Marked with Silence

Sapphira was on my lap. And I was loving every second of it.

It took some convincing, considering her curves and my twig legs, but she was on top of me and I could barely watch the movie in the DVD player—she was far more entertaining. I listened to her breaths, the rare giggles and awing. I almost tasted the coconut that laced her hair. I looked at her jean-covered legs, and her bare feet whenever she raised them, her bright blue toenails catching my eye. And I felt…everything. Whenever she shifted her weight, or exhaled—hot on base of my neck. Or whenever she’d rest her head I’d feel the brush of her cheek, or whenever she sighed and part of her front would melt into my side. I felt great.

And when the credits rolled I hugged her tight, her response was a light, but semi-long kiss on the middle of my jaw line.

“Did you like the movie?”

She nodded.

“So what do you want to do now?” I checked the time on my phone, “We still have about an hour, hour and a half, before my mom comes to get me.”

“Hm. I don’t know.”

“Wanna play a board game? We haven’t done that in a while.”

Sapphira shook her head and rested her face on my shoulder. “I don’t feel like moving.”

“I could go get them,” I offered.

“How about you don’t?”

I felt her lips peck the skin right underneath my chin. Then I felt her lips part before kissing the same spot. I was fairly certain that no girl had ever kissed me in that precise location before.

A goofy smile parted my lips as she continued to place open mouth kisses up the curve of my chin little by little until she reached just under my bottom lip. My eyes closed as soon as she put her mouth on mine, and when I kissed back I could taste the butter of the popcorn we had just finished eating.

Between her leaning and my pulling her in closer, it wasn’t long until I was completely lying down on my back with her entire body on top of mine.

When we broke apart her lips immediately went to my neck, and I groaned when they found that spot behind my right ear.

Sapphira rose her head to look in my eyes and giggled, “Shh, my aunt isn’t that heavy of a sleeper.”

“Ha ha.”

She cocked her head to the side, “Actually, I’m not sure she’d be upset.”

“Aren’t Asians like, really strict?”

I didn’t think she even heard my banter, “I think she’d approve. Making out on the living room couch is completely normal teenage behavior. “

I realized then that when it was just Sapphira and me, I totally forgot that she was a “problem child”. When it was just her and , it wasn’t constantly in my mind that she didn’t have an immediate family, or that she didn’t really talk to anyone else. When we were alone, we were completely normal; just two teenagers in a relationship.

She brushed my bangs out of my eyes with her thumb, “What are you thinking about?”

“You. What else?”

Sapphira hit my shoulder. “Liar.”

“Prove it,” I challenged.

But she decided to continue kissing my neck instead.