Surprise should get the best out of me, but I'm too busy feeling good. Even as my legs are cold and damp from the rain that caught us a while ago, my soul feels warm. Even as our lips part; that warmth inside me refuses to let go. Is it his arms holding me? Or maybe it's his smile?

"Did I go too far, perhaps?" He asks suddenly, and I examine his brown eyes. "You look concerned."

"No... No!" I rush to say, but I'm obviously worried. "I mean... I wasn't expecting that."

"Well, to be fair..." There's some hesitation in his voice, paired up with his eyes suddenly leaving mine, now focused somewhere on the clouds. "I wasn't going to, but... I just couldn't help myself."

His smile broadens even if his eyes still don't meet mine. For some strange reason, it brings my honesty to surface.

"If anyone would come to me when we were children saying you'd be kissing me tonight, I'd have kicked their asses. It's so strange; you didn't make me feel like this when we were fourteen."

"If anyone would come to me saying I'd kiss you tonight, I'd laugh them off. I can't believe this really happened, because as you probably guessed, I have always liked you."

His eyes finally come to me, and they're glimmering in the dark. My heart skips a beat, and I suddenly want him to kiss me again. And then he does, just as softly as the first time, the gentle touch of a feather against my lips. Just as sweet as he has been so far, with me, and also with Jeanne... Is that why I suddenly want to put my arms around him? Is this why I pull him closer? Why I kiss him back, deeper?

Maybe I was alone for too long.

When our lips part, his eyes are dreamy and shiny. His hand caresses my cheek, and his smile now covers his whole face.

"I've dreamed of this for the longest time, Cynthia."

"Oh... Did you?"

"Yes." He replies, and his features rearrange a little into his usual self. "You've always been the prettiest girl in school. The silky braids in elementary school made you look so pretty, like a princess."

Is that why he remembers everything from our school days? Was he always interested? He said that much not five minutes ago, didn't he? I'm suddenly worried tonight will fade into a blur in my mind. I want to treasure this moment forever. I feel so fluttery knowing he always felt this way for me. I feel like a teen again, repeating his words in my head: so pretty, like a princess. Suddenly it's too hard to hold his gaze, and a question escapes my lips without my consent.

"And... what about now?"

He puts a finger under my chin and leads my eyes back to him.

"Right now, you've become my queen."

And by the way he holds my hand, the smile he gives me as he escorts meback home, I know he means it.