Page 12 of Chase

“No, nothing like that. I just didn’t feel anything for them so I kind of did it for the experience and then…” I trail off, shrugging my shoulders to show how little a deal it is to me. Izzy simply turns back to the frozen screen in front of her and slurps noisily from her soda can, with her hair hanging down in waves behind the beanbag. “So, tell me, Twiglet, how many boys have you kissed?”

“Twenty-three billion,” she answers without looking at me, to which I laugh.

“Seriously, Iz,haveyou kissed anyone? I meanreallykissed anyone?” I turn to face her, nudging her with my foot until she’s forced to return my gaze.

“I heard the human mouth contains more germs than a toilet seat. That never really sat well with me when it came to kissing boys, or girls for that matter.”

Such a typical Izzy response.

“Right, stand up,” I say, jumping to my feet, “I’m gonna show you.”

“Show me what?” she asks slowly, with a look of confusion on her face, before slurping up more of her drink.

“Show you how to kiss,” I reply at the same time as I grab her hand and haul her up so we’re standing face-to-face.

“I’d really rather not,” she says, looking so serious that I feign insult, which does nothing to deter her. “It’d be totally weird kissing you. You’re my best friend, or at least, youweremy best friend. Besides, you’re my cousin, remember?”

“Not by blood, and as you said so yourself, wewerebest friends.” I pull her close against me, then rest my hands on top of her hips. She’s warm and so petite that I can fit her right under my chin.

“Theo, please, cut it out,” she says, trying to shimmy free but I hold firm. “I’m not kissing you,” she huffs while folding her arms because I refuse to let her go…not yet anyway.

“Why not? Afraid you’ll like it?” I pull her an inch or two closer toward me, prompting her breathing to hitch up a gear.

“You’re being an arse, you know that?” she mutters with a hint of anger behind those words.

“Come on, Iz, I wanna be your first kiss,” I tell her as I move my head to look into her eyes, my finger tilting her chin up to encourage her to do the same to me.

“I wasn’t yours!” she snaps with that hint of anger now coming out with full force. She pushes me away and scowls one more time before stepping toward my bed to grab her bag. I rub the back of my neck, finally realizing why she’s so pissed at me. I amone dumb motherfucker sometimes.

“Youarejealous, aren’t you?” I utter, trying to sound sincere, though the words only have her shaking her head in more outrage.

“I’m leaving, thanks for the game, Theo,” she sighs as she wraps her hand around her bag strap, but before she can leave, I grab hold of her arm and pull her into my arms, cupping her face with my spare hand so I can safely place my lips on top of hers.

At first, she freezes, but as I pull her against my body, she eventually relaxes her lips and begins to reciprocate my touch. Her sweet scent hits me, which drives me to reach behind her back and pull her flush against my chest, my hips, and my groin. Her hands reach into my hair, and I push my tongue through her plump lips just to get a taste. Our tongues touch gently at first, but enough for her to release a small whimper of pleasure. The sound undoes me, and my dick instantly hardens against her.

“Woah, what the hell was that?” she cries, and I can’t help but laugh cheekily over her shocked reaction.

“Er, you have had sex ed, haven’t you?”

“Oh,” she says, covering her mouth as the realisation kicks in. “Oh,” she frowns while looking down in the general area of my dick. “Oh!”

“Can you say anything else, Twiglet?” I begin to walk toward her, my hands held up defensively in front of me. “Sorry, but that was one hell of a kiss, Izzy. I, er, couldn’t help myself.”

“I, erm, I, er, better go,” she stutters as she fumbles for her bag. I can’t help grinning when she trips over herself in an attempt to get away as quickly as possible.

“I’ll see you tomorrow?” I ask, leaning up against my wardrobe with my arms crossed, if only to reassure her that I won’t try and stop her this time. I won’t deny, however, that I’m enjoying her reaction to our kiss and my ensuing erection.

“Tomorrow? Oh, yeah, that,” she says, fake smiling, remembering we’re having to gather at her place for some family get together before we leave for the States. After reuniting with the girl in front of me, I’m suddenly looking forward to it. “I’ll see you there. Er, bye…bye, Theo.”

She exits my room so fast, so ungracefully Izzy-like, I burst into laughter. I’ve always loved that girl; it’s a pity I’m having to leave her behind.

Chapter 5

Izzy

My body betrays me in the most humiliating way when Theo arrives with his parents the following evening. I can’t even pretend to be cool when my cheeks begin heating up like a furnace at the same time as my chest feels like it’s about to explode with butterflies. I try to avoid his gaze but only end up being so obvious that whenever I do steal a glance his way, he’s smirking. God, this isn’t me; this has never been me. I may as well sign up to be one of Tilly’s mindless bimbos whose only goal in life is to be worthy of some guy’s attention. Even Nonna is staring at me with a knowing grin and a wink every five minutes. She’s a saucy minx; nothing gets past her.

The only person being more embarrassing than yours truly is my sister, though that’s nothing to be proud of. I frequently suffer from second-hand embarrassment on her behalf. It still baffles me how popular she is. I guess the Chase name, plus its associated wealth, speaks volumes to the shallow masses that attend my school. Not that it has any positive effect on me, for everyone knows I’m the black sheep of the family. Tilly, who is now trailing behind Theo like an over-enthusiastic puppy beggingfor scraps, has always revelled in the attention.

---