CHAPTER EIGHT, The Girl Who Read [And The Boy Who Kissed Her]: intense kissing

                                      [where this story intensifies
                                to a whole new level so get ready]

        ❝And it was pretty much the best underwater kiss of all time.❞

                ― Rick Riordan, Percy Jackson and the Last Olympian

        Spencer was, at the moment, on speaker-phone with his older brother, sitting on the rolly-chair in his bedroom.

        It was extremely awkward, if you were wondering.

        He really missed his older sibling, as weird as it sounds. He hadn't seen his bro since... Wow, since Spring break, actually. His family had (very abruptly) found out that he was to be married in November to his high school sweetheart, Delilah.

        Spencer didn't look anything like him. His brother had the popular boy look, the blonde, shaggy hair, the dimples on both cheeks, the rugged jawline, pointy cheekbones, and evergreen eyes. Spencer was the boy with the curly brown hair, one less dimple, freckles sliding down his nose, a soft curve of his jawline, and high cheekbones. His hazel eyes were just like his mothers.

        When they were younger, the two of them were inseparable. More than inseparable, they were nearly joined at the hip. They were always together, whether it would be playing a video game like call of duty, or tossing the football to each other. Spencer didn't exactly enjoy sports, but he didn't mind it with his brother.

        When his brother reached high school, they slowly drifted apart. He didn't know why, it just happened. Maybe it was because Delilah was easing her way into the position Spencer spent his whole life in, as the caring, close best friend. Maybe it was because she was clinging, almost like a sloth to one of those trees, lazily but always there, to Spencer's brother, but don't get him wrong, Spencer loved Delilah. Just that with her around, it wasn't the same between him and his bro.

        "-to dad. And give mom a hug from me. And give one to Grace. Man, I haven't seen Grace in forever. How is she?"

        "I will," Spencer replied, his mind drifting back into the conversation. "Grace is fine."

        "How about you, Spence?" His brother's voice became serious. "Are you doing okay?"

        "I'm fine."

        "That doesn't sound 'fine' to me, little bro. C'mon, girl problems. Spill it out."

        How did he know? It was like he was magic. Maybe he's really Dumbledore in disguise or something.

        "I've told you about Skylar before, right?"

        "Aw, man! You're in love, I can tell!"

        "Shut up," Spencer hissed, looking around as if she were to hear. "I don't know how to do anything about it."

        "Dude, you've got this. Just straightforward... Tell her, you know?" No, he didn't know, because anytime he was near Skylar his knees start shaking and his tongue starts tingling and he couldn't even come close to forming a coherent sentence.

        "Sure, yeah, totally," Spencer 'agreed.'

        "I know this shit. Delilah sure seems to like it, Seeing as how we're approaching the big day soon-"

        Spencer's phone lit up in the middle of the speaker-phone call with his brother, saying that someone had texted him. That someone being Skylar.

        "Bye, I gotta go," He blurted out to his older brother, quickly hanging up and swiping the screen to get to the messages. There goes his tongue again. And the knees. His brain couldn't keep up with the beating of his heart, making his thoughts a clouded jumble and his heart beat faster than a hummingbird's wings.

        Skylar: are your parents home?

        Spencer: no

        Skylar: good. 

        Skylar: be there in five

        This was the first time she was coming to him instead of him running to her. Spencer supposed this made him feel double as anxious as he usually is on dates with her, because he felt useful now. She actually wanted his help.

        He was tapping away on his thigh at the speed of a rocket, constantly brushing his coffee brown hair back with his fingers. What did she need? Oh God, what if she wanted to end it with him? Oh no, no, no, n-

        B-r-r-ring!

        She was here.

        SHE. WAS. HERE.

        Holy... Oh- oh sweet... Wow they would be... Alone... They would be... Oh...

        B-r-r-ring! B-r-r-ring!

        "Oh, okay. Whew. Breathe, Spencer, breathe," His chest heaved up and down. Rapidly increasing in speed. "Not- not like that. That's unnatural. Uh... Breath check." He cupped his mouth and breathed. "Oh Hell no, where are the breath mints you had the other-"

        B-r-r-ring!

