FOREST

10 - wind and reminders

 "Zoie!" he called after her, but she made her way around the white tables pretty fast. He followed her,  stepping outside into the cold garden, the strong wind slapping his face.

"Zoie!" he called again, and she finally stopped.

"What?" she yelled, moving strands of hair out of her face in the process. She seemed very annoyed, her head slightly tilted.

"Why are you so mad at me?" he came closer.

"Kaden, can you please just stop? Sure, we can be friends and everything but-" she was out of breath, looking everywhere but at him.

"But what?"

"I can't- I don't- I-" she tried to form a sentence but her mind was obviously racing, too quick for her mouth to follow.

"If you don't want me around you can tell me," he assured her, her eyes then locking with his. She seemed nervous.

"It's not that, you just..." she left the words hanging in the chilly air.

"I just what?" he crossed his arms.

"Never mind," she copied him, crossing her arms as well.

"Tell me," he smiled, but it sounded more like a demand than a tease.

She shook her head, but he repeated himself.

"You mess up my thought process."

"Okay?" he laughed a little, lifting his eyebrows, "So?"

She didn't answer, and he started taking off his jacket. He placed it so that it hung from her shoulders, and as she opened her mouth to protest he shot her a look, making her quiet for a few seconds.

"Listen, I need to ask you something and you need to promise like you've never promised before not to tell anyone," she seemed dead serious as she looked up at him, but it only caused him to smile.

"Fine, I promise."

"Okay," she took a deep breath, bringing the jacket closer to her, "didwereallykiss?"

He didn't understand a word, especially not with all the wind around them. The wind provided them with a certain kind of privacy though, as if it separated them from everyone else, securing them in a little bubble that no words came out of, the words being ruined as soon as they left their lips.

"Come again?" he moved his head to the side, bringing his ear closer to her mouth.

"Did we really kiss?" she asked quietly, the wind stealing the words off her lips.

He laughed at the innocent question that disturbed her.

"Ohmygod I'm so stupid!" she took a step back, "I really thought we did, I was just so drunk and-" her cheeks were getting redder and redder as each second passed.

"We did kiss," he finally let her out of her misery.

"Fuck," she rubbed her face with both of her hands. She seemed both relieved and tense at the same time.

He watched as she squeezed her eyes, the wind tangling her hair. The jacket was too big for her, but that's what made him love it. It suddenly became his favorite suit jacket.

"I- I really didn't mean to do that," she sighed.

"Are you sure? You seemed like you really enjoyed it," he smirked.

"Oh fuck you Kaden," she frowned and started walking away.

"Wait," he laughed, gently wrapping his hand around her wrist, "It wasn't an insult."

The jacket fell down to her elbows as she turned around to look at his hand that was gripping her, than at his face.

"It's something I shouldn't have done," she said, but her eyes stated something else, completely dismissing her mouth.

"Are you saying," he pulled her closer, the skin on her bare shoulders glistening, "That you didn't enjoy it?"

"I- I don't remember-"

"You don't remember it? Are you sure?" he came up to her ear, and looked down, goosebumps visible on the bare parts of her arm. He wasn't sure if what he heard was a small moan coming out of her, but it still made him smile.

"Even if you don't, I'm sure we could fix that," his long curls brushed against her neck.

When his lips landed on hers, her breathing was already uneven. She quickly rose to her tiptoes, out of surprise, her hands steady against his chest. Kaden caught her off guard, even though she was fully aware of what was going to happen.  He pulled her closer, by the waist, and she melted into his warmth. Zoie's pale hands started travelling up to his hair, wrapping themselves in it.

 She was ready to collapse into his arms, he was sure of it.

After some time, it was as if something clicked for Zoie. She pulled away, out of breath, with red cheeks and longing eyes. He wanted to pull her closer, but she took a step backwards before he managed to grab her. She took off his jacket and handed it to him.

"Thank you," she said quickly and handed him the jacket. He took it more out of instinct than anything else, and she started walking back inside.

Once the door closed behind her, he snapped back to reality.

"What is her problem?"  he thought to himself, standing alone in the huge grass garden.

He wasn't sure if he did something wrong, but was sure that she didn't. He was walking inside, and before he knew it, he was back in the big, dark room. The music was still playing, the people were still dancing. Nothing seemed to change physically, but he felt as though nothing was the same.

Even though the energy radiating off the dance floor begged for it to be looked at, his eyes scanned the room only for her. At that point only a few people were sitting down and watching, Zoie not being one of them. He came closer to the dance floor, but she wasn't there either.

A brunette with a sleek ponytail, around his age, walked up to Kaden and tried talking to him, but he wouldn't even look at her.

"Are you looking for someone?" she asked, shouting over the music.

"Yes."

"Is it a girl?" she asked after some time of following him around the room.

"Yes."

"It seems like she doesn't want to be found."

He looked at the girl for the very first time, but didn't say anything.

(gah, I know it's a pretty short chapter but HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone, thank you so much for reading )