|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Mon Aug 12, 2013 2:25 pm
That was what she liked about him: that even if he was hesitant on the inside, he didn't always hesitate on the outside. She wanted that--needed that, because she was such a flimsy little creature who could push and poke and explore recklessly but rarely ever come through to the end, crumple and hide when things got too much. Had Gale not chosen to move forward, she certainly wouldn't have. She would have hung like a necklace on him and continued to tease and touch and speak and hum and sing until he either grew tired of it or moved them forward; it was what she counted on, because he was steady and immutable and calm despite his namesake.
Stormy had wanted to see how much pressure he could take before he acted; and now she had a glimpse.
Her eyes fell closed, keeping the kiss sweet as she could because if she pushed too much she would break, and the flood would follow. And it was wonderful the way fireworks lighting up the night were wonderful, a burst of light and color and warmth better than she could have imagined, crackling like laughter as they fell. And oh, if they had been falling she would have never thought to stop the plummet; she would have rather burned up instead of stopping at all. She was burning anyway, at least her face was, and she hoped Gale didn't take it as a bad sign because it was the opposite, it was glee and relief and a host of other emotions suddenly rising to the surface that she could not quite handle right now, the lava from a volcano threatening to erupt.
It was better that it happened in her room. Anyone could be in London and kiss, but nobody, nobody but them could do it in her room. She had said yes to hm in his house, and she was saying yes to him in her dorm--and that was the way it should be.
Stormy was grinning like a fool when she pulled away what felt like ages later, strangely a little out of breath--her heart was beating too fast still. "Th-That...That was a really bad line, wasn't it," she commented in a higher voice than normal, turning sheepish. "The thimble line, I mean. I-I should've said something a little more romantic." But it was so terribly hard to think. "Maybe I should've gone for the halo angle again, o-or something not so childish and stupid like Peter Pan quotes--n-not that I think Peter Pan is stupid! I-I liked his movie, really, even the live action one wasn't so bad, it had nice music and a cheesy line here and there but that's the magic of it, a-and I guess you could argue maybe that's what I was going for, but I wanted it to be a little better than that, you--you deserve better than that, and I'm the one being childish and stupid here just rambling on and on when I should be saying something cool and witty and romantic, a-and I don't know--"
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Aug 12, 2013 9:01 pm
His first thought was that this had been entirely worth waiting for because it was everything and nothing that he had imagined. Not that he had spent a ridiculous amount of time imagining what it would be like to kiss Stormy Ortega but he had spent a ridiculous amount of time imagining what it would be like to kiss Stormy Ortega.
And none of those imaginings even came close to the real thing.
His other hand lifted, fingers against the side of her cheek, the hand around the back of her head sliding so that it matched the other, Gale holding her face. He could feel the warmth of her skin against his fingertips and it made him smile against her lips. He moved his arms downwards, locking them around her waist and holding her against his chest and really he didn't ever want to stop, not after feeling this explosion of fireworks and warmth and pleasure all at once.
When Stormy pulled away Gale followed her, almost instinctively, leaning forward, reluctant to let the connection drop away, but then she was talking and he was drinking in her words like water.
"It was a perfect line," he said, and he liked the way her cheeks were flushed, the way she was breathing just a little faster, the same as he was. "It was a lovely line, and it was terribly romantic and you are lovely."
He leaned forward, hands cupping her face. "You're going to owe me a lot of thimbles by the way," said Gale, grinning against her lips as he kissed her again, this time just a quick, gentle one, and really he should have known that kissing her once would mean he'd want to kiss her all the damn time and what had he gotten himself into now.
"And you're not childish, by the way. Or stupid. You're terribly wonderful and I think I'm quite taken with you."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Aug 12, 2013 9:46 pm
The second kiss had been unexpected--or expected, rather, but not so soon for whatever reason. Maybe she naturally thought strange things so that the simple ones always caught her off guard and gave her that wonderful pleasure of being pleasantly surprised. Yes, that was a good one. Remember that. Or she'd try to because she was busy being kissed.
