Chapter 16:

What the hell just happened?

Even though I had regained full function of my limbs and other body parts, I still was rooted on the same spot Alex had left me. Thousand thoughts rushed into my head to rationalize the incident that just happened a few seconds ago. Was it even seconds? Perhaps a few minutes? To how much time had passed, I was not certain, disorientation filled me. It felt like I had been standing for eternity in this exact same spot since Alex left. Albeit countless thoughts flooded my brain, none of them was good enough to make me fully understand the situation, like my sense of comprehension had left me. The only information that kept repeating in my head was that Alex had kissed me, without my consent.

To what I should feel at the moment, I did not know. Perhaps it should be contempt since the young billionaire had just blatantly stole my first kiss, without him even knowing it. But at the moment my addled brain and my racing heart did not allow any of that. My body response was still focused on that unexpected kiss and I disliked it. It seemed like Alex had manipulated my limbic system giving me this excitatory state instead of my usual abhorrence for him.

Dear God. I'm screwed.

I took a deep breath to calm my thumping heart and refocused my thoughts. Ok Adie calm down. Alex just kissed you. No big deal.

I kept repeating those words like a mantra as I walked back to the gym. But no matter how many times I mentally said it, it made no difference. I still could not convince myself that it was no big deal because for me, it was a big deal. I had fantasized about my ideal first kiss for countless times and I did not expect for it to be that way, let alone with Alex.

I paced a few steps towards gym, eager to get back and deciding against going to the bathroom because right now, the last thing on my mind was my urinary tract. The incident had left me with trembling hands and palpitating heart that I could not seem to shake. When I entered the gym, the noise of the cheering crowd greeted me. Everyone was hyper and enthusiastic as the game progressed on. I made my way to Sarah and sat next to her.

"What took you so long?" she asked me but never averting her eyes from the court.

"I—uh…" I stammered not knowing what to answer. Alex's face flashed before me and my stomach did a back flip. I mentally debated whether to tell her about the kiss or otherwise. But Sarah was not in the least bit interested about my whereabouts in the last few minutes, as her eyes were still trained on the court.

"I took a walk," I replied nonchalantly. This was not entirely a lie because it was partly true; it was more of an omission. As to why I had told a fib, I didn't exactly know the reason. Perhaps I was in the denial stage; if I didn't acknowledge it then it didn't happen. Simple. But how wrong I was, that coping technique was not in the least bit helpful. Because every five minutes or so, I would remember Alex's features, his smile or the way his lips felt against mine.

"Hey, you ok?" Sarah said and turned to me. This was the first time I've noticed that she took her eyes off the court.

"Yeah," I replied and acted inconspicuous. Sarah's eyes appraised me and gave me a questioning stare.

"You sure?" she reiterated. "Because you've been touching your lips since you got back," she reasoned.

My hand immediately dropped onto my side and warning bells shot through my head. But thankfully I had a quick save "It's itchy. I think it's from my allergy. No biggie,"

"Oh, that's why they look so red," she told me.

Her reply surprised me and I said "They are?"

Sarah nodded her head in agreement. "But don't worry they don't look that red, more like the natural red, after you've finished kissing," she added and smiled at me.

Her comment almost made me fell off my chair, it was so close to the truth. "Funny they look like that," I heard myself say and gave a nervous laugh.

Then the buzzer came on indicating that the game was over. My eyes immediately focused into the scoreboard and saw the points, 73-75. We won by only two points, a tiny advantage. But I did not seem eager to celebrate our victory as the kiss had left with in a weird state.

"Hey we won!" Sarah exclaimed with delighted features and jumped up and down.

"Yeah, let's go find Jillian," I suggested and Sarah approved.

We went down to the court where Jillian was situated. Jillian was slinging her sports bag in her left shoulder when she spotted me.

"Hey," she greeted. "That was a great game, wasn't it?" she asked.

I nodded my head in agreement and Sarah said "Definitely. St. Clair was on the roll,"

"Yeah. So we're going to the victory party right?" Jillian reminded us.

"Who's the host this time?" Sarah asked curiously.

"Nate," Jillian replied with a smile and eyed me.

"I think I'll pass," I said to her and looked away determined not to meet her eyes.

"Why?" She asked incredulously, her tone surprised at my dismissal.

