Not Following You.

"You walk fast." Paolo breathed, as he caught me up halfway down the street. "I thought you were going to wait for me."
"Are you still following me?" I inquired, teasing slightly but shamelessly, fairly certain that he'd make the effort if I decided to be hard to get. I looked sideways at him, his sort-of-smile and his raised eyebrows.
"Yes." He grinned. I laughed, unsure if he was joking, and half-thankful that the darkness was hiding my blush.
"Are you going stop?" I pushed, trying to get something out of him that might just hint at what was going on in that gorgeous head of his. He stopped walking.
"No," When I didn't halt alongside him, he took two small strides and pulled me back, his hand clasped around mine. I hadn't expected him to pull me so close in such a fluid motion, and I hadn't noticed before how much taller he was. I stared up at him, his eyes dark and glittering as the sky above us.

"Are you going to stop being illusive?" He asked, his voice lower and slightly husky, causing this wave to creep over me that just about turned me into a puddle on the floor.

"I'm not being illusive..." I murmured, trying not to let my hands trace out the contours of Paolo's body. I suddenly felt like I was losing a battle I never knew I was fighting. Paolo leaned very close to me, his eyes constantly flicking over my face, my eyes, my lips...

"Stop pretending, Bess."

"I don't know what you mean, Paolo. Really." He let out a long sigh, but still leaned ever closer.

"Stop pretending to be all calm about what's happening here. Stop pretending that you haven't wanted this for as long as I have... Don't hold back anymore." He commanded.

So I didn't. I let myself fall forward against his lips. It wasn't far, because somehow while we'd been stood there, Paolo had wrapped one arm around my waist, his hand on the nape of my neck, pulled me closer and positioned his lips centimeters from mine before we'd even kissed.
Every single thought flew from my head. Paolo's kisses were gentle but urgent - everything I had envisioned and more. No matter how much I had dreamed of Paolo, I couldn't compare any of it to what was happening in the middle of that street at half twelve on a Saturday night, when it felt like we were the only people left in the world.
When I bit softly on his lower lip and pushed my hips against his, Paolo let slip a small noise against my mouth and detached himself from me. I looked up at him, perplexed. He blinked, once, twice. Then opened his mouth, and emitted the words I'd always wanted to hear in a perfect world.

"Bess... I live a few streets away. And you don't really want to go back to that party do you?"

I tried not to smile too widely and shook my head, half-giggling at the wild rate my heart was suddenly beating at.