After Tytas drops Irin off, he drives straight to my house. He stops the car and slowly looks at me. Then he gets out, walks around to my door, and opens it for me. He leans down, bends toward me, and holds my hand with one hand while the other grabs my waist and helps me up. I let him do it willingly, though I'm confused.
"I can still walk, you know." I smile with a tiny chuckle.
"You can barely stand, Zia," he says, holding my waist as he walks me to the door.
"You called me Zia again—"
He looks at me and holds my waist tighter. We stop at the door, and I'm about to enter the digits. He leans his face closer to the side, his mouth just above my ear.
"Is it true?" he asks softly. "Everything you said?"
"Yes." I look at him. His lips almost touch my forehead as I turn to face him. I try to press the digits on the keypad to my left. "What about the last question?" he asks.
My finger pauses. The last question?
"Vik?" I say his name. He holds my face, making me look at him. "I just wanted him to shut up..." I try to enter the passcode again. If I get it wrong more than three times, I'll be locked out. "Are you upset?" I ask.
"Yes," he says.
"I couldn't say 'you,'" I explain. I'm about to press the keypad again. "I would have said you if it weren't for Vi—" I lower my voice, and he stops my hand.
"Tell me," he says softly, holding my hand. I can feel his breath against my hair and ear. "Your passcode," he says, moving his hand from my fingers to my cheek. "You'll sleep on the front porch if you keep entering it wrong." He holds my face and makes me look at him.
My passcode.
What is my passcode?
That tequila ruined my memory.
"One... two..." I say.
He smiles slowly and rubs my cheek. "You are so—"
Then he leans closer. His nose touches my cheek before his lips meet mine. He holds my face and waist firmly, but gently enough to let me feel free, and kisses me more deeply, sliding his tongue into my mouth.
"Ha..." He gasps for breath and looks at me.
Then he pushes my body against the door and kisses me intensely, passionately, as if he's been waiting for this all night.
"Ha..." I gasp this time, gripping his shirt tightly.
He continues kissing my lips, my tongue, my lower lip—every part of my mouth, almost down to my chin. His hand glides from my waist over my hip and thigh.
He's probably been waiting for this for a long time.
"Ah—Ty—tas." I pull my lips away.
He presses his lips against mine once more, then stops. He lowers his head and buries his face in my neck. "I'm sorry," he says.
"It's..." I whisper as his lips lightly touch my neck. "One... five... ha." He kisses my neck. "Seven... six," I say.
"All right." He enters the digits for me while his other hand holds my waist against his body, my back pressed against the door.
Click. The door opens.
He looks at me, his gaze fixed on mine.
"I really like you, Zia," he says. "I know you're drunk right now. You'll probably forget tomorrow. But even if you forget... I'll come to you and say it again."
I look into his bright green eyes, glittering beneath the night sky. My vision is a little blurry, but he's so handsome.
"Will you go out with me?" he asks.
I hold my tongue because I don't know whether I'm as into him as he is into me.
"I'll ask you again," he says, rubbing my hot cheek. "I'll text you. You need to text me back... Please, text me back."
He repeats it as if he's begging me.
"I will," I reply.
It's hot. The temperature in my room makes me struggle beneath the soft, knitted blanket. One leg underneath it is hotter than the other, which is exposed to the cold air outside.
I feel tingling, coldness, and the breeze together against my leg. Then an electric shock runs from my foot beneath my skin.
"Umm..." I make a sound and quickly jerk myself upright. I blink, and a shadowy figure stands at the foot of my bed.
What the heck is that?
I glare at it, trying to see whether it's moving or if it's only my shadow—or a plushie on my bed.
Fuck.
"Huh—"
I quickly turn on the lamp beside me. I look again, but there's nothing there.
"Ah, too bright," I mumble.
I look at my legs, which are still covered by the stockings. That's why they're tingling so much. I pull the stockings off both legs and drop them onto the floor, leaving my black lace panties on. Then I pull the blanket over myself and turn off the light.
It's probably because my head is dizzy.
It hurts.