Page 230 of Blood of Hercules
In a daring show of solidarity, Fluffy Jr. fell asleep. He snored. Loudly.
When the shakes finally passed, I pulled my feet away from the fireplace and staggered upright.
I collapsed back into a chaise, eyes closing.
Classical music filtered in softly from outside.
“Alexis?” Maximum said, and the cushion moved beneath me.
Hey, God, it’s me again.
Please help.
I peeked open my right eye. He was sitting next to me on the chaise, leaning forward.
Maximum’s face hovered inches in front of mine. “I know it’s not a great time, but... I’ve been wanting to get you alone—so I could tell you this.”
“Hm?” I grunted noncommittally.
“I really like you,” Maximum whispered, leaning even closer. “Like, a lot. You’re the coolest girl I’ve ever met.”
He must not know a lot of women.
“Uh, okay?” I said awkwardly, still leaning back, unsure what he wanted me to do.Why is he leaning closer?
The back of my neck prickled.
Icy lips pressed softly against mine.
Shocked, eyes wide open, it took me a second to realize that he was kissing me. A boy was kissing me.
The kiss was sort of... nice? It really didn’t feel like much of anything.
My face was still numb.
A ferocious animal growl echoed. Fluffy Jr. must have woken up.
I sat still and waited for the kiss to pass.
Finally, Maximum pulled back and opened his eyes.
Up close, he had a dark freckle on the top of his lip, and his eyes were a soft brown, with small gold flecks.
His smile was blinding. “That was really nice,” he whispered as he pinched a curl that had sprung free against my neck, with his thumb and pointer finger.
I grunted.
“Let’s do it again sometime.” He winked and kissed my forehead before I could pull away. Then he sauntered off to a fireplace on the other side of the library.
I blinked in shock.
Fluffy Jr. snored loudly.
Dazed and more than a little confused, I slid down onto the carpet and stuck my feet over the open flame.
This time, I felt the fire. It was a pleasant distraction from my racing thoughts.
After the kiss incident, the rest of the days passed in a blur.
