is this what love is?

7.

As I wait for Vivie and Celia outside the mall I suddenly get curious of what did Ethan save himself as in my phone.

I scroll down the list of phone numbers and finally I see it.

Ethan <3

Cute.

"Aww, what makes you blush like that?" Quickly I raise my gaze up.

"Nahh, I didn't blush, you're exaggerating", I protest, but just then Celia grabs the phone out of my hand.

"No way! That's so cute! Vivie, look", Celia pushes the phone to Vivie's face.

Vivie pushes the phone a little farther away from her face before taking a look.
"You guys are already together?"

Rolling my eyes I sigh: "No we are not. One heart at the end of his name doesn't mean anything. You two should really calm down."

"He defenitely likes you. You like him too, right, Jen?" Celia asks trying to sound serious.

I think a moment before answering. I do like being with Ethan and he's also extremely good looking... Jake pops into my mind. Dammit Jake.

"Ah... I'm not sure..."

"You are not sure!? You fell for him at first sight!"

"Yeah..., but I wanna take things slow. After Jake..."

I take a glance at my friends faces. They give me an understanding look.

"About Jake..." Vivie begins.

I get immediately nervous. They can't know, can they?

"N-nevermind, let's not talk about Jake!" Vivie quickly fixes after she notices the tension. She probably thinks Jake is still a sensitive topic to me. Well, it is... but not the way they think.

"Don't worry guys. We are no longer in contact. He hasn't tried to get to me anymore either", I lie and get relieved nods from my friends.

...

I feel someone taking a hold of my hand.
I look beside me and see Ethan smiling his warm smile.

I smile back before turning my gaze back towards the movie.

We are sitting on my white sofa with popcorns between us.

On an impulse I asked if Ethan wanted to hang out and he was free so...

On the back of my mind I still remember the responsibility of telling Ethan about Jake.
It feels like mission impossible.

"Jen."

"Hm?"

"Wanna do something fun?" Ethan asks as he pauses the movie.

"Like what?" I ask interested.

"How about 20 questions?" Ethan suggests and turns on the sofa so we are now face to face.

"Alright. Sounds good to me", I nod smiling lightly.

"Okay, I start. What kind of music do you like?"

I think for a moment. "Calming... that kind of calming pop that you can listen to while studying, you know what I mean."

Ethan chuckles, but nods like accepting my opinion.

"Hmm... cats or dogs?" This simple question will define our whole future.

"D-dogs. Maybe, I don't really know, I like both."

And he has done the mistake.

"Dogs? You can't be serious rn! Dogs over cats?" I hit him with a pillow pretending to be furious, but in reality laughing my ass off.

And Ethan laughs too as he tries to watch out for the hits of the pillow.

Suddenly I lose my balance and I fall right...

Yes. Right on top of Ethan.

Our faces are five inches away from one another and I am freezed on the spot.
Ethan seems to be frozen too.

I look straight into his brown eyes and he looks back at me without blinking.

I clear my throat. "Your turn to ask", I
say quietly, trying to get up.

Ethan, however pulls me back down.
"Let me ask then, can I kiss you?"

That got me compeletely off guard and I feel my face getting redder than ever.

"Am I supposed to answer that?" I ask trying to avoid his eyes, which is really hard since our faces are even closer than before.

"Yes. It's the idea of the game", Ethan answers slowly.

Of course I want to kiss him, but he can't just ask it like that!

Getting all my courage I turn to him and quickly I press our lips together.

It lasts for just a moment, but it makes my heart beat way too fast.

Ethan chuckles softly.
"Jen..."

"Hm?" I ask as I press our foreheads together.

Ethan is silent for a moment.
"I think I've fallen for you", he whispers, sending shivers down my spine.

It's been a long time since I've smiled this widely.

"I'm... I'm not ready yet... Is it okay?" I ask.

"It's okay... I can wait", Ethan replies.
I sense him smiling too even tho I can't see it through my closed eyes.

"Ethan..."

"Yeah?"

I remove my forehead from his and open my eyes.

"Can I... kiss you again?"

Ethan looks at me, amused.

"Yes you can", he smiles.

I realize that I'm still laying on top of him so I pull us to sitting position.

Gently I take a hold of Ethan's face and I feel him holding my waist.

It feels different from Jake's touch. Ethan holds me like I would brake if he holds too carelessly. I like it. No. I love it. It makes me feel loved, like he really cares.

Slowly I lean closer, till our lips touch.
The kiss is soft and warm.
Ethan's lips are like melted chocolate and they taste like something sweet.
Maybe vanilla.
And in this moment I know that I wanna taste them forever.