Page 20 of Protector

He’s touched me millions of times before, wiping dirt off my arms or brushing my hair behind my ear, or swiping a tear away from my cheek. But why is this different?

As much as I have dreamt of this moment since I first laid eyes on him, now it’s here, I don’t know what to do.

I’ve never kissed a boy before. What do I know about kissing boys other than what the books and movies tell me? Is it really as it’s described?

I stumble back a little, my heel tripping against a root in the ground, and instead of successfully putting some distance between us, Puck holds me upright, until I’ve regained my balance, right in front of him.

I’m talking chest to chest, toe to toe. I can feel his breath on my face as I look up at him when he speaks.

“Well, I’m glad it’s all make-believe, Bon,” he starts, and I drop the apple, squeezing my hands into fists because I don’t know what to do with them. “Because that would make me really sad.”

I don’t know what to make of his statement, so instead I deflect and turn the conversation into my depressing existence.

“You haven’t got to worry about me meeting anyone, because we all know I’m never going anywhere.”

His eyebrows pinch, and his hand reaches up to tuck a stray piece of hair behind my ear.

“You met me. And I’ll take you wherever you want to go.”

He leans down slowly, and I can see the uncertainty in his eyes that reflects mine. I’m glad I’m not the only one freaking out here.

And in the longest few seconds of my whole entire life, Puck’s mouth meets mine, a soft and wet feeling that seeps onto my own lips, making my head burst.

I press my lips back into his, closing my eyes and trying to think of a conscious thought that isn’t just ‘oh my God, Puck’s lips are on mine. He’s kissing me, he’s actually kissing me!’

But I can’t, because that is all that’s going through my head. I lift my hands to rest on his arms that are dangling by his sides, and I squeeze, not knowing what to do with myself.

I can feel my palms getting clammy, a trickle of sweat dripping down my back. And the butterflies I experience when I’m around him are times ten.

I want to caress his face, pop my foot, open my mouth a little further.

I want to experience everything I’ve read about, because Puck makes me feel so special.

This is it, the moment I have been waiting for my whole life. The feeling that all fairy tales end with, I am experiencing right now.

With Puck.

With my Peter Pan.

Maybe I could be Wendy Darling, after all.

Age 16

Her lips are soft, and although they aren’t really doing anything, it feels just as amazing as I thought it would.

Not because I’m actually kissing her, but because of how her sweaty palms are now digging into my arms. How I can feel her heart practically beating out of her chest.

I don’t know what ultimately led me here, kissing her in the woods, where we’ve hung out more than a hundred times, but there’s no going back now.

I kissed a girl a few months back, and it was nothing like this.

A boy at our school was throwing a party at his house for his birthday, and myself, King, and Dax were invited. I was hesitant at first, because I knew Bonnie would be home all alone, but she told me I had to go, that I couldn’t miss out on a party just for her.

I disagreed. But what Bonnie wanted, Bonnie got, so I promised I’d poke my head into her room when we were home to say goodnight.

A couple of hours into the party, I’m sat on a bench outside alone, looking at my tattoos and tracing my finger over the two stars. King and Dax were both talking to girls inside, and I’d come out for a breather.

I wasn’t into drinking much, and I knew one of us had to stay relatively sober to make sure we all got back home okay.

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