章 4: Reunion Kiss
"No way!" I yelled for the fiftieth time, hugging Ace.
"I'm not kidding, I got accepted." Ace smiled proudly.
"You got accepted…NO FREAKING WAY! I'm sooo proud of you bro!!" I squealed.
Ace had just gotten accepted for the best university in America, Enhanced Sciences University America, or ESUA.
"It's ESUA for me."
I hugged Ace again.
"This calls for a celebration!" I danced across the whole room, as if I had been accepted instead of him.
I guess that's how parents feel when their children accomplish something. My mom couldn't even think straight most of the time, let alone know anything about me! From ever since I could remember, I had been taking care of my family, mom got child support from our father, who had divorced mum for a prettier woman, Charlotte. He had invited us to stay with him, but of course, we refused.
"I'll ring Soph, Jake and Tim!" Ace hopped on the couch.
"I'll ring Lars, Alex and Adam."
It had been a month since my breakfast over at Lars's house, and I had introduced Ace to Alex and Lars. Even though he didn't look too happy about them, he had come around. The first time he saw them, he wouldn't even let Lars and Alex near me, I had wanted to tell him that this was the son of James Brandan, owner of the company he wanted to get a job in, but Lars had requested me not to. The same thing had happened when Ace first met Adam, but Ace soon acknowledged that Adam was a good guy.
"How are things between you and Sophie anyway?" I asked as we waited for our friends to arrive.
Sophie and Ace had been dating for about three months now, she knew about our situation and was quite casual about it.
"Oh, we're good, yeah, we're good." Ace grinned madly at me, then his face dropped, "But I'll have to move to America if I accept this…"
"Chill! People have LDR's all the time, you'll be OK!" I tried my best to comfort my brother, but he still seemed disturbed.
'DING DONG'
"Congrats my man!" Jake came in with a laugh and bear hugged his best friend, Ace.
"Thanks bro!" Ace and Jake grinned like lunatics at each other, then Jake came to me.
"Look at your bro, eh, all grown up?" Jake wiped a non-existent tear from his eye and hugged me too.
"Get away from her, yeah?" A sharp tone, belonging to none other than Lars…
"Chill! That's my younger brother best friend! I'm not thinking of DATING HIM! Now aren't you gonna congratulate him?" I asked, opening my arms to give him a hug too.
We'd been friends for a month, mostly spending days with each other, so we could hug.
I was totally nervous for Ace. Sophie just texted me that she was almost here, and she had a little something to surprise Alex with. Sophie and Ace were perfect for each other, seriously. Ever since they first met, they just seemed to tick. They agreed on every single thing, and they both wanted mostly the same things in a partner, AND they both checked all the boxes for each other.
For quite some time, that had been Adam and me, but a drastic change in your life could change what you look for in a partner, it was completely normal, but I was still attached to Adam. I still missed cuddling in his arms while we watched movies and I missed the kisses that we used to share. I hadn't kissed a boy in…four months.
And I realized too late that today was supposed to be the sixth anniversary for me and Adam, if we had still been dating.
"How do you think Sophie will react?" I asked nervously as I watched the hands on the clock turn.
Lars shrugged.
"If she really likes him, I think that she's encourage him to go and want to have a LDR with Ace. That's what I'd want my girl to do if was in his place."
"Yeah, I guess. But if I was Sophie, then I don't think I'd want my boyfriend to leave. I don't think that..." My voice was breaking, gosh I really shouldn't get emotional in such times, "Never mind."
I quickly turned away but Lars caught my hand.
"You don't think what?" He asked, pulling me so close that my whole body was just an inch away from his.
"That--" my voice got stuck in my throat but I forced those words out "That I'd like to be left alone. To be away from the person I love."
Tears stung in my eyes. I had already been left too many times, my dad, my mom and Ace too now? Who else would leave me?
"Hey, hey, it's OK." Lars whispered gently as he wiped my tears away and I forced a smile.
"C'mon, where's the girl?" I teased Ace and shot Lars a thankful look.
It felt as if a heavy burden had been lifted off my shoulders.
After just three minutes (Ace was counting), Sophie stepped into our apartment dressed in a tank top and jeans.
"Congrats Babe!" Her voice sounded cheery, but I could sense the fear behind it.
Ace pulled her in for a kiss, which they so often shared.
