"Paul, you don't have to say anything."Paul, you don't have to say anything. I don't expect you to feel the same way or anything...I only thought that for once, I could be adult enough to be honest about it, and that you could be adult enough to handle it maturely." Now he looked at me quizzically, as if puzzled by something I had said. Had I said the wrong thing? Does he now think I'm an idiot? He still didn't say anything, and I felt compelled to say something to fill the cold air between us. "Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I thought you were special. And if nothing else, I'd like to be your friend." There, nice recovery. And still he looked at me expectantly, but I was empty of words. So I smiled gently to him and turned back to my work as if the matter were now closed, allowing him to make a graceful exit if he chose. As I expected, I heard his chair roll back as he rose to leave. Instead, to my surprise, I felt his strong hand on my shoulder, and before I knew it he had pivoted my chair around and I was gazing into his earnest blue eyes. "Holly...you've got it all wrong." I HAVE????? And then he was taking my face with exquisite gentleness between his hands, and his lips descended upon mine. His kiss was like nothing I could have expected. A part of me was faintly surprised that his lips were as full and as warm as they were in the chill of the cold room, and another part of me lost all ability to think at all. And so, without thinking, my arms stole around Paul's neck as his slid around me to caress my back. Without thinking, our kiss deepened, and I felt his tongue sweetly invade my eager mouth, stroking mine with an exploratory passion which turned my entire body to jelly, pliable and willing to be molded by his clever hands. I almost wept when his mouth disengaged from mine, leaving my lips moist and hot to steam in the frigid air. Then he took my hands in his and pulled me up from the chair. I didn't understand what he was doing until he sat in the vacancy and gathered me possessively into his lap, his arms once again capturing me against him. This time, I was the aggressor, kissing him with mounting urgency. Our tongues jousted, our hands roamed, and I could have sworn I heard the condensers kick in to compensate for the rise in temperature. |