Page 6 of The Kissing Challenge

I pressed record and leaned down so both Captain and I were in the frame.

"Hey everyone. Today, we're trying a hot alien look. It's going to be out of this world."

"Nice," Captain snickered, and I nudged him with my elbow.

"Let's go!" I said.

And then I got started.

I didn't talk much in my videos. Typically, I'd overlay the voiceover instructions and put a link to a few of my other vids in the description. For this look, I used a lot of metallic silver, grays, blues and purples. I wasn't going for E.T. at all. This was all sleek, sharp lines and dreamy colors. Captain's cheeks looked like blades, his skin highlighted and contoured. I added color to his eyelids and the space around his eyes to make it even more dramatic. If this were a photo shoot or something, they'd probably want to use contacts to complete the picture. But Captain didn't need them. By the time I was done, his eyes shone bright, the natural light gray turned to quicksilver.

Stepping back, I allowed him to see himself for the first time.

"Wow, Anne," he said, sounding impressed. "Good job."

I shrugged. "I had an awesome subject."

Captain's silver eyes shot to mine, and he grinned. "Was that a compliment?"

"Come on," I said and nudged his shoulder. "You know you're gorgeous. With or without the makeup. Girls must tell you that all the time."

"Means more when you say it," he said.

"Eh, hot aliens are a dime a dozen. But I think you'll do."

He was definitely, hands down the hottest alien I'd ever seen. I couldn't give him too many compliments, though, especially if I was planning to kiss him later.

"I can't believe how amazing this looks," he said, reaching up to touch his skin. "It's like foil or something, but also still skin."

I batted his hand away. "I still need to get footage of the completed look," I said. "Think you can stop admiring yourself for that long?"

Captain sat back and shot me a wink. "It'll be hard. But I'll try."

"Just be serious."

And he was. Captain let me get close-up after close-up and pan around him all while he looked stoically straight ahead. His dark brown hair, that strong jaw, those eyes…ugh. If there was a hotter alien in the galaxy, I hadn't met him. That was for sure.

"Done yet?" he asked.

I nodded. "Yep, that was perfect. Thank you, Cap. I'm sure you'll get flack from the guys, but I appreciate it more than I can say."

"Anything for you," he said.

My whole body warmed at that. I didn't think he knew, but Captain said things all the time that turned my insides to mush. After I'd gotten my shots of the alien, I stopped the video and started another. I wanted to be ready for the kiss. But would I ever really be ready? I wondered. My hands shook as I replaced the phone, so it could capture the moment.

"Here." I passed Captain a cleansing towelette, trying my best not to drop it. "So you can remove the makeup."

"Wait," he said and held up his phone, pulling me to his side. "Let's take a picture really fast. We have to document your awesome work."

"But you look so good, and I—"

He cut off my protests. "Anne, just let me get this photo of us. Okay?"

The hot alien and me, I thought as I smiled for the camera. I loved it when Cap did stuff like this. Just insisted on a picture without my having to initiate it. These were the times when I knew our friendship meant just as much to him as it did to me. Also, considering I was about to try and kiss him, a photo didn't seem like a big ask.

I waited until Captain had wiped his face clean. Part of the reason was because I was stalling. What would he do? Would he run as fast as he could in the other direction? I knew the answer already. Captain never ran from anything. But what would I do if he pushed me away? I wasn't sure. Probably die of embarrassment—or drown in a puddle of my own tears. The odds were fifty-fifty.

But the other reason I waited was because…I didn't want to kiss a hot alien.

---