"Was not," Stormy argued half-heartedly, because she couldn't stop grinning at how he had begun to follow her forward for that brief instant. "Aaand I can be. But it's sweet of you to tell me otherwise anyway~ Good boyfriend. Read your manual well!" Her hands unraveled from his neck, loathe to move while he held her face so kindly (and how it made her feel vulnerable!) but unable to help herself. They were touching, but suddenly they weren't touching enough.
One hand cupped his cheek, and the other rested slightly splayed against his collar. "I owe you a lot of them, huh?" She raised her brows a little, looking very amused. "And why's that, I wonder~?" She didn't wait to answer, already giggling softly at her own behavior. "So, what to do now, then? Must you go and leave me here alone?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Aug 13, 2013 8:26 pm
He was not one for public displays of affection and never had been. In fact, he was hardly one to do anything at all that would imply a loss of control, a slip of his careful and calm face. It wasn't that he was concerned about being out of control, but that had always been one of his defining characteristics - someone who was always so stable and who thought such things as displays of affection should be reserved for private.
Which meant that he could be as affectionate as he wanted because they were already in private.
"I like to think I learn fast," said Gale teasingly and slipped his hands from her face down to rest against her sides, his arms going around her to draw her close against his chest. He felt Stormy's fingers against his cheek, which made him flush a bit redder, and he smiled, absurdly pleased with how the night had gone so far.
"Well," Gale corrected. "You will owe me a lot of thimbles. Hopefully. That is," he added. "if you're willing to do what it takes to owe me said thimbles, and then I would be much obliged."
He tightened his grip a little. "Who said I was going anywhere?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Aug 13, 2013 8:44 pm
"You are fast! That's the charm of it~" And then, brought on by impulse (she was getting less and less control of them by the minute now), Stormy tilted his face to the side so she could better access his ear. "♪ Keep on whispering in my ear~ Tell me all the things that I wanna hear, 'cause it's true~♪" she half-whispered, half-sang before kissing it lightly. "♪That's what I like about you~♪"
And then she turned his head back with a gentle nudge of her hand and laughed at absolutely nothing at all.
"Aaand that's one thimble, I believe?" The hand that had been at his collar was now sandwiched between their bodies as Gale pulled her close, and almost of its own volition began to curl a small fist in his shirt. He had said he was staying but, well, why not make sure he didn't leave? It had been a long time since she had gotten to do such a motion, and the familiarity and nostalgia hit her like a brick. At least her heart was starting to calm down, if only just a little . . .
"Nevada's in the wards, so you're welcome to stay the night this time," Stormy found herself saying. "I've got a lot of pillows you could borrow, and we've got plenty of blankets too. Though, uh . . . I feel bad for giving you the floor when you gave me a whole couch."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Aug 13, 2013 8:52 pm
She was whispering - no, singing in his ear and it was making his skin tingle all over. Gale felt more butterflies in his stomach, his cheeks flushed, and his fingers tightened a little on Stormy's waist, trying to not kiss her again because really self-control.
She was seriously not making it easy.
"Three so far," said Gale, in mock seriousness. "One for the first kiss, one for the second, and one for that one just now. Though if we're actually counting from the very start, there's the one I gave you in the infirmary, and the not-really-a-kiss from before the really-a-kiss tonight, so technically you owe me five."
He felt her hand in his shirt, holding him steady, and Gale leaned his forehead against the side of Stormy's head, pressing a gentle kiss to her temple. "I'm okay with the floor," he said. "Really, I am, I just..."
He kissed her cheek and then sighed a little, burying his face in her hair. "I don't really want to leave you yet."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Aug 13, 2013 9:13 pm
Gale saw it as a grip to steady him; she saw it as a grip to quietly possess.
"Oh, we're keeping count?" she queried with a slight tilt to her head. "Let's be fair about it then: you owe me five by that logic~ I owe you, hmm . . . I kissed your hand on the cruise, your forehead at your place, your shoulder, your ear, your cheek, your nose, and your neck tonight . . ." The more she listed, the more pink she turned, until she was once again blushing at how bold she had gotten--though with quite a grin to add.