        "Uh, I'm- I'm coming!" He yelped, scampering off the wheely chair and bulldozing though his bedroom door, diving down the stairs and throwing opening the front door. There she stood, a blue pocketbook in hand, her hair in two braids.

        It seemed like today, in particular, she had put in more effort. She was wearing a skirt that almost flowed when she jittered her leg or put a hand on her hip. Her shirt said All Time Low on it, making him smile, because that was one of the bands she had put on her favorites playlist that they listened to at the park.

        Her eyes were intensely mesmerizing today, her eyelashes emphasizing the curl majestically and her eyelids colored with this ice blue color that looked almost brushed on them. It was faintly there, but he saw it.

        Her cheeks were more rosy than usual and her lips were a deep shade of red, like the poisoned apple from Snow White.

        "H-Hey, um, hi. So, what- what are you, you know, doing here?"

        She looked at him once, and pulled him to her in a manner that nearly made Spencer faint. But what she did after made him on the verge of a coma; she kissed him.

        He was, to say the least, stunned out of his mind.

        His hands sort of fell to her hips in a dreamlike motion as he felt her lips glide across his, her red lipstick smooth and her lips gentle upon his.

        When she pulled back, he blinked and dropped his hands. "Whoa."

        He ushered her inside (tripping and stumbling the whole way, his mind in a far, far away place), bringing her to the living room, sitting down on the plush fabric of the couch. She copied him, twisting the end curl of her braid.

        "W-what was that about?" He croaked out, his tongue (that was still tingling) darting out and running over the red lipstick that had transferred from her lips to his, his fingers touching the lipstick as well, almost in awe.

        "I need help writing a kissing scene," Her voice was frustrated as she bit her lip and closed her eyes. "I've only kissed you, and it was so spur of the moment, and I couldn't concentrate, so I don't know how to write it, and it makes me so upset that I can't write this, and it should be perfect, but I don't know how to write perfect because I don't even know how to kiss, so I need you to show me how!" She finished her rant breathlessly, quickly inhaling an exhaling, where as Spencer was still unable to breathe.

        Okay. Okay, okay, okay okay okay. Spencer, breathe, you're starting to get dizzy.

        He gasped like a fish, and stuttered out, "You want me t-to show you how to k-k-k-kiss? I guess I c-can help you with that."

        SPENCER WHY DO YOU DO THIS TO YOURSELF.

        "Really?" Her whole face visibly brightened. Oh, right. She's why you do this to yourself. "Thank you so, so, so much! I promise, if the book becomes a hit, you'll get half the money."

        He blushed. "I don't need it."

        "But you deserve it. You've been nothing but sweet to me, I need to repay somehow."

        "I don't care about the money, this has been fun, which is good enough for me. You would have deserved the money, anyways. Not this old loser." He honestly hasn't thought about what would happen if her book became a success.

        She punched his shoulder.

        "Ow, what was that for?"

        "You're not a loser. And you're getting the money, whether you like it or not. Now, help me write a kissing scene."

        ♡❤♡

        He was panicking. Maybe he didn't show he was panicking as much as he was on the inside, as they sat on the plush couch in the living room, awkwardly waiting for him to do something. But he was panicking. His mind blank, his eyes unable to stop blinking, his hands fidgeting non-stop. Even though they had just kissed, like, three minutes ago, that felt like weeks ago.

        He felt like he couldn't even come near her without burning up and spontaneous combustion to occur. Every time he tried to talk, his voice would clog up in his throat and his mind would go numb and his toes would start tingling and he couldn't.

        She glanced at him, gathering her belongings and walking towards the door. "It was a stupid idea. Maybe I should just go home-"

        "No!" He cried out, falling off the couch in a tangled mess of pillows and a blanket and multiple limbs in an attempt to stop her. "Oomf."

        "Spencer, oh my God..." She came into his line of sight as he tried to casually dust himself off and stand back up.

        "I'm okay, I'm..." He rubbed his eyes. "Okay, do you want to do this?"

        "If you're okay with it."

        "Are you positive?" They were on the fuzzy couch again.

        "Yeah."

        "Absolutely, positively positive?" Their voices grew softer, like the whisper of the wind.

        "Completely, and utterly positive."

        "Ready?" Their noses were within inches of each other, foreheads nearly touching.

