Chapter 53: A KISS 2

The foyer and was dark and every rooms was closed as I climbed up the stairs to my roomI reached for the light switch, the room flooding with the light a second later. My fingers froze on the switch, my body stiffening as my gaze fell on the figure sitting on my bed.

It took everything in me not to flinch and snap an artery in neck.

Frankie.

She was perched near the edge, her hands clasped tightly in her lap, her shoulders stiff. Her head tilted slightly toward the door, her eyes already locked onto mine like she’d been expecting me for hours. The room felt smaller suddenly, like the walls were closing in.

It took everything in me not to flinch.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, lowering my voice so as not to wake someone up, and I was tired, though that didn't hide the irritation creeping in.

She stood up, hesitantly. I watched her warily, my tired mind trying to decipher her intentions, was she here to threaten me again?

She ran a hand through her hair, an uncharacteristic flush creeping up her cheeks as she avoided my gaze.

“I’m sorry,” she began. “For earlier. For how I talked to you... and how I ignored you at school. Especially when I should be by your side helping with your missing —now found — phone thing and the pool incident.”

I blinked, caught off guard by her words.

What was she doing now?

“I should’ve been there,” she continued, playing with her hair. “I shouldn’t have acted like a bitch, ignoring you when you probably needed me. And I’m sorry for trying to push you to say things you didn’t want to say... and for threatening you. That wasn’t fair.”

She finally looked at me.

I stared at her like she’d just grown two heads. “Uh… okay,” I mumbled, nodding absentmindedly because I didn’t know what else to say. My brain was too fried to process the sudden change in tone. “Thanks, I guess. Look, Frankie, all I really want to do right now is go to bed because my he—”

I didn’t even get to finish.

Her lips were on mine before I could register what was happening.

My eyes slowly grew wide, my breath catching in my throat as my body froze mid-sentence. My hands reached out, barely brushing against her shoulders as if it wasn’t sure whether to push her or not.

For a second—just one second—I stood there, utterly blank. Inside my head was silent, not a sound, not a thought, and definitely not fumbling over a million questions.

I didn’t move. Couldn’t move. My hands hovered awkwardly in the air. And then, as suddenly as it started, she stop stopped.

Both our phones pinged at the same time, the sound breaking through the haze of whatever this was. Frankie pulled back, her face flushed and her lips slightly parted.

“Goodnight,” she muttered hurriedly.

Before I could say anything—hell, before I could even think—she was already at the door. It clicked shut behind her, leaving me standing there like a statue.

I blinked once. Twice.

What just happened?

Slowly, my hands dropped to my sides, it felt numb and trembling. My heart was racing, my brain scrambling to make sense of what the hell had just transpired.

Frankie kissed me.

Frankie. Kissed. Me.

Did she just kiss me?

The thought repeated in my head like a broken record as I found my way to my bed. I sat down on the edge of it, staring at the closed door as if it held the answers to the universe’s most baffling question.

What the hell was that?

It wasn’t until I caught my reflection in the mirror across the room that I realized I was still sitting there pathetically, with my lips slightly parted, my cheeks flushed.

I shook my head, trying to snap out of it.

"What are you doing"

My movements felt automatic, like my body was operating on autopilot while my brain reeled. I slipped off my shoes, one after the other, not even bothering to set them neatly by the door or the rack or in the closet like I usually did. They just clattered to the floor.

I shrugged off my blazer, letting it slide down my arms before tossing it onto the chair by my desk. My fingers fumbled with the buttons of my shirt as I made my way to the bathroom, my mind replaying what had just happened over and over like a relentless loop.

Frankie. Kissed. Me.

I didn’t even remember unzipping my skirt or stepping out of it, but by the time I reached the bathroom, I was down to just my underwear. The cool tiles against my bare feet sent a small shiver up my spine.

The mirror above the sink caught my reflection, and I froze.

My hair was a mess, my face slightly flushed, and my lips—

I reached up, hesitating for a moment before touching my bottom lip with trembling fingers.

It didn’t feel any different. Soft skin, just like always. And yet, I could still feel the electric sensation.

What the hell was that?

I pressed my fingers harder against my lips, hoping to press the feeling away. But all it did was make the memory of her warm, unexpected, confusing lips more vivid.

I shook my head violently, as if that would help me shake the thoughts away. "Get a grip, Blakely,"

I turned toward the shower, twisting the knob with more force than necessary, but wasn't ready when the freezing spray hit me full-on.

“Shit!” I yelped, scrambling to adjust the temperature. My fingers twisted the knob toward the hot setting, and steam began to rise as the water gradually warmed.

I stepped under the stream again, letting the heat wash over me, soaking my hair, and wash away the filth I've put on my skin tonight.

The water burned against my skin, and I raised my hair and let it touch my lips and wash away the evil that was committed on it —with it, then I dropped my head back down.

Frankie kissed me.