Self Love • Christopher Velez •

chapter 41; kiss it better

Chapter 41 - Kiss It Better

“Nila,” I heard someone say softly while running his or her fingers along my knuckles. I buried myself deeper into the hoodie that smelled very familiar and ignored the person. 

"Nilaaa."

Why was the person calling me Nila? Only Christopher can call me that and he’s the only one that calls me that.

When I realised that it had been Christopher, I opened my eyes and sat up to see him beside me. Oh my god, I had fallen asleep on his shoulder.

“Oh, uh, hey,” I said. “Have we landed?” 

He shook and continued running his fingers along my knuckles under his hoodie that was on me.

“We’re about to land,” he told me with a smile. I nodded. 

“Uh, sorry for sleeping on you,” I said as my cheeks heated up. I inconspicuously lifted my hand to my cheek.

No drool, that’s a good sign. 

“Thanks for the hoodie,” I said as I turned to look at him.

He smiled at me. “You’re welcome, your hand was getting colder.” 

I smiled. “Thanks for lending me your shoulder.”

“It’s no problem,” he said and squeezed my hand, which he was warming up. With one hand, I pulled the hoodie higher to my face.

“Are you more awake?” he asked and I shook my head.

“Not really,” I replied and yawned slightly, causing me to roll my eyes at myself briefly. 

He nodded with a smile.  I removed the hoodie from on top of me. I sat up, putting on the hoodie on normally. I sunk back into the seat before taking his hand again. I looked down at our hands and saw the leather bracelet I had given him. I smiled at this. 

“Would you like to go to a New Year’s party with me?” He asked. 

“Yeah, sure,” I replied with a smile. He started telling me details about the party and soon, the plane touched the ground. We grabbed our stuff before checking if we had left anything. Once we were sure that we had everything, he stood up and held his hand out. I took it and he pulled me up. With me still yawning, we walked out of the plane. I was so ready to get home and collapse in bed. I had slept the night before, but not without difficulty. 

Part of me had the same thoughts as I had years ago. What if he agreed with what they said? A really tiny part, but still a part. I knew that it would not happen, but after being convinced of something for about six years, it was not easy to completely forget about it. 

We walked towards security and I let out an annoyed breath. I had forgotten about the line. We wouldn’t have to queue and wait as long as when we were flying off, but we still had to queue. 

“You okay?” Christopher asked me as he stood behind me. I nodded and yawned again. 

“I’ll be more awake in a while,” I said. I felt him wrap his arms around my waist and I froze a little. 

Oh my god. Okay. 

Even through the hoodie, I could still feel his chest touching my back. My face heated up as my heart started beating a little faster. I was sure that it was because I had just woken up. 

“Do you need your hoodie back?” I asked him. 

“No, you can keep it,” he replied. Oh I will, and he won’t be getting the hoodie back. I smiled as I tied up my hair.