Greg gently brushed his hand on Beth’s cheek. As Beth closed her eyes at his touch, goosebumps appeared on her neck and slowly traveled down her spine. She began to drop her chin until he caught it with his hand. He slowly tilted it up as her eyes opened. With little hesitation, as he stared into her eyes, Greg leaned down and gently kissed her lips. Rather than pull away, Beth stepped closer to him and wrapped her arms around his neck.
Greg reluctantly ended their short, passionate kiss and gazed at her lovingly. “I hope I didn’t cross the line. I’m not really sure why . . . not that I regret . . .” he stammered.
Beth’s eyes gleamed as she shook her head, “No line. Unexpected. Please don’t regret it.” Confusion replaced the gleam in her eyes and her body tensed as she turned her head and began to back away from him.
Greg lightly grabbed her wrists, “Please, don’t go. We . . . we’ve been friends for what seems like forever. You always said we should not screw that up by getting together. But you were so excited about your solo, and you looked so beautiful. The only thing I could think of doing was to kiss you.”
Slowly Beth relaxed her tense muscles. Her light pink cheeks deepened in hue and her eyes sparkled after he spoke. She tried to formulate a response, but could only utter, “Oh.” Then, Beth got onto her tiptoes, to try to get on even height with him, and quickly kissed his lips. Once back on her feet, she bit her bottom lip. “I’m honestly surprised it had not happened sooner.”
Greg looked at his watch, “I have to go to work, let me walk you home.” He grabbed her hand and they strode off, both smiling.
Once they reached her front door, he held the storm door open so she could unlock the deadbolt. After the deadbolt clicked, she turned, “Would you like to come in for a little while?”
Greg took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I would love to come inside for a while, but I still have to go put on my work clothes.”
She stepped up into the house and turned to him, “Oh, okay. I guess I will see you tomorrow.” Beth’s disappointment was not only obvious in her tone, but the sparkled in her eyes started to fade.
Greg grinned and stepped forward, the storm door closed on his back. He reached out and put his hands on her waist, and drew her to him, closing the gap. Beth tried to look down, but his brown eyes captured hers. He whispered, “I will call you tonight.” Then Greg kissed Beth, his tongue parted her lips. She responded, found his tongue and played with his.
Beth relinquished control and let her emotions flow through the kiss as she put her arms around Greg’s neck and pulled him closer.
Greg pulled back “I” *kiss* “can’t” *kiss* “be” *kiss* “late” *kiss*
Beth giggled. “Okay. I will talk to you later.”
She watched him walk until he was out of sight.