He took a card out of his pocket with his other hand and easily opened the door. He held it open for me and then made sure it closed behind me.
He was standing so close. He stopped and pulled back a little, glancing at me from only a foot away.
"Josie Wells."
He only said my name, and I could hardly stand or breathe or perform basic human functions, much less think of something to say back to him. I didn't have to because he continued speaking.
"You can leave anytime you want. You could leave now if you want. But I was hoping you would, I was wondering if you would let me… just… barely… kiss you goodnight."
I could not breathe properly. I took an uneven hitching breath inward, smiling a little at him. I had never been kissed, and inexplicably wanted this unlikely stranger to be my first. I had wanted my first kiss to happen a long time ago, but I had never been in this type of situation with anyone I felt comfortable enough with.How?This person was a stranger to me, but I was comfortable with him. Maybe it was that I had a long day.
I was certain I would not see him again, which was a good thing. By the time he was ready to come back to Montana to film, I would be finished helping my sister and back in Colorado.
I tried to tell myself it was a bad idea to kiss him, but I wanted to so badly. I was insecure and onthe verge of telling him it was the first time anything like this had ever happened to me.
"You can go, Josie. Thanks for the ride and for the good company. It really helped me out, talking to you tonight." He spoke softly when he noticed the look on my face.
He stepped back slowly, and I took a sharp, inward breath, my chest rising. He looked at me when I breathed, and I slowly let out the breath, making eye contact with him. Those light brown eyes pierced through me. They had a feline quality about them, and I glanced away because it was hard to think straight when I looked at him. I could not concentrate.
"I, I've never done that, so if I'm acting weird it's just because I've never…" I trailed off, feeling mortified that I had said that.
I figured I had made things weird, and the next logical thing to do would be to leave. He had already stepped back and cleared the path for me to go. I went to move, but he blocked me. I felt his mouth on mine. I wasn't expecting it, but suddenly Alex took a step toward me and ducked, kissing me. His lips were warm and soft, and even though the kiss was quick, I had time to feel the sensation of being lip to lip with this man. He pulled back afterward and stared at me.
"Now, what did you say?" he asked me seriously.
"I said I've never done that—what w-we just did."
I wasn't looking at him when I spoke, so I didn't know to expect it, but he did it again. I saw him start to move, and suddenly his mouth was on mine again. This time, he held the contact for a long, heart-pounding, torturously gentle second. My goodness gracious. I felt his hand come up and touch my face as he pulled back. He licked his lips, and then he kissed me again. And there went that heart-stopping feeling again. His mouth was perfection. My knees were weak. My bones and joints seemed to be made of some kind of warm liquid, and I wanted to fall into him, throw myself at him. I wanted so desperately for this to continue.
It was as if he was reading my mind, because he reached out and put a soft, steadying hand on my back, holding me lightly. I reached out and touched his arm, and he leaned in again and kissed me two, three, four more times. These were slower, and his mouth was open a little. I felt the heat and wetness of his open mouth on my lower lip, and my heart might have stopped.
My world stood still. He kissed me slowly and with that same open mouth a few more times. Oh, it was good. It was really good. Alex was not new to this.
Finally, he pulled back far enough to stare at me.
I let out a breath. "Whoa," I said, glancing to the side. It had been a couple of minutes since we hadbeen standing there, and the whole time, my heart was beating out of control.
"I’m sorry to put it this way, but I'm barely kissing you right now, Josie. You know that, right?"
"I guess so," I said with a shrug, feeling like 'barely' was not the way to describe how we kissed. I honestly felt thoroughly kissed and a little dazed.
"Surely you've done that before," he said softly.
"No."
"Are you actually kidding me?"
"No."
"How? How did that happen?" he asked with a stunned expression that made me laugh.
He moved to kiss me again, catching me while I was smiling. His mouth stayed on mine until my mouth softened again. We held contact for a sweet couple of seconds before he pulled back.
I touched my mouth with the back of my hand. "I just have never put myself into a situation where that happened before. I have a set group of friends, and I go to school and work, and I'm just a lot more sheltered than my sister. I've never done it, done this." I felt shaken, and I regretted talking, so I made myself stop.
"Should I be sorry?" Alex asked, scanning my face. He was wearing a concerned expression, like he cared about me.
"Please don't be sorry," I said, shaking my head. "It's just a kiss. I've done other crazy things theselast few weeks since I've been here helping my sister."