We blasted party poppers and whatever else. Adam and Alex soon joined us, and night was quick to fall. We ordered pizza, Ace's favourite pizza and I saw Sophie pull Ace aside. I could see the look of concern on Ace's face, and Sophie had a reassuring face on.
"I'll be OK. Go for it." I could almost hear Sophie say that.
In about 5 minutes, after Ace and Sophie had done talking, Ace pulled me aside.
"What's up?" I was concerned, definitely.
"She told me I should go." He said, but he was sad.
"That's good, right?"
"Yeah but…most people fall apart during Long distance relationships."
"Yeah, but you're not MOST people are you? You both will be fine, trust me." I reassured with a smile.
Ace shot me a thankful smile and walked off to his girlfriend.
"Let's play a game?" I suggested as we all sat crossed legged on the floor.
"OK, which one?" Alex asked, he was sitting on my right and Lars was on my left and Adam was across me.
"Munchies?" Lars gave me a nudge with his shoulder.
"Yess!" I immediately agreed.
Munchies had been pretty big during high school. Basically, two people have to hold a Choco stick or something between their mouths and bite it to the middle. If someone breaks it, they do a dare and if the opponent reaches the centre before you, then you do a truth.
I took out a box of Choco sticks which we would use for the game. The sequence was Adam, Sophie, Ace, Jake, Alex, me and Lars and then back at Adam. This would be fun because I got to play with both Lars and Alex and Lars would go against Adam and I was curious to how that would go.
The first round started and Adam almost smashed his lips into Sophie's because of how quick they both were but Adam won the round and Sophie had a truth.
"Sophie, are you really OK with Ace leaving?" I asked.
"No." She admitted, but then she smiled and looked at Ace, "But he should go because I want him to do what's best for him and when he gets back, he can finally marry me!"
"That's cute!" Jake winked.
Sophie and Ace had no problem, Ace could've won but he let his girlfriend and very intentionally broke the stick on the first bite.
"Your dare…is to…use your tongue with her." Jake grinned with a dirty look.
Ace rolled his eyes and pulled his girlfriend into a passionate kiss and I could see the tongues pass between the two of them. They both seemed pretty casual about it. I wondered how many times they had done it before. Ace and Jake were both best friends and each were gonna play there hardest. In the end, Ace won because Jake started laughing halfway. Jake had the truth....
"Do you...like Esmer?" That completely random question was asked by Sophie.
Jake was blushing.
"Are you kidding? OFC NOT!" I interrupted.
"Let's see..." Ace was glaring at Jake who subtly nodded.
HE LIKED ME? I processed the thought...4 guys liked me. Lars, Alex, Adam AND NOW JAKE?
"OK, he said no." Ace nodded approvingly and the others agreed.
Wait what? Maybe I was imagining the nod. I sighed in relief.
The next one was Jake with Alex. Alex licked his lips confidently before the Choco stick was placed between them. He winked at me just before the game started and they both took huge bites to the middle and they both had a tie. Damn how was I gonna beat Alex? Lars didn't even looked impressed.
Jake and Alex had a rematch. Jake looked so tense however Alex looked confident…almost bored! They started the game, and Jake literally broke the stick on the first bite because he bit in too hard with too much pressure. Alex laughed and ran his hand through his hair as Jake crossed his legs and scowled.
"I dare you…"
We all began thinking of stupid or embarrassing dares for Jake to do but we couldn't come up with a good one.
"Oh, Oh I have one!" I grinned madly.
They all looked at me eagerly.
"Make a video of doing the chicken dance and post it on your insta with no explanation!"
"Oh!!" Lars jeered.
"You're welcome." Alex winked.
We all laughed as Jake got up, gave me a death glare and filmed himself doing a chicken dance. When he was done uploading it, he was laughing with us!
I took a sip of my Coke before my turn with Alex. My heart was beating violently in my chest and my breath was quickening by the second.
"Ready?" Ace asked.
I nodded even though I was not ready. Alex turned to me, our knees touching. We leaned in as they placed the stick between us. I closed my eyes.
"GO!"
I bit as fast as I could, but I was too slow for Alex. He beat me before I could even blink. I didn't even try to hide my disappointed as Alex lightly patted me on the head and laughed. Why was he always laughing? Suddenly I found everything about him annoying.
'Calm down. Calm down' I told myself as I forced a smile and turned to the others,
"OK, what's my question?" I tried to act all cheery but I was failing miserably.