        "I'm ready."

        "So, um, we can ju-"

        Without warning, she leaned in and connected their mouths. He was completely taken aback, and his eyes widened and his body froze and his mind froze and his whole existence upon Earth just froze. He couldn't think straight as her fingers crawled their way into his hair and as her lips moved on their own accord. His lips sprang into action as he came to the realization that he was supposed to be the one to show her how to kiss, that he was the one wanted to give her tips on kissing (even though he's only been kissed around three times and has sucked at it all three times).

        Sparks seemed to be radiating and shooting off of their lips as Spencer's heart beat out of control, nearly bursting out of his chest. He couldn't stop his mouth from smiling as he rolled on top of her on the couch in his house all alone. Her in his arms, he didn't care that it wasn't real. For once.

        Enjoy it while it lasts.

        He cupped her delicate face between his hands as they heavily breathed, in and out, in and out, her brushing his brown fluff of hair back. Her knuckles rested over his cheek, her thumb brushing over his cheekbone as he nearly hyperventilated.

        "Am I doing this right?" She breathed out.

        "You're d-doing incredible," Spencer struggled for his voice to work.

        "What- er, how would I write the kiss scene if it was their first time, if it was an... Innocent kiss?"

        "Innocent? Uhh..." He rolled off of the couch, her following him.

        "You'd stand, right in front of me, right... And I'd lean down... Like this..." His head lowered to her height. "And my thumb would brush against your lips, like this..."

        He brushed the deep red, velvety lips that had caused frequent heart malfunctions to occur, for they were the lips that the words flowed out of, the lips that the melodic laugh sputtered out of, and also the lips that had given him dreams of fantasies after that one fateful day at the bookstore.

        "And then," His voice was hushed and husky. "I'd hold your head in my hands..."

        Her big blue eyes looked up at him as he placed his hands on her freckly cheeks. "And I'd lean up..." She whispered, eyes on his. "And I think that then... We'd kiss."

        She hooked her arms around his neck as they leaned closer at the same time, kissing once again. His hands traveled down her waist leisurely, as innocent as he could make it.

        It was slow and passionate and mind-numbing and spine-chilling and heart-tearing and just stupefyingly wondrous.

        He broke away after a couple minutes panting, and he heard her whimper at the lack of contact.

        "If the kiss scene was more intense," She asked him, an eyebrow popping up on her forehead. "Would it be okay for me to do this?"

        Her hands crept up the inside of his shirt. Her sharp nails scratched his stomach softly. As her fingers moved higher, his shirt traveled further up, making his heart rate increase heavily.

        He only had about one thought mulling around in his mind, being:

        Holy Shit Holy Shit Holy Shit Holy Mother Of

        As they crept up and up and up and kept going up, he finally lost the sense of mind he had been trying to keep sane and just sort of dove on her, grabbing her and moving towards the couch once more.

        It was all a blur of nails scraping and shirt throwing (singular, by the way... Just his was off, sadly...) and teeth biting and tongue fighting and the whole thing was just so insane and his thoughts were so incoherent that he couldn't even remotely consider stopping. His lips traveled from her collarbone to her throat where he bit and licked and pecked.  Her thighs wrapped around his waist as he planted wild kisses higher and higher. He reached her earlobe and lightly nibbled the bottom, grabbing the earlobe between his teeth. She giggled at him and poked him on the cheek, making him pause. He looked at her with sparkling eyes, a look of pure ecstasy in his face, and smiled.

        "What are you doing to me, Spencer?" She whispered.

        He didn't know whether the question was still referring to the nipping of her ear.

        "I honestly don't know," He laughed, lowering his body so they were together like two shoes in the cardboard box being ready to bought. Tightly packed together and fitting perfectly, all squished up against one another.

        Spencer felt on top of the world. He could do anything. So that's when he began to lean down again, his target the blood red lips that seemed to suck up his soul like a dementor, making him forget his name and where he was and what he was doing, closer, closer...

        In the silence, he heard the car pull up. The car. His family's car. He needed to stop. They were home.

        He attempted to crawl out of the situation on the couch even though he didn't want their actions of hair grabbing and lip smacking and the feeling of his abs and the stroking of soft skin to ever stop.

