Terrestrial Alien ✔

Chapter 37: Trust Me

"I'm so glad you're still here..." Sundo adds, almost to himself. He doesn't seem to know how to look anywhere else, and it's causing looking back at him to become slightly more difficult.

"Did you think I was going to leave?" I ask, choosing to instead focus my gaze on the inky markings on his collar bone.

"It's not like I could've ruled out the possibility."

I feel him fit his hands against my waist, tugging until I can't help but look up at him again, because we're so close. It's warm, so warm, and he's moving to kiss me again and—

"Seth—" I say on reflex, bringing a hand up to stop him.

He blinks, his brows going high with surprise as I press my fingers to his lips.

"I'm sorry," He says immediately after, drawing back. "I thought— If you don't want to—"

"No," I say quickly, before he can spiral into many other painful possibilities. "I just... I think maybe we shouldn't do that... all the time."

"Oh." Sundo says, processing this. "Okay..." He adds eventually, and I can see him trying to hide his disappointment.

Ugh. I feel bad for turning him down, I just... The kissing wasn't bad, not at all. I'm just afraid I can't do it like this, so much all at once. I feel like we've jumped off the deep end, and I'm struggling to tread water, to keep myself afloat. I don't want to turn him down, but I also don't want to lose my head again. He's just so much, all at once, and I don't know how to handle what he does to me yet.

So until then, I don't want to overdo it.

Now he's not looking at me, gazing to the side pensively, and it makes me feel weirder than before. I don't want to leave it at that... That's an awful note to leave this—whatever this is—on.

Quickly, before I can lose my nerve, I lean up and give him one kiss. Just one, but it's still embarrassing, and still overwhelmingly difficult. And I thought working up the courage to kiss girls was hard.

I don't even get his lips. I miss. I hear his sound of surprise as my lips brush the corner of his mouth, closer to his jaw than anything, and just as quickly I'm pulling away, awkwardly clambering around as I push myself up to sit. I can't bring myself to glance and see his reaction, but I soon feel the bed dipping as he sits up as well. He's grinning.

Thankfully, he doesn't comment. Or maybe he just doesn't know what to say, which is also fine by me. I don't think I'm ready to talk about it yet. Well, talk about it again. I don't know if last night's waterworks count. Ugh. I shudder at recalling them.

Beside me, Sundo arches his back like a cat, stretching his arms out above him as a series of startlingly loud cracks pop down his spine. At the same time, he yawns so widely I almost worry for his jaw. I can't help but stare, and when he notices, he flashes me a second grin.

"So." He hums playfully, letting his arms drop and pressing them into the mattress behind him. "You hungry?"

"Sort of... I suppose. I did eat a banana last night, before coming up." I speak rather slowly, trying to gather my thoughts. Dropping my gaze to the messy floor, I give a bit of a shrug.

"Oh, did you?"

I glance up to him, my eyebrows raising. "What, you didn't...?" I suddenly stop myself, trailing off, embarrassed and unsure of how I want to finish that question.

Sundo just grins at me. "Didn't what?"

Furrowing my brows, I gesture helplessly, trying to convey my meaning without actually having to say it. But he just keeps looking at me with that little gleam in his eyes, and I know he's going to make me say it.