Sophia met Maya somewhere in the middle of the hill as they all were searching for her. She seemed frantic like a lost puppy in the rain. When they asked her, she said a huge lizard scared her, which seemed natural because those were her nightmares manifesting.
Maya hurried down the hill, her strides putting them behind. 'A lizard has her this riled up?' Sophia wondered as they all quickened their pace behind her, so she didn't get lost again.
...
"St...stop-" she had somehow escaped his claiming kiss, a feat of its own in the boiling moment.
Her mind was fuzzy with the touch of his hands on the small of her back. His fingers traced her spine, and each time it felt more invasive, as if he were learning her.
His lips, that now remained unattended, sought refuge on her cheeks. His breath traveled on her skin, teeth now grazing on her jaw. "Why are you inside me?" his question felt illogical. Maybe it was some nonsense he was bringing up to cling to her. But his eyes, looking deep into hers, weren't lying.
"Wha-...?" before her question even began, his lips found the opportunity to her inviting petals.
...
'I am insane! I should have just slapped him!' Maya was almost running down the hill, her palms rubbing together, as if holding her down to reality. The honey taste in her mouth was too strong to vanish.
The flashes of his wide-open eyes as he kissed her kept occurring in her mind. They weren't simply heated with lust. They were hungry with necessity. A need of hers he could convey with just a stare.
Her fingers could not follow her scattered thoughts and ended up tangled together. With each second and slight pressure, she released some of the stress with every crack of her fingers.
Sophia held her hand and gave her a soft smile. "The lizard isn't here anymore. You should calm down."
The other girls were snickering. It was odd to them to see such a capable woman falter because of a lizard.
"I guess the city doesn't harden you for nature, eh?" one of the twins joked, sharing a chuckle with the other. A low, broken sigh escaped her mouth, arranging the lost rhythm of a laugh.
...
She was finally able to push him back when his hand reached her neck again. This time, however, it wasn't just a touch. It was his hands begging to find the meaning to her, through whatever his hands could touch. The slow rub of his fingers on her neck was a tingle. Her heart beat resonated through her veins, the thump reverberating through his thumb.
Her hand smacked him on the chest, and Leo stumbled back. He cushioned the fall by pushing against the rock, and yet his eyes never left hers. She heaved, her mouth finally able to reclaim the lost air.
She ran her hand through her hair, trying to remind herself of reality. Because inside her head, it was all a fuzzy dream.
"I remember your taste." His voice was no longer recognizable. It was the same sound, but the emotions behind it weighed too much. Too much to understand in the already burdening rain.
Her heart and mind could only resort to turning back and letting her feet retreat her out of there.
She finally understood. Not just Leo, but the situation itself was a threat. And her body was willing to be threatened.
...
And even before the warmth of his fingers on her neck was run down by the rain, she was already inside her house. The others had departed, urging her to rest without stressing.
Maya left the sandals tumbled at the doorway and rushed to the bed. Dripping water now felt like the only logical thing to her. She collapsed on the soft mattress, it molding to her weight and figure. The softness and warmth of her bed weren't enough to soften the burning trace of his fingers.
She wished to sigh, but her voice seemed to be as frenzied. In the silent room, and only the rain as the sound, her heart found its way to beat in her ears and mind.
Her thoughts raced back to the kiss, lips still quivering from his unflinching craving for her.
Maya's mind and heart were both confused, each for different reasons.
Her mind could not fathom why she felt this riled up and heated from a boy's kiss. She had been in a few relationships, had her fair share of desire, lust, and satisfaction—all of which dimmed with time, and so did her need for the craving of those stimulations. So why did his hand on her back make her body shiver? Why did she feel the linger of his damp lips pulse through the soft weight on her chest, a liquid boil of anticipation terrorising the depths of her thighs?
Her heart didn't care giving this turmoil even a glance. It was collapsing on the feeling of it all. Her mouth still wished to feel his lips, the wondering tongue. His eyes that tried to capture her in them, his hands that were so carefully rampant on her skin, his body against her trembling stature. And her hands pushed his body away, because she was finding an unusual home in his touch. One she still felt; its proof was her trembling fingers on her lips.
And subconsciously, Maya muttered, "Leo". The world seemed to have stopped, time wandering to hear more, and her heart craving more than a name. Her cheeks rested deeper in the mattress, hands wanting to touch the places he had grazed, regions he didn't touch. Her hands almost reached the teetering heat blooming in her hips when the world resumed.
The sudden thunder in the sky made her lie on her back, eyes looking at the steady fan. Her breath was heavy, mind out of the clutter for a while. Maya took a deep breath.
"Wrong. Way too wrong. I am going crazy with age..." She got up and put some water on the stove. A nice cup of hot tea would burn away the warmth of his touch, finally.
The geyser turned on, her need for a mellow bath humming in its electricity. Maya took off her shirt, letting the coldness in the room wrap her. She walked to the window, eyes that relapsed to the hill. Whatever had happened, she could not ignore it. Mistake or not, she would be demanding answers from him the next day. Though she felt restless that the boy was living at the hilltop in such fierce rain and thunder, the events didn't let her act on it.
And from her window, she saw the silhouette. It had been a month, but that distinct etch on the night sky was recognisable. But now she had a face for the wraith, a touch for it, and its taste.
Standing atop the strong structure was the one she fell weak against. And even from the vast distance, she could feel his eyes directed to her house. At least the area. A strange turmoil ran through her heart for a second. As if a cry was trying to find its place in her heavy, beating survivor.
The tick from the geyser brought her eyes back into the house. The window was closing now, and she would be climbing the hill tomorrow. Questions had to be answered. The mistake had to be acknowledged.
And yet, as she entered the bath, a single thought deemed it all unworthy. 'Can I push him away again?'