Chapter 31

I'm- I don't even know what to do. It isn't my first kiss, but it's the first time I actually like it. The first time a kiss leaves me breathless, makes my body numb but full of emotions and sensations at the same time. Savannah's taste is the first thing my brain processes, but it takes me a few seconds to actually realize what's happening. Like fuck, she's actually kissing me. Of all times, why does my brain decide to be dumb right now? Fuck.

I realize I'm also straight as a stick (please ignore the irony). Well, that's embarrassing. I soften up and lean in, grabbing the collar of her shirt and pulling her in. Now our bodies are completely touching, so the explosions are a million times stronger.

She pulls away. I'm not saying I miss kissing her already because that just sounds cheesy, but I'd be lying if I said it's not true.

She grabs my hand, intertwining her fingers with mine. She raises her arm and kisses my knuckles, smiles, then continues walking, dragging me with her. We stay in silence, thank God, because I've never ever tried not to gay panic this hard in my life.

We get to the sushi restaurant and we pick a table for two in the corner, near the window. The table is my favorite kind of table, the one with the whole in the ground with the table in it, where you sit on the floor. Okay, it isn't technically for two, but the waiter said we can take it. The place is dimly lit, between Savannah and I there are two cream colored candles and a clear vase with a red rose.

I pick up the menu and go for the usual mixed sushi plate, along with edamame and rice. The guy who showed us our way to the table, when passing by, seeing we put our menus down, quickly says that another waiter will be attending us shortly.

Soon enough, a guy in jeans, a white t-shirt and a black cooking robe, from which he extracts a pen and a notebook, appears.

"Are you ready to- oh. Hi! Savannah and...Rose, right?" Buzzcut asks.

"Hi, Josh." Savannah says in that nice voice I rarely hear her use with people.

I just nod and smile to indicate he got my name right.

"What you doing here?" I have no clue what to answer, I look at Savannah.

"Just out for dinner. I didn't know you worked here, last time I came I didn't see you."

"Oh yeah, I just started a few days ago. Finally found a job." He has a lip and eyebrow piercing, his black Latin cross earring is dangling from his right ear. He is plain but looks stylish. I will never understand how people do that. The way I never understand how most assume people with piercings and tattoos are all badass and rude, from what I got, Josh is one of the nicest people I know here in America. Probably he still would be even if you included the people I knew in Italy.

"Rose?" Savannah says. I should really stop zoning out. "What are you having?"

"Oh," my absolute genius reply. "May I have mixed sushi and a coke, please?"

"Same." Savannah says. I turn my head straight to her.

"All right, I'll come back soon with the drinks." Josh disappears with a grin.

"What's with all the 'may I please'? You sound British. In the US people don't care." She doesn't mean it in a rude way, but if I didn't know her I would have interpreted it that way. Since when do I know her?

"Can't I be polite? And what's with the ordering my exact same food?" I raise an eyebrow.

"Can't I want to try the things you like?" She raises an eyebrow too. I roll my eyes.

"He doesn't come to our school, does he?" I ask.

"I think he dropped out last year. Went through a tough period, but it looks like he's getting his head above water now."

I just nod. Oh God, what did the kiss mean? Jesus Rose, of all moments, you had to overthink this now? Not while you were walking? My timing is absolutely horrible. Nah, it's probably her usual routine. Take a girl out for dinner, kiss her, wake up in her bed the next morning.

"You okay?" She asks.

"Yeah, why?" Have I dressed up too much?

"Nothing, you zoned out. You seem to do that quite a lot, you sure everything's alright?" Maybe it's the dress. She kissed me because of the dress. It has to be the dress, right? Maybe she thought it was giving her permission or something.

"Yeah, totally fine." It's the dress.

"Yeah, not very convincing but I'll drop it for now."

"You ladies all right? Here are two cokes." Josh says, swooping in from behind me. I jump. He laughs. That was not funny.

"Sorry for the scare."

We thank him and he disappears. I swear, his movements are too subtle but flamboyant for my tastes. Yes, both things at the same time, it's hard for me to process that too.

"All right, so m'lady looks high as fuck, or tipsy, can't decide, and absolutely astonishing. Notice the Britishness in what I said." Yes, I told her about my obsession with the UK. Why do Anglo-saxon countries have long names and always abbreviate them?

"I'm pretty sure Britishness is not a word." I reply, giggling while bumping into her.

"Well, lets make it one." We really do look tipsy, maybe even drunk. We're happy. Happily drunk. No, wait, that doesn't sound right. I promise we are sober.

She smiles those kind of smiles that are more laughter than smiles. Blissed laugh-smiles. Something is definitely wrong with my brain. I'm just going to blame her for that. Though, I got to admit, she's been a gentleman and hasn't upset me too much.

We arrived to her car in the mean time. I turn around and say: "How we gonna do that?" Silly smiling. She pushes me against it, one of her legs between mine.

"We'll march to Oxford and demand they change that. Oxford's the city with the vocabulary thingy, isn't it?"

She's dangerously close. I nod.

"Good." She's even closer. Her eyes are staring at my now-burning lips. Her right hand brushes my thighs lightly and makes it's way up to my hip, pulling me closer to her, while the other one grabs the side of my neck, her thumb stroking my cheek. She puts more pressure onto my body with hers.

I can feel my brain getting clouded again, my breaths getting deeper. Hers are too. Her eyes peel off my lips and look at me direct in the eye, asking for consent. I look back at her, silently telling her to go on. She comes off me.

"Alrighty, princess. Off to our next stop!"