"How about…Have you ever slept with Adam?" Sophie asked, raising her eyebrows and leaning in as if she was very interested in my life.
Ace, Jake, Alex, Lars and Sophie stared at me and Adam in suspense as we shared a knowing smile.
"Yes…I have." I chuckled, "more than once." I added.
Lars and Alex smiled but their eyes were cold with hatred and Adam didn't even smile. He just had a serious look on his face. I didn't expect this question to ruin the game mood so easily.
"OK, Lars…it's our turn."
That instantly brought back the mood, except for Adam of course. Alex was looking at us so intensely that chills ran down my spine.
Lars's gray eyes stared into mine. One of his legs were folded while the other one was straight. I tried to look around us to reduce the stress but all I could see were pizza boxes, plates and bottle. And of course my friends who were staring at us wide-eyed.
The game started.
Lars was even better than Alex. He made my heart thump even more furiously. I was literally shaking. And that's how I ended up with a dare. I broke it, just before the end.
I cursed myself, feeling more nervous than anything.
"I dare you…" Jake had a twinkle of mischief in his eyes.
I remembered the dare he had given Soph and Ace and I hoped I wouldn't get anything like that.
"…To kiss Lars"
I spat my cold drink out whereas Lars tilted his head and licked his lips in excitement.
"WHAT?!" I exclaimed.
"He deserves it! I have never seen you so nervous. He can make you nervous Esmer! Only Adam could do that back in high school!" Soph winked.
I sighed and turned to Lars.
My heart was now on the verge of bursting out as I slowly leaned in. He didn't even bother. He was leaning against the wall with both his legs spread out in front of him. I crawled to him and sat down just in front of him.
'Better get this over with' I thought.
I was excited but nervous…I knew that I would like this…but would he?
I closed my eyes and hastily kissed him. I was about to pull back but he wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me in, making me sit on his lap. I wrapped my arms around his neck, one of my hands running through his hair, I knew that I would enjoy it, but I was totally caught up in it.
After about 30 seconds, he pulled back. We both sat there for 10 seconds, panting. Then we turned to our friends. Adam looked hurt, angry, betrayed. Alex just looked defeated and he wouldn't meet my eyes. Ace looked at me in both confusion and anger. Sophie did a thumbs up and winked at me. Jake was just grinning madly.
Great! Now the whole mood was ruined.
"C'mon guys! Time for the last round!" Jake called.
Lars smiled at me slightly before turning to Adam.
I knew that Adam would give it his hardest because…he couldn't bear the thought of me with someone new.
As if the mood wasn't tense enough...
I knew Adam was a good munchies player because I had played it with him lots of times in high school. I also remembered how mad he got when I got the dare to kiss another boy, one that I can't even remember
But Lars was too good.
This would be a tough match.
They both looked tense and serious. They were clearly taking this as war and not a game. I shook my head in annoyance but I was excited to see how this would go.
I couldn't even see clearly, I just heard snapping and saw them both chewing furiously. As expected, Lars won. Just by a millisecond.
Adam gritted his teeth and slouched against the wall while scowling.
"I have a question." Lars volunteered as we argued about what to ask him.
"Do you still have feelings for Esmer?" He asked.
I knew that the answer was yes. We all knew that the answer was yes, but I did wanna hear it from his mouth. Just to be sure.
"Yes. I do. There, ya happy?" He frowned furiously.
Lars shook his head and we all engaged in talking about our futures and pasts, but Adam was mad. He was angry the whole time. I could sense it.
After everyone (except Lars) left, I was washing the dishes. I put on the song 'celestials- Ed Sheeran' and was vibing to it while cleaning the kitchen.
After a while, I noticed Lars, smiling slightly, leaning against the wall…looking at me.
"How long…have you been there?" I asked embarrassedly, my face turning red.
"Long enough to see your moves!" He laughed and walked towards me, then his smile dropped and he put on a serious face, "Hey…I'm sorry about…that dare…I didn't really mean to…I just couldn't stop it---"
I out my finger on his lips to shut him up.
"Why are you apologizing? That was probably the best thing that happened to me this whole summer. Mind if we…repeat that moment?" I asked while smiling shyly.
He just smirked.
"You don't need to ask me twice."
And he pinned me against the wall and kissed me. His lips against mine. It felt amazing. We just stood there in the kitchen, kissing, with celestials playing faintly form my earphones.
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