutes of utter confusion on my part.

I nodded.

“Never had…” she started.

“Sex with a girl? No,” I said.

She looked at me uncertainly, and then asked, “Then, why …”

“Do I feel this way?” I continued for her.

As she nodded, I shrugged slightly and shook my head. “Only the universe knows, I guess.”

She edged away a little bit more.

“Then we’re going to have to talk about this, Harley,” she finally said, at length. “This is more complicated than you expect.”

I sighed, drew my knees up, hugged them to my chest, and rested my cheek on my knees facing her. It had always been a position I drew comfort from, especially when I needed to think about something seriously.

She smiled at me fondly.

I sighed, and said, “Okay, we’ll talk about it first. But you have to stop with all the heart-stopping smiles, ok? That is not a fair way to deal with this, alright?”

She smiled at me again, and dropped a kiss on my nose.

“And you have to wear a paper bag over your head and a thick blanket to cover your body, because you are far too beautiful and sexy to be around without making me want to just take you in my arms and …”