"I seem to owe you seven right now!" Stormy concluded happily, wrapping her free arm around his back while he buried his face into her hair again. "And probably a few others I'm forgetting right now . . . which I'm more than fine with; though there goes my paycheck at this rate~" she added as a tease, resting her head atop his shoulder. "Ah well . . ."
She pat his back a few times as if to comfort him. "So don't leave. Stay the night with me. I'll make you breakfast for compensation and stuff?" she offered. "Stay up or sleep in, talk with me or fall asleep right now, it doesn't matter to me so long as you stay . . . okay?" Her fingers curled slightly at his back, mimicking its sister's grip almost. "I told you I'd be clingy when you got back," Stormy told him with a soft, self-depreciating laugh. "And with you and Nevada back, it's been sort of emotional . . . I guess that's why I've been rollercoasting tonight. Sorry, by the way."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Aug 14, 2013 6:17 am
A part of him (a stupid part) was inwardly thrilled that she was clinging to him so tightly because it made him feel wanted and special and pleased and about a dozen other silly emotions that he wasn't quite used to just yet. He took one of his hands and put it on top of the hand Stormy held at his chest, curling his fingers around hers.
"Can I exchange the thimbles for more kisses?" Gale asked, leaning back to look at her with a mock deadpan expression on his face. "I think I prefer the kisses to the thimbles. It'd be a nice round circle, wouldn't it? Give a kiss, get a thimble, use thimble to get another kiss, which gives another thimble..."
He was fighting a grin and failing miserably at it. However, the playful expression softened the more she spoke, feeling Stormy's fingers curl in the back of his coat, which he was still wearing. "I'm okay with clingy," he said softly, and smiled, leaning forward to kiss her forehead. "I like to feel needed, after all."
Hesitating a moment, Gale ducked his head and kissed her again, very slowly and gently; a simple, quiet kiss not meant for anything other than just reassurance and familiarity.
"There's nothing to be sorry for," he told her, and stroked her hair, his fingers lingering in the soft strands. "Nothing at all, at least not in regards to anything with me."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Aug 14, 2013 11:18 am
Stormy took three seconds to crack and fall into a small fit of laughter at his look. "In that case, we wouldn't need five and seven and twelve and twenty--we'd only need one," she countered with a grin. "But I'd hate to have to use currency to get affection..." She'd really taken an inch and given a mile on this one, hadn't she. But Stormy didn't mind so long as he continued to use the analogy, because Gale really did seem to indulge her more than she was used to--and she didn't know what else to do except take off with it.
"You're more than needed," she said, her eyes falling briefly closed at the forehead kiss. "I think you're necessary." She didn't know what the difference was specifically at that moment, nor what prompted her to say it; there was a lot going on at once inside her that she couldn't make out with cursory glances, let alone what rushed out to try and sound meaningful.
Despite how well she had been holding herself back, Stormy still cracked just the tiniest bit at that third kiss. Her hand uncurling from his back, it moved to nudge the back of his head forward, to keep that quiet little kiss going just a bit longer, because he wasn't the only one quickly growing addicted to it. She'd forgotten the way it made her squirm with delight and anxiety and need on the inside, how the more she did it the more she wanted to drop her innocence and tackle him down for something a little more passionate: but that would have been inappropriate and amateurish, and it would have been pushing too much. as well.
And then she let her hand slip from him as he pulled away, her complexion quite pink, glad that his hand was on top of her grip at his shirt, because otherwise she wouldn't have been stabilized and kept in place. Stormy took a moment to find her words again, her heart rate up a few digits once more. "You've been spoiling me quite a bit with your patience," she noted softly, her gaze dropping. "Not just tonight, but from the beginning too. It's almost dangerous behavior."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Aug 14, 2013 10:53 pm
Necessary.
It was such a strange word, such a distinct and intense word and Gale felt everything inside of him twist and curl and flutter and swoop because it was not a word he heard on a normal basis. In fact, he could not even remember the last time he had heard anyone call him that - if ever. And that, combined with the fact that her hand was around his neck, keeping him steady, made him feel as though he was drowning and burning and living all at the same time.
