As our lips pressed together I felt Livia stiffen a bit, but quickly gave in to the kiss. Her eyes closed, her movements were clumsy. She was tense. 'Is it her first kiss?' I thought for a moment as Livia confirmed it with her own thoughts.
Am I doing it well? Should I move my tongue? Should I do it fast or slow? Ugh, I don't know what to do... I have never kissed before. I don't want to mess it up.
The raw silent confession sent warmth to my heart, and a flinch of something else. I was not sure if it was arousal. Being a woman took away the usual physical indicator that I used to have.
I noticed how her tongue moved too quickly, trembling, not really knowing what to do. I tightened my grip. One hand on her hips and the other on the nape of her neck, as I pulled away for a moment.
AHHHHH! I MESSED UP!!!! STUPID LIVIA! YOU FINALLY HAVE SOMETHING AND YOU MESS IT UP!
I studied her face for a moment. She was burning red and her expression was filled with worry and fear. "D-did I...?" she stammered.
"Livia," I called her with a soft voice but firm tone.
"Yes!" She stiffened her body like a soldier.
"Don't think, just follow your instinct, okay?" After she gave me a quick nod, I leaned in again, recapturing her lips and guiding her, setting a slow pace with some deliberate moves.
Livia followed my advice, her thoughts just fell silent, even when Legemens was still active I didn't hear anything. Her body relaxed as she wrapped her arms around my neck, clinging tightly. She let herself go.
The kiss deepened with each passing second, sweet but eager, our lips moved together, creating their own rhythm. Slowly our tongues intertwined and danced, interrupted only by my occasional bites to her lower lip before returning to the kiss again.
We kept that tender, needy, trembling pace for a while. I wasn't even sure how much time had passed until we finally broke the kiss. Our foreheads rested against each other, our breath mixed in the same air. We stayed there as our eyes met again, gazes locked on each other.
Our temporal peace was only interrupted by Livia's thoughts.
Ah... I love this, I never felt like this before. I want to kiss her again. She keeps looking at me... she has such beautiful eyes, the way she keeps looking at me... ah... I love it, I love it. I LOVE IT. Mom, I think I finally understand why you didn't divorce Dad, even when he's such a douchebag.
I bit my lips and closed my eyes in an attempt to hide my smile. 'I'm sorry Livia, I also consider myself a douchebag, maybe you should apologize to your mom,' I thought as I couldn't hide the smile anymore.
I took a small breath and returned my gaze to Livia. This time I took a bit of distance from her forehead.
"So... first time kisser, huh?" I smiled, teasing her.
Her face, already flushed, was now a pinkish red, similar to her hair. She started to stammer, not being able to create words. 'Cute,' I grinned.
SHE KNOWS!!!!!! SHE FUCKING KNOWS!!!!!!!
I chuckled a bit, her reactions were so good.
"Just kidding, you're so cute that I couldn't resist teasing you." I moved my hand towards her face, moving away some messy strands of hair that fell over, and caressed her face. 'Maybe I like her more than I thought.'
"Sorry, I got a bit carried away, perhaps I was too hasty," I said without a hint of regret waiting for her reaction.
"NO! I mean, em, no, I actually really liked it," she said with an anxious tone, her arms still around my neck and her gaze avoiding my eyes.
I LOVED IT! MY HEART IS BEATING SO FAST RIGHT NOW THAT IT MIGHT EXPLODE. But I can't say it yet... I don't want you to think I'm crazy.
Something about hearing such raw honest emotions from such a pretty girl like Livia was making it impossible for me not to smile. 'I hope I'm not developing some kind of fetish now.'
[The Goddess who does not believe in friendships is delighted with you]
[The Goddess who follows the rules is openly expressing her dislike towards you]
[The Goddess who enjoys battles is bored]
'Speaking of fetish. Right, those goddesses are still spying on us.' I wanted to keep teasing Livia, it was funny and fuel to my heart, but probably it was time to stop.
Slowly, I freed my embrace from Livia, she gasped with a longing whisper. "No..."
That cute needy act made me want to take her lips again, but I restrained myself. Even though my instinct had been silent, that could change at any minute, and we already had something more important to discuss.
Ugh! Why are those notifications so noisy! Tch, at least let me have this moment! UGH! God! So annoying!
I saw Livia's annoyed expression as she stared into space, throwing punches in a random direction. 'She really is cute even when she's not trying, huh? Maybe except when she's focused,' I thought.
"Livia, to be honest I would like to kiss you again—"
THEN DO IT, LEO!!!! DO IT!!!
Her thoughts sounding like a megaphone took me a bit off guard but I managed to keep my cool and finished speaking. "But I think we need to tackle the Gift thing."
Livia stopped for a moment, then tried to recompose herself. Her face nodded still with a blush as she straightened her back, returning to a more relaxed position. Her mind was something totally opposite to her body.
I want to cry, I hate this place, I hate Vulkris!! I hate those stupid gods. UNIVERSE WHY?! Why can't I just enjoy my first romance?!!!
***
After a couple of minutes we both relaxed, this time for good. But we kept sitting closer to each other, holding hands as we remained seated in the dim darkness. I noticed some occasional glances from Milaine on the other side of the cave, but she quickly lost interest in us. 'At least she is giving us privacy.'
"You say it was like a contract?" I asked.
"Eh? Ah, yes, a contract. Like when two people decide to marry." she said with a casual tone.
"What?" I asked at the random example she gave, but that certainly fit quite well.
WHAT THE FUCK DID I JUST SAY?! OMG, Okay stop. Stop. Stop Livia. Focus.
Livia reluctantly took her hand away from mine and closed her eyes, taking deep breaths. Then she opened her eyes again, this time her gaze was sharper, focused on the ground.
"What I mean is that both parties decide to create an agreement in which both have rights and obligations. In our case, the system would function as the legal regulatory agent," she said as she drew squares in the air with her finger.
"Based on what we saw, they are practically making active prospecting. So, they are the ones who would most likely want to sign the contract," she said with a relaxed voice mixed with her now sharp gaze.
[The Goddess who enjoys battles is remaining silent]
[The Goddess who does not believe in friendships is remaining silent]
[The Goddess who follows the rules is remaining silent]
I looked at the notifications that also gave their answer to Livia's casual statement.
'Based on that reaction I could say that Livia was right. Maybe this is what Violet meant when she said we could trick the gods if we were smart. Although she did recommend not taking their gifts anyway.' As I got lost in my own thoughts, Livia called me back.
"Leo?" she asked, her eyes softening again.
"Ah, my bad. I was just thinking. I think you are right, Livia, and also kinda amazing," I said honestly, surprised by the innocent girl.
Her blush returned and her eyes softened more. "I-It's not like that, I just was getting ready for law school before we got dragged here. And I also liked to read about finances and... some other stuff."
Like romance novels, erotica, some BDSM, finger—
I coughed, calling her attention, raising my hand to cover my mouth. 'Innocent my ass,' I thought as I noticed my cheeks getting warmer.
Why is she blushing? Was she thinking of something perverted now? Because I'm total—
"Anyways! Why don't we try to test your theory, Liv?" I said, trying to redirect the conversation.
Livia nodded with a hint of interest, but disappeared as quick as it came when she started to focus again and her eyes sharpened, her gaze fixed on the air.
[Sense of danger has activated]
Then I saw for the first time Livia's status windows. But more importantly I noticed something that sent me a huge chill down my spine.
[You have 7150 new messages from The goddess who follows the rules. Do you wish to read them Y/N]
***