First Kiss
First Kiss
The sun was starting to rise as the different shades of orange and yellow began to light up the skies of Laketown. The cold breeze made me tighten my jacket around me as I folded my arms across my chest. Letting out a content sigh, I took in the peacefulness. There were only a couple things about this place that I could tolerate and that was the sunrise and a particular barrel collector.
It was an odd relationship, I thought. We had known each other for a few years and feelings started to form. Feelings that were beyond my control. He was much different than anyone I had ever met in this place; a breath of fresh air. But the more these feelings started to form, the more I convinced myself that it was only one sided.
He was a bit older than I was, but I never felt it was enough for it to be a big deal. There were other things holding me back from confessing myself to him, the main reason being his wife. It hadn’t been that long since she had died and I always felt it would be out of line if I confronted him about them. I knew he loved and cherished her a great deal, and losing her was a very difficult thing he had to endure. And I could still see that it affected him in a big way so I had decided to keep things simple and keep it all to myself.
People were now starting to come out of their homes to start their day. It wouldn’t be long now before the stress of the town took over. Hearing footsteps behind me, I tensed up and quickly turned, hoping it wasn’t the weasel Alfrid. He always liked causing trouble and creeping on people. I let out a light sigh of relief and smiled when I saw Bard approaching. ”I thought I’d find you here.” He spoke calmly, a gentle smile on his face as he sat down beside me.
"Good morning." My smile grew wider before I looked away. I didn’t want him to catch on to how happy I was being in his company. He was a smart man, sooner or later he’d figure it out and the last thing I wanted was to ruin whatever it was that we had. "You have a beautiful smile, why do you always hide it?" He leaned forward trying to get a glimpse of it, a playful smile appearing on his face. "You make me very nervous." I finally looked up at him, seeing his playful expression get serious. My smile faded quickly. I couldn’t think of anything quick enough to back it up.
"In a good way, though.." I was probably just making it worse. He was quiet and I wasn’t too sure what that meant. I hid my face for a second, kicking myself for even saying anything. After a few moments of continued silence I started to get up, feeling embarrassed that I had let something like that slip. "I’m really sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.."
He grabbed my arm to stop me, looking up at me with a quick look. ”Please don’t leave.” His tone was soft. I sat back down and looked down at the water, not able to properly face him. He leaned his hand forward and placed it under my chin to move it so I would look at him. There was a softness to his eyes that I always loved. His touch made every bad thing go away and I felt safe, and it was like we were the only two people in the world. His hand moved to my cheek and he slowly moved in and placed his lips on mine.
His lips were soft and gentle, just as I had always imagined they’d be. When he pulled away, my eyes stayed closed for a few seconds before opening them to see him looking at me, a smirk playing on his face. I caught myself thinking if that really happened or if I had imagined it. That had to have happened. It was too perfect for it to be imaginary.
"Sorry." He finally spoke, his smirk still visible. "No.. no need to apologize." My head was still up in the clouds, I wasn’t sure if I was ready to come back down. I placed my hand on his arm and leaned in again, wanting more. This could have been the start of something beautiful.
It was an odd relationship, I thought. We had known each other for a few years and feelings started to form. Feelings that were beyond my control. He was much different than anyone I had ever met in this place; a breath of fresh air. But the more these feelings started to form, the more I convinced myself that it was only one sided.
He was a bit older than I was, but I never felt it was enough for it to be a big deal. There were other things holding me back from confessing myself to him, the main reason being his wife. It hadn’t been that long since she had died and I always felt it would be out of line if I confronted him about them. I knew he loved and cherished her a great deal, and losing her was a very difficult thing he had to endure. And I could still see that it affected him in a big way so I had decided to keep things simple and keep it all to myself.
People were now starting to come out of their homes to start their day. It wouldn’t be long now before the stress of the town took over. Hearing footsteps behind me, I tensed up and quickly turned, hoping it wasn’t the weasel Alfrid. He always liked causing trouble and creeping on people. I let out a light sigh of relief and smiled when I saw Bard approaching. ”I thought I’d find you here.” He spoke calmly, a gentle smile on his face as he sat down beside me.
"Good morning." My smile grew wider before I looked away. I didn’t want him to catch on to how happy I was being in his company. He was a smart man, sooner or later he’d figure it out and the last thing I wanted was to ruin whatever it was that we had. "You have a beautiful smile, why do you always hide it?" He leaned forward trying to get a glimpse of it, a playful smile appearing on his face. "You make me very nervous." I finally looked up at him, seeing his playful expression get serious. My smile faded quickly. I couldn’t think of anything quick enough to back it up.
"In a good way, though.." I was probably just making it worse. He was quiet and I wasn’t too sure what that meant. I hid my face for a second, kicking myself for even saying anything. After a few moments of continued silence I started to get up, feeling embarrassed that I had let something like that slip. "I’m really sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.."
He grabbed my arm to stop me, looking up at me with a quick look. ”Please don’t leave.” His tone was soft. I sat back down and looked down at the water, not able to properly face him. He leaned his hand forward and placed it under my chin to move it so I would look at him. There was a softness to his eyes that I always loved. His touch made every bad thing go away and I felt safe, and it was like we were the only two people in the world. His hand moved to my cheek and he slowly moved in and placed his lips on mine.
His lips were soft and gentle, just as I had always imagined they’d be. When he pulled away, my eyes stayed closed for a few seconds before opening them to see him looking at me, a smirk playing on his face. I caught myself thinking if that really happened or if I had imagined it. That had to have happened. It was too perfect for it to be imaginary.
"Sorry." He finally spoke, his smirk still visible. "No.. no need to apologize." My head was still up in the clouds, I wasn’t sure if I was ready to come back down. I placed my hand on his arm and leaned in again, wanting more. This could have been the start of something beautiful.