Chosen (Damiano David & Victoria DeAngelis)

Chapter 42

Her gentle kisses had now reached his shoulder, so she pulled away. She was standing so close to him, she was able to feel his breath on her lips. Again, she was hit by wave of his familiar scent...the smoke, his perfume and a bit of sweat. It was perfect and she felt like she never wanted to smell anything else ever again. She had a feeling in her stomach...a feeling she had never had before. Not even with her past lovers. Could it be? No...no, there was no way she was falling for Damiano. They were best friends. And he probably wasn't ready for a relationship. Not after the thing with Carla. That's when it hit her. He had never had a normal relationship in his life...at least from what she knew because to her knowledge, Carla had been his first and only girlfriend.

Now both of her hands were resting on his hips. She looked him up and down...everything about him suddenly seemed so perfect: His shiny brown hair that had once been longer than her own but was now only long enough to fall into his eyes, his gentle brown eyes who always had a touch of sadness in them, the long black lashes that worked perfectly with his dark eyeshadow, the shiny gold nose ring in his right nostril, his tattoos, the scars covering his normally smooth skin, his personality, his voice, his scent...everything was perfect. And then there were his lips...they seemed so kissable. But that wasn't something she was allowed to think. They were friends...and friends didn't fantasize about kissing each other. He looked nervous but also anticipating as if he was expecting her to do the final step. Should she? She didn't know. Her eyes stopped at his, taking in every single emotion she could grasp. Ethan had been right, his eyes were very telling. That's why he usually refused to look directly at people but right now everything was revealed to her. She could see every little emotion he was feeling right now...and she was sure he showed that to her on purpose. There was a lot of vulnerability right now...she could see and feel that. But that was obvious, wasn't it? He was half naked in front of her...that alone, without the fact that he had been raped by a woman and was probably extremely anxious now, was making him vulnerable. He showed her his body...with all its wounds and imperfections though she couldn't seem to find any at all. Again, she looked into his eyes and there was a spark in them she had never seen before...something she couldn't define at all. She felt his hands on her hips, reluctantly but they were there, touching the skin on the spot right above her panties. He didn't make a move though and she felt like he was waiting for her to do it. But what if she was wrong? What if he didn't want that and she would overstep boundaries and ruin their friendship forever? She could never forgive herself if that happened. Then again, what if that was the only opportunity she would ever get to kiss him? Maybe missing that would be good...maybe she wouldn't think about it anymore if she just ignored it now. But...what if she would stop herself and then regret it forever? Then she would never know if he was feeling the same as her. On the other hand, she wasn't even sure what her own feelings towards him were right now. She had always thought of him as a brother but in the past weeks, while constantly being with him, touching him and experiencing all his emotions she had started to feel other things for him as well. Maybe it was just a phase because they were always together, she thought. But deep down she already knew it wasn't because she couldn't deny that her heart was beating faster whenever they shared a special moment. The sun was almost down now and they were just staring at each other but there was no rush. In the last rays of sunshine, his eyes seemed to have a golden glimmer to them. It was now or never. She caressed the sides of his body for a few seconds to show him that everything was okay before resting one of her hands on his hips again. Should she ask for consent before kissing him? What if she did and he said no? But what if she didn't and he freaked out? Both weren't options she liked at all. Now, or never, Vic...now or never, her inner voice told her. And so, she took a deep breath and used her free hand to gently grab his neck to pull him towards her.

The second their lips met, she closed her eyes. It was like a dream and she was driven by her feelings. His lips were so soft and they worked perfectly with hers. She was leading the kiss, very gently moving her lips against his. He kissed her back but he didn't seem confident...no, he seemed nervous and anxious but still, it wasn't a bad kiss. Not at all, actually. Now there was no going back...but for now everything seemed to be alright. The kiss was slow and gentle...innocent almost. But there was no need to make it more heated or rushed. It was their little moment. An escape from reality...like a fairytale. He wasn't tense, she could feel that and she took it as a good sign but still, she wanted to show him that everything was alright and that she wasn't going to hurt him. Of course, he probably knew that but she figured it would be good to give him some assurance...after all, he had been through a lot. Therefore, she placed the hand that had been resting on his neck until now, on his arm where she gently caressed his scars and the tender and sensitive areas of his skin. She didn't go for tongue action as she was afraid that might overwhelm him...after all, she didn't know his boundaries too well concerning intimate stuff. But she was still able to taste him. It was another perfect combination just like his scent. She could taste something minty - probably from toothpaste or chewing gum but once again it was mixed with the taste of smoke and tobacco. But there was something else as well...something salty. That's when it hit her: He was crying.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Hey ;)

Sorry it's a little shorter today but I thought this was a good time to end the chapter.

Do you think it was a good decision to kiss him? Do you think he wanted her to or did she read the signs the wrong way? And why is he crying? Let me know what you think in the comments :)

Thanks for reading.

- Thalia