“Hmm.”
Marlon ponders for a second, tapping his chin.
“Want to practise?”
The slap against his chest is instant, and he gasps in pain.
“Ow?”
“What isactuallywrong with you?”
He rubs the spot where I’ve hit him.
“Relax, I was just kidding. As if I’d ever put my lips on you,” Marlon murmurs.
I scoff, leaning away from him and against the car door.
‘As if I’d ever let you near me like that.”
Marlon raises both his brows, and I feel many girls have been subject to this flirty gaze. It’ll never work on me though.
“You’d be so lucky if you had the chance.”
I bark out a laugh. Really, he must stop making me laugh this hard. It could be detrimental to my health.
“In your dreams,” I counter, “And anyway, I want my first kiss to be absolutely magical. Preferably it’d be in the rain.”
Marlon chuckles, “Like in The Notebook?”
“Exactly like The Notebook.”
“That’s silly. You’re just going to catch a cold and it’ll be uncomfortable.”
I swat away his words.
“What do you know?”
“Alotmore than you Garcia, that’s a promise.”
I roll my eyes, hating how he is likely right. I wonder how many girls he’s kissed, before deciding that Christine is the one he wants. As the date reasonably draws to a close, we decide to head on home.
“I should walk you to the front door,” he says, once we pull up to the front of my house. He pauses a second, before scratching behind his ear, “And I - uh - I might ask for your parents permission or whatever.”
I punch him lightly on the shoulder, “Sucks to be you.”
Marlon frowns at me, “You owe me forever, Garcia.”
I tsk my tongue, shaking my head, “Calm down, you’ll do fine. You’ve done it with Christine, anyway. I’ll pretend to be oblivious and stay upstairs.”
Dad is the one who opens the door for us, greeting us both before heading down the hallway, giving us the illusion of privacy. Both my parents are likely lingering behind the wall, beside the stairs, where they think I can’t see or sense them.
I turn to Marlon, and the hint of that devilish smile reminds me that this is pretend.
“Thank you Marlon, I had a great time,” I say.
“Of course, anytime” he replies, matching my tone. Then, he bends down and presses his lips against my cheek in a small peck. The contact sends waves of shock down my body. Instinctively, I press my fingers against where he’d kissed me, before remembering that this is Marlon.
“I’ll see you soon, okay?” I tell him, “Get home safe.”
