“I think that’s just called a second kiss.”
I bump my knees against his. “Are you seriously going to make me ask again?”
“Um. No.” Josh quickly leans forward.
“Unless.” I put a hand on his chest. “Are you sure? Because. If you don’t want?”
He smiles. “You’re ruining our second first kiss.”
“I just…wanted to make sure,” I say.
“I’m sure.” But he stops before he reaches me. “Wait. Are you sure?”
“Of course I’m sure.”
“Okay. So we’re both sure.” Josh smiles again. He places one hand on each side of my face. His fingers are cold, but I warm beneath their touch. We stare at each other for several seconds. His smile fades, and then, slowly, he leans over and kisses me.
It’s a gentle kiss, lips slightly parted. Soft.
Josh pulls back a few inches. He studies my forehead. My cheeks. My chin, my ears, my nose, my lips.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
“I wanted to know what you look like up close.”
“Oh.” It comes out like a breath.
“You have freckles on your eyelids,” he says.
I close my eyes, and he kisses them – one delicate kiss on each lid. His nose trails down the side of mine, and his mouth comes to a rest above my own. My arms wrap around the back of his neck. Our lips meet with more urgency. More exploration. We kiss until it can no longer be called kissing, it’s definitely making out, as his hands slide underneath the coat and around my waist.
We sink into the blanket.
Our fingers are in each other’s hair, and his breath is in the hollow of my neck, and I wish the world would swallow us here, whole, in this moment. And that’s when it hits me that this – this – is falling in love.
Chapter eleven
We kiss on the stairs, on the streets of the Right Bank, on the bridge over the Seine, on the streets of the Left Bank. We kiss until our mouths are sore and our lips are numb. It’s so intense that I don’t realize my feet are blistered until we’re only a few blocks away from the dorm. I pop off my heels on the steps of Saint-Étienne-du-Mont, a church across from the Panthéon, and release a pained hiss of relief.
“Blisters and a bloody nose.” Josh sits down beside me. “This went well.”
I smile and kiss him again.
“Those shoes are insane,” he says.
I wiggle my red feet. “Maybe they were a bit much.”
“Your footwear tends to run on the exceedingly tall side. You know we all know you’re short, right? It’s not, like, a secret.”
“Hush.”
“I like that you’re tiny. I like that I could carry you around in my pocket.”
I shove his arm with my shoulder. “I said hush.”
“And if we ever vacation together, you can sit on my lap to save airfare.”
I shove him harder, and he laughs. He tries to push me back, but I’m faster, and he tumbles against the steps. He laughs even harder. I do, too. “You deserve that,” I say.