Toasted Marshmallows (A Sweetly Novella)

Prologue

#FinallyFian

~ Prologue ~

~☁☀☁~

"I order you to kiss my brother."

I knew what my best friend was going to say before the words left her mouth. I should have known she was planning something when we made our bet on the two boys with us. Reyna's brother and boyfriend were playing a fighting video game, so we thought it would be fun to stake on who would be the victor. The loser of the bet would have to follow through with one demand from the winner.

This is what I get for thinking her stupid brother could beat her genius boyfriend.

"What?!" Ian shouted, staring wide-eyed at his sister. "What is this about, Reyna?"

Reyna was dropping hints for quite a while that she knew about my feelings towards Ian, but I wasn't even sure how I truly felt about him anymore. A childhood crush was just that; nothing but a naive crush on a boy who never noticed me. I thought I had mostly grown out of it, but the opportunity to kiss the boy I had once been crazy about seemed too good to pass up.

"She lost a bet," Reyna told him. Then she looked at me and said, "It can be on the cheek or nose. Or just the back of his hand."

I couldn't figure out if she was challenging me or trying to take some of the pressure off. Knowing my best friend so well, it was probably a combination of the two.

"Reyns, stop. She doesn't have to--"

"Shut up," I cut him off. I was weighing the pros and cons in my head and he was making it difficult to concentrate.

It wasn't like he never kissed a girl before, so it wouldn't even mean anything to him. I've also had my fair share of kisses, so I could treat it the same way. Nothing would have to change between us. It was no big deal. Just one kiss. Right?

"I was only trying to help! It's just a stupid bet. You don't have to do it," he told me before turning back to Reyna. "Seriously, Reyns! Are you crazy?"

He couldn't just be quiet for two seconds! Without thinking, I gripped his collar and yanked him closer until we were only inches apart. "I said shut up! I am trying to think, you obnoxious idiot!"

His response was a weak, "Okay."

I closed my eyes as I reached a decision. I wasn't going to get another chance and I couldn't deny that I wanted to do it at least once in my life. So I opened my eyes and leaned in before I changed my mind. It was awkward because we kept our gazes locked on each other. I could see the flash of surprise when he realized my lips were on his, but it was gone as quickly as the kiss was over.

A moment lapsed between us. My fist tightened around the cotton fabric of his shirt as we both leaned in, neither of us fully comprehending what we were doing when our eyes closed and our lips met a second time. His were soft and warm against mine, but the kiss was chaste. I knew I was holding back, but it strangely seemed as if Ian was too. His hands barely grazed my waist as he hesitated to do more. That was when I broke the kiss and let go of his wrinkled shirt to shove him away.

From the corner of my eye, I noticed he was a little off balance from me shoving him. Or maybe because of me? I wondered as I quickly turned away from everyone to take a deep breath and compose myself.

I just kissed my best friend's brother in front of my best friend and her boyfriend. The very thought made my head spin, adding to my fluster. Only the determination to get revenge allowed me to face them again.