"I'm not even invited Jill," I reasoned. "The party is only for the athletes and cheerleaders. Last time I checked I'm neither,"

"That's nonsense," She told me. "Everybody's invited."

"I think the reason Adie doesn't want to go is that she's having an allergy," Sarah stated.

Immediately Jillian's eyes and mine turned towards her. "It's true," Sarah reinforced. "She's been touching it since she got back from the rest room. They're red too," she continued.

Jillian shot me a puzzled look crossed her arms in front of her. "Allergy huh? What did you eat?" she questioned with appraising eyes.

"Cashews," I immediately blurted out as it was the first thing that came to my mind.

"Hmmmm…" she replied doubtfully as she inspected my lips. "I have some antihistamine in my car," she told me and squinted her eyes at me.

"But Jill, I'm not even invited!" I protested.

Just then I saw a figure jogging towards the three of us, the dirty blonde hair immediately gave me a clue to who it was. A thin sheen of sweat covered his body and his hair was dishevelled but he looked charming as always, as he approached us.

"Hey Jill, Sarah, Adie," Nate greeted with a smile. "You're coming to the after game party right?" he queried eyeing the three of us.

It took me a while to formulate an answer because my mind drifted of somewhere, the kiss. I did not exactly know whether I enjoyed Alex's magic trick, did I? Thankfully Sarah answered for the three of us.

"Definitely," Sarah affirmed with a bright smile plastered in her joyous face. Her answer snapped me out from my daydream.

"See you!" Nate replied and jogged off towards the exit.

As Nate went away, Sarah bid us goodbye and went to her car. After Sarah left I felt uneasy being alone with Jillian because I knew she could see through my reasoning and my lies. Having been friends for so long, she had learned to read the cues in my face.

"Where were you? I kept looking for you in the stands." She said to me with a nonchalant voice. But I knew that her words were not so innocent. She was making me tell the whole story.

I stared at her for a while wondering if I should give in to her inquisitions or if I should keep the Alex part secret for a while. Her green eyes stared back at me waiting for my answer. Her face told me that she was dead serious in making me spill everything.

"Fine!" I said in defeat and sighed. "I am telling you the whole story,"

The look on Jillian's face was one of triumph and she smiled eagerly at me.

"I knew it," she said and studied me.

"I went out in the middle of the game to go to the bathroom and bumped into Alex," I narrated recalling what happened earlier. "I was determined to apologize to him because of what I did,"

I paused for a while not sure whether to continue or not because the kissing part was coming soon. Jillian motioned for me to continue my little story.

"So I did and then…." I paused feeling uneasy to say the words that he kissed me.

"Then….." Jillian said waiting for me to continue and eyed me intently.

"He kissed me," I said softly like a whisper, afraid that someone would hear me.

Jillian's face turned bright and a smile was strewn across her face and she laughed. I was not sure whether she heard me correctly because her reaction seemed different to what I had expected.

"Finally!" she exclaimed. "I was wondering whether when he would do that. I even thought he would not deliver," she continued.

"What?" I asked in perplexity unable to understand what she was telling me.

"He likes you Adie," she told me with a tone that said it was as obvious as the day.

"Are you serious?" I asked in horror. "He blackmailed me into becoming his maid. I don't think he likes me. He likes torturing me," I reasoned with her.

Jillian sighed. "Come on. Don't be so naïve. He would not give a damn about you if he did not actually like you. Why else would he give you attention?" she retorted.

"I don't know," I replied. "Because he likes to see me frustrated," I continued.

"Then why would he kiss you then?" she challenged, her eyes boring into me.

"Because he's playing me. He wants to mess with my head. This might be one of his elaborate schemes," I told her not backing down.

"That I don't know." She told me. "Maybe you're being paranoid," she stated with emphasis.

"No I'm not," I answered holding my ground at our conversation.

"Why is it hard to believe that Alex likes you?" she questioned her tone lined with curiosity and wilfulness.

"Because it just is," I replied not knowing how to retort her query.

Jillian finally backing down from our conversation picked up her water bottle on the floor and headed towards the exit. I followed behind her with the possibility that Alex liked me lingering in my mind.

Author's Note:

Oh hi. Yes I am still alive and back. That was just an excerpt of chapter 16 and if you want to read the whole chapter, you can read it in wattpad under the username of invisibleXangel with the same title. Oh and happy new year. Leave me some of your thoughts.