The couple burst into the apartment, all shaking hands and heavy breaths and stumbling. They make it into the bedroom, falling onto the bed in a way that is both clumsy and carefully choreographed. The camera pans to a shot of the woman's hands gripping her bedsheets and then the scene ends.
I am both aware of this and aware of you, beside me, so close that I barely have to move my hand to touch you. A glance out of the corner of my eye tells me that you're watching the screen attentively.
It now shows the couple sat in a booth together at a diner, sharing a stack of pancakes. They lean across the table and kiss each other quickly.
Another glance to my left. This time you're looking at me. Your face flickers in the changing light coming from the screen. I bite down on my bottom lip; the temptation to bridge the distance between us is overwhelming. In the last two days, since I told you that I'm falling in love with you, this temptation has become increasingly difficult to resist.
In the background, I hear the female character say "I love you" as my head tilts towards yours. I see you do the same before my eyes flutter shut and this time, when our lips brush gingerly, I let them. The kiss is soft and short; my first thought when its over is that wasn't long enough.
My eyes meet yours when I open them. The film is forgotten as we hold each others gaze for a moment that seems to stretch out infinitely. Then, at the same time, as though it was silently communicated, we kiss again. This time it's slower, more drawn out, as I finally kiss you the way I've been longing to since the party. Your lips are softer than I imagined and they taste like your toffee popcorn.
I'm vaguely aware that we're in public but the film we're supposed to be watching and the people sat around us are pushed to the back of my mind as I kiss you. My hands have made their way to the back of your neck, drawing you closer. It's like we're making up for lost time over the last few months, like we'll never stop kissing at all.
But, of course, we eventually do, as the credits start rolling and the lights begin to come up. In the rising light I see that your cheeks are flushed and you're grinning in a way that makes my butterflies surge in my stomach.
"God," you say at last, voice raspier than usual. "I think I might be falling in love with you, too."
