Page 19 of Shattered

After a good, long minute of silence, I turn to him. “So what should I do then? Just go up to a random stranger in here and kiss them?”

He looks around, surveying the small pub. “Yeah, go kiss that one.” He nods towards the back corner.

I turn to look and see only a couple sitting over in the direction he’d indicated. The guy is looking around the bar, looking completely uninterested in his date, and the girl is leaning in close, talking his ear off.

I look back at River. “Um, they look like they are on a date.”

His wicked smile comes back. “I know.”

I smack his arm. “Are you trying to get me beat up?”

He scoffs. “She won’t beat you up. She’d be too worried about breaking a nail. She might slap him though.”

I turn to face the bartender, showing him my empty glass. “No way. I’m not doing that.” I’m shaking my head vigorously.

He nudges me with his shoulder. “There you go playing it safe again.”

I spin to him in anger. “What good could come out of doing that?”

“You would learn to be free, to take what you want. To fuck up, and deal with the consequences. To take a fucking risk, Jovi.” He shakes his head like he’s getting angry with me.

The bartender hands me another drink and I look at River to pay. He seems taken back.

“Hey, you dragged me in here. So to me, that means you’re buying.”

He sighs and hands over the money.

I throw my drink back and sit up straight, adjusting my shirt because suddenly, I feel very uncomfortable.

“You look fine. Just do it already.”

I look over at him and he’s smiling. But it’s not the shit eating grin like usual, the one that is always excited to start trouble. This looks like one of true happiness. Is there a reason he wants me to kiss this guy, or is he just happy to get me to try something I never would?

“Fine.” I stand and turn towards the couple. My stomach fills with butterflies as it rolls around with nerves.

The man’s eyes meet mine and he watches me curiously, but also like he wants to eat me up.

I force myself to stop thinking about what I’m doing. I mean, what if this couple is married? I could be ruining a marriage. My eyes flash to their hands.

Nope, no rings.

I approach their table and he looks up at me. The woman he’s with finally stops talking as her eyes land on me with a dirty look. I lean over, placing my hand at the base of his neck, and move my lips to his. He doesn’t stop me. In fact, he seems to enjoy it because his hand flies up to tangle into my hair, holding me to him.

I break the kiss and look into his eyes. Before turning to leave, I bite his bottom lip, tugging, until I release it with a pop. He pulls his lip between his teeth as he watches me walk slowly away.

I feel completely fucking exhilarated. “I can’t believe I did that!” I practically squeal as I get closer to River who’s been sitting in place, watching everything unfold.

He stands to celebrate with me and I leap into his arms, hugging him close. His arms wrap around me and our eyes meet. Something is happening. We’re exchanging something, but I have no idea what it is.

Suddenly, something breaks and he averts his eyes to the corner. “We should probably go.” He lets out a laugh before grabbing my purse and pushing me towards the door.

Before I step out, I hear a high pitched, “who was that, you jerk?”

We both step outside, laughing. I laugh so hard I’m holding my stomach as tears stream down my overheated cheeks.

"Did you see her face?" River asks, wiping the tears away from his eyes as we walk down the street.

I nod as my laughter dies down. We're stopped, waiting for the crosswalk sign to light up. I turn to see his eyes radiating happiness. They lock on mine as he wets his lips with his tongue. His teeth scrape against his bottom lip, and before I know what's happening, he's pulling me flush against him in a lip crushing kiss.

---