Page 32 of Mixing Drinks For Tipsy Weasels

My eyes widen as his words sink in. "A date?"

"Yes. A date. I know this is completely the wrong time to ask you, we're leaving for the summer soon, and there's not much time, but I'd really like it if we could go out for dinner. Or lunch. Or maybe something that isn't food-related. I don't really mind what it is, I'd just like to do it with you." He fiddles with his glass, but doesn't take a drink.

My heart skips a beat. "Are you serious?"

"Yes." He nods along with the word. "I know we've been fixing our friendship, but along the way, I realised that I don't think it's just friendship that I want."

"Okay," I say.

"Okay?"

"A date sounds great," I respond, realising that he needs to hear me say the words. "Because I get it, I've been feeling the same.

He lets out a sigh of relief. "All right, so a date," he says. "Where do you want to go?"

"Hmm, well for now, I'd like to stay here." I get down from my stool and step closer to him. "Because if we're going to go on a date, there's something we should do first."

He raises an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"Kiss me," I whisper, my heart racing at the possibility of what's to come. I don't think I've ever wanted someone to kiss me as badly as I want Rupert to in this moment. All I can think about is the way it's going to feel to have his arms around me.

My lips part, and his gaze drops down to them immediately, letting me know that I'm going to get my wish.

He lets go of his glass and steps closer, reaching out to pull me to him with a secure hand at my waist. The air around uschanges and becomes filled with the stillness that only comes before a first kiss.

I don't know precisely what will happen after this, but I know that it's going to change everything. Somehow, we've gone from being best friends when we were kids, to not friends at all, to something more than that, and I'm looking forward to exploring what that could be, no matter how unlikely it all seems.

Rupert cups my cheek in his hand and leans in. My eyes flutter closed and the moment his lips brush against mine, everything slots into place. This is exactly what we should be doing. It feels right.

I return the kiss, wrapping my arms around his neck while he pulls me closer with a hand on my back. His skin touches mine, sending tingles through my whole body. I haven't thought about kissing Rupert up until the past couple of weeks, but now that I have, I don't think I'm ever going to be able to forget it.

The kiss ends, but we don't step away from one another. I look up and meet his gaze, feeling as if I could get lost in the intensity of his eyes.

"And to think you almost missed out on that because of some silly vow that you were never going to kiss me," I murmur.

Rupert chuckles. "I was thirteen, the vow made sense at the time, I wasn't into girls and I especially didn't want anything to do with you."

"Should I be worried that you're going to revisit that last part?" I don't want it to be true, but we're so new to mending the gap between us that I don't want to risk it.

His lips quirk up into a smile. "Depends on how many of my bouncy balls you're going to lose."

"I promise to never touch your balls."

He snorts, making me realise what I've just said.

I close my eyes and try not to die of embarrassment. "That's not what I meant."

"Oh, I know. You still said it though."

I roll my eyes. "All right, I promise to never touch any of yourbouncyballs ever again."

"I'm not sure that sounds any better."

"Then be a gentleman and say that bye-gones are bye-gones."

"All right, I guess you're forgiven for losing my bouncy ball," he says, barely containing his amusement.

"Finally. That took you long enough."

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