His fingers tightened instinctively in her hair, on her waist, Gale not wanting to let go because letting go meant no more of this truly fascinating, wonderful, terrifying feeling he was having, and was this what it always felt like to kiss someone, or was it just from the adrenaline stemming from their first date and subsequent kiss?
He pulled away from her reluctantly, Gale shifted on the bed, resting on one elbow now. "Dangerous how?" he asked her, lightly teasing as he tugged at her hand, entwined their fingers because he wasn't about to lose contact now, he needed to be touching her somehow, in some way, even if it was just holding hands. "I like spoiling you because it feels like spoiling myself, if that makes sense."
He glanced sideways at the floor. "I should probably move down there if I'm gonna stay the night."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Aug 15, 2013 1:43 am
She could not stop the soft whine at the back of her throat when he pulled away, her grip at his shirt remaining a second longer before she let go completely. Sure, he had to eventually leave her be, but it didn't have to be now...Maybe in some other distant part of the nebulous future instead? Could they arrange that? Gale was generous to still let her hold his hand at least, which she happily took as she let her legs stretch alongside him, preceding to stay sitting up--she had a minor thrill being taller for once.
"It makes sense," Stormy replied with a nod and a soft smile, ignoring his comment about leaving her bed (ignoring the problem would make it go away, no?). "That's what I was trying to say earlier, with the moon and sun talk. Sort of. If you see happiness inside someone, happiness that you helped them get? It makes you happy too. It reflects off one another until there's rays of light everywhere..." And maybe she was the one not making sense.
She tugged Gale's hand closer to her, almost cradling it between both of hers. "Okay, maybe 'dangerous' is the wrong word, but...risky, then." Fingers sandwiched in his as the other hand capped them, sapping warmth. "I'm a...hungry sort, Gale. If I get a whiff of something I like, I don't really know when to stop unless someone tells me. Gluttony's probably my biggest sin, next to envy," she added with a self-effacing smile. "And maybe no-one's really seen that because I've done a good job of keeping it in check; stayed a good little girl until everyone thinks that's all I am. But it's so much easier to give in if someone else says it's okay..."
She trailed away, then gave a sheepish squeeze of his hand. "I'm trying to figure out how to put this," she admitted. "It's abstract and kind of hard to illustrate. But, um...Oh! Heh. I'm doing it right now: keeping you here on the bed, talking and talking and talking because you said you liked it, and now I won't stop, because if stop you'll have to go to the floor, and the floor means sleep, and the sleep means I'll have to wake up and watch you go."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Aug 15, 2013 6:47 am
He played with her fingers, curling his own around them, unwilling to let go. "A big happy circle," said Gale softly, letting out a little laugh. "I make you happy by spoiling you and in turn it makes me happy, so I spoil you more, and then it just goes around until it's one big happy sort of thing."
His heart beat a low, erratic beat, Gale looking up at Stormy from his position. He could feel the redness in his face, the way his stomach had twisted itself up in knots, and he swallowed hard, biting back the very strong urge to just drag Stormy towards him and kiss her until they both forgot how to breathe because no, he needed to not do that no.
He did, however, slowly sit up again, reaching out a hand to tenderly cradle her face, his fingers brushing against her temple, smoothing back a few stray hairs that had fallen against her cheek. "I do like it," he said quietly. "A lot. I like hearing you talk and I like holding your hand and I like kissing you - probably more than you really know, I mean, I am a teenage boy - and I like just being here with you."
Fingers trailed down the side of her neck as Gale leaned closer, resting his forehead against hers, sliding both of his hands to cup her face, his thumbs brushing against her jaw.
"What I'm trying to tell you, in an abstract, hard-to-illustrate sort of way, is that I'm a pretty hungry sort too, so I can understand it," he said, and closed his eyes briefly, focusing on somewhere other than her lips, which were about an inch or two away from his own and far too tempting. Gale leaned back a little, smiling, and slid his hands from her face, moving them instead back around her waist.
"I do have to sleep eventually, though," he added.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Aug 15, 2013 8:00 am
"'More than I can say'," Stormy quoted him quietly, the memory forever having been imprinted in her mind. And she believed it for what she thought it was: hormones talking. She knew for a fact hers were practically singing when he cupped her face like that, trilling at each brush of his fingers. "I might have an idea," she argued with a secret smile, "because I am a teenage girl~" And her imagination was, after all, quite vivid.
