“Candice?”

“You can’t say something like that and not expect to dance with me.”

She pulled him away from the table, to her living room. There was only a small space to dance.

She let him go long enough to move the coffee table out of the way, and then pulled him into her arms. Taking hold of his hands, she placed them at her back, and then she put her hands on his shoulders.

Candice had never been one for dancing in nightclubs or bars, but she loved to dance in her own home.

Glancing up at Antwone and how close they were, this suddenly felt like a big mistake. She went to pull out of his arms, but he tightened his grip on her, not allowing her to go. Tilting her head back, she looked into his eyes. She had no idea what was happening, but she didn’t care.

He was so close, almost within kissing distance. When he stroked her cheek, she felt like she was melting against him, and she didn’t want to let him go.

“Tell me what’s going on in that head of yours?” he asked.

“I don’t know what’s happening,” she said.

“Two things can happen,” he said.

“Two?”

“One, I can kiss you, and you don’t have to think, just feel. Two, we can stop dancing right now, go finish our food, and pretend this didn’t happen.” He leaned close to her ear. “Tell me which one would you’d like to happen?”

This wasn’t fair. She loved his friendship but the kiss sounded so good. Would it be so hard to kiss and see how it felt?

“Or maybe we can experiment. I mean, a kiss doesn’t have to mean anything, does it? It’s not like a contract or anything. It’s just a kiss. Two people, even friends, can share a kiss.” She was rambling now and all she wanted him to do was tell her to shut up.

He smiled. “You don’t want a kiss?” he asked. Antwone went to let her go, and she held onto him a little tighter.

“I didn’t say I didn’t want a kiss,” she said. She felt her cheeks were on fire.

“Then what are you saying?” he asked.

“I … I like your company. I enjoy seeing you, and, er, I don’t want to run the risk of anything happening between us.”

“Nothing is going to happen. It’s just a kiss, to see how it feels. One teeny, tiny kiss,” he said.

She liked the sound of that. A teeny, tiny kiss sounded so good.

Staring up at him, she waited, and then she linked her fingers behind his neck, went onto her tiptoes, and kissed him. His lips felt hard and firm beneath hers.

The moment his lips touched hers, she felt like she was floating. It was magical and so sweet, and so beautiful.

Antwone slid one of his hands up her back, going toward her head, holding onto her tightly. She moaned and he slid his tongue into her mouth.

The kiss deepened and she felt her whole body come to life in a way she didn’t think was possible. She melted against him.

“You’re so fucking beautiful,” he said, whispering the words against her lips.

The kiss was amazing. There was no doubt about it. She loved feeling his hands all over her body. She just loved him holding her and she didn’t want it to stop.

But then, they both broke away from the kiss and looked at each other. Candice didn’t know what he was thinking, nor did she want to. His lips were slightly red and she knew without even looking at her own, they would be the same.

They stared at each other.

Waiting.

But, their food…

Antwone cleared his throat first. “I think our food is getting cold.”

And just like that, it was a bucket of cold water thrown over them both.

“Yes, our food is getting cold.”

They walked back to the table and the music was still playing. She took a seat and Antwone sat opposite.

The kiss kept replaying in her mind and she couldn’t get it out of her head. Her lips tingled, as did her body.

It was one kiss, but she knew she wanted to repeat it again and again and again.