        He was about to run to grab his shirt (which had landed on the television) but she stopped him, panting and blinking. Her lips were still dark red and full and her cheeks were flushed and her hair was mussed and frazzled and tousled. Her palms were on his bare chest and she frowned at him.  "What's wrong?"

        "My family's home," He replied uneasily to her. "C'mon, lets go upstairs."

        He led her to his bedroom and they both sat on his bed, breathing a sigh of relief.  He heard the front door swing open.

        Thank God they weren't caught.

        But what if they were, he supposed. What would he say to his family?

        'I'm helping Skylar write a good kissing scene and it sort of got out of hand'.

        Spencer didn't think that this was necessarily normal. They shouldn't be making out so heavily that he loses his short in the midst of it even though they aren't even dating. He frowned. It was for her book, he couldn't let it get to him.

        "Skylar," He started off. "Do you- do you think that went to far? All the kissing?"

        "Hmm?" She replied.

        "I mean, we just heavily made out with each other. And we don't even have feelings for each other." Spencer, you liar. "It might have gone too far. We're kissing, something that is not usually a mistreated concept, for the book. So maybe we should keep this to a minimum. It's kind of... Unnatural. Something like kissing for a purpose other than a crush or love. It's so personal and touchy-feely and all just so weird. We should- We should probably get some space from each other for a while."

        She looked a bit appalled at her actions, and possibly looked remorseful. She slid off of the bed and closed her eyes. "I don't know what got over me. I didn't think. I'm sorry."

        "No, it's fine. I agreed," Spencer argued. "It's just... That was too much."

        She nodded with him and stood up. She one-arm hugged him and whispered in his ear, "I'll see you around, Spencer." And then she sadly smiled, almost like a grimace, walking out of his room.

        Spencer heard her thump down the stairs, and he caught little snippets of her conversation with his parents, which was her saying her goodbyes to them.  And then he perceived the sound of the door drifting to a close.

        Spencer laid down, closed his eyes, and held his breath.

        It was insane for Spencer to say that they needed space. It was what he least wanted for the two of them. But he really felt the kissing threw everything off.

        He should have just explained how to kiss, dammit. Not fully make out with her for twenty minutes.

        Most boys with crushes on girls would kill for them to be make out buddies or whatever. But Spencer only knew that this would deepen his affection for her in ways he could not put into words. Also if he didn't hear the car pull up, they would have been in way too deep. Spencer did not want to think about that because Skylar and him weren't even a thing (even though he wanted them to be).

        And it was not even remotely right, a guy kissing a girl [very intensely] to help the girl [that was not his girlfriend] write a kissing scene when the guy [secretly] liked her.

        Spencer had a feeling that this relationship mess was never going to be the same. And he would bet money that he would never get the chance to tell her those three words that had been rolling around in his mind for a while lately.

a/n

so tHIS CHAPTER THOUGH MY SPYLAR FEELS ARE JUST TOO MUCH is it weird to fangirl over your own characters

TELL ME YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE CHAPTER

A surprisingly fast update. Really long too, over a thousand more words than usual.

so can i just have a miny rant.  so being a girl stinks i was in sooooooo much pain that i couldn't even breathe and i started to feel faint and i almost cried and fell over and i was in the nurse the first period just heavily breathing and mentally crying and curled up in a ball for the whole period so yeah. I WANT TO BE A GUY JEEZ

omfg The Girl Who Read [And The Boy Who Kissed Her] is at 129 at short story (and a really loong number for romance that i'd rather not mention xD) but if that number got lower than 80 (the record) id scREAM! SO HELP ME OUT! SHARE THE STORY AND COMMENT SO PEOPLE FIND THIS BOOK :D

i need to dedicate this chapter to Kay.  I swear this whole book is dedicated to her but i need to because she gave me so many tips on this chapter and made it 10000x better. so this is dedicated to @kpgcatlover

leave a comment.  i dont care it can be a rant or something if you want.  ill take anything i can get. 

Again, I'm in the Wattys2014!  So keep the votes coming, and I'll get a chapter up the faster the votes like last chapter!

thank you so much guys. i love you so much omg ily all.  Thank you for the almost 20k whoa man. whoaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.

until next time ;D