Yet it was strange, somehow, to hear him say he liked being around her, even after all the hand holding, the affection, the date. When the lights turned off and she was alone in her mind, she could have written it off as something to pity her, that it was still just two lonely hearts forcing a connection to ease that ache; she had gone through it once, she was no stranger to the concept of a guy saying sweet nothings. But this was Gale, she reminded herself, he was genuine and kind and a host of things her ex hadn't been. Why was she even treading this road when she knew that?
Because she liked to revisit old scars and pick at them, to feel a little bit of pain. Because she was still a creature who doubted even the most simple concepts and who still didn't understand what she had done to get someone's attention like his, and who wasn't satisfied with the answers given. She always wanted more.
Like kissing. God, she wanted to do that more, but his fingers had trailed down her neck and left goosebumps and distracted her, and then he was leaning forward and holding her face and she knew nothing except Gale, Gale and their heads together in a meeting of the minds, and the stroking sensation was surprisingly tender and evoked another soft sound from her, and her heart was beating wildly, and it was her turn to swallow hard--
--and then he was pulling away no no why was he doing that come back that wasn't fair you couldn't just do that and let her go that was a crime--
"I-I find that a little hard to believe," Stormy said, pulling back with a shaky breath. "Not when you're, um, when you're so calm all the time."
Stop talking about sleeping, we're discussing something shhhh.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Aug 15, 2013 12:02 pm
The corners of his lips twitched, Gale torn between amusement and a stupid, swooping, wonderful pleasure that she had remembered what he had said. He wanted to do everything and nothing and sixteen things and one thing and everything all at the same time and his head was all sorts of confused, filled with a myriad of different emotions and feelings that he was still so very unused to.
The world had shrunk and it was just the two of them, here, together, only he and Stormy and there was no one else, no one at all except them and the soft sounds of her unsteady breathing and the flush of color to her cheeks that made them red and the way her fingers were warm and gentle and he could hear his own heartbeat reverberating in his ears, pounding louder and louder -
It was not a matter of replacement, of trying to fill a void. He had never liked the idea that people were "incomplete" without a girlfriend or boyfriend, without a husband or wife. People were complete all on their own, and maybe somewhere they had pain, maybe their hearts ached, but they were never incomplete. Imperfect, most certainly, but Stormy did not complete him; she complemented him in a way that he had never thought possible.
" - not all the time," said Gale, slightly hoarse, his eyes fixed on Stormy's, his breathing coming out slightly faster than normal. "Most definitely not all the time."
And he was trying to stay calm right now, he was trying not to be a complete and total cad and then he thought "screw it" and he may actually have said that out loud and he leaned forward, pressing his lips against Stormy's again, firm and more determined than last time, his hands sliding up her back, fingers curling into her dress to hold her in place and holding her tightly against his chest.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Aug 15, 2013 1:20 pm
"N-No?" She had something else to say or ask or demand or whisper but she couldn't remember it; everything got lost in those gold eyes because for a few moments, for a short heart pounding nerve wracking giddy moment they were the only things there. Why was she talking again? She ought to be--
--kissing.
She practically sighed in relief against him, already winding her hands up his back and neck, for now fingers only there to keep him steady, to help her push forward and give a fraction of the passion she held back. Wasn't that will power? Knowing how much to give and when? But kissing him wasn't putting out the fire, it was fanning the flames, and she was starting to feel the heat. First date, Stormy reminded herself, just the first date. So after an impossibly long momentshe pulled away again, just a few inches this time, foreheads still pressed together as she catch her breath.
"Not bad," she teased him in a lower voice, still breathing a little fast. "If this is you calm, I wonder what out of control is~" Fingers lacing at the back of his neck, she opened one eye to look at him with a close-lipped grin. "Still tired? If you're staying here, I don't want you messing up your nice clothes...but I'm also not sure if any of my shirts'll fit."
Pause.
"You could always go shirtless~"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
