The Baby Bet

Chapter 22: The Kiss

Their lips met, and a thousand anxieties exploded in Grace's head.

(This is stupid. Oh god what is he going to say? What if he reacts badly? What if he laughs? What if he tells everyone? What if–)

Pearce returned the kiss, leaning into it, reaching up to cup the back of Grace's head with his hand. They embraced on the couch, bodies pressed against one another, making the kiss last. Once they pulled apart, once they broke the spell, they'd have to talk about this, but for as long as their lips touched–

Click.

The front door lock turned, and the two of them broke apart like a pair of magnets with opposed fields. With a whole pillow's worth of spare bulk crammed between her legs, Grace nearly toppled off the couch, while Pearce sat up so straight he looked like he belonged in a prep school.

The door opened, and Melody waltzed in, some girl on her arm. "Hiii," she said, drawing out the greeting. "This is Nina."

Nina put a hand to her mouth, tittering. "You must be Grace! Why're you wearing that?"

Grace's eyes widened, but before she could explain, Nina's titters broke into giggles.

"I'm just joking," she explained. "Melody told me about the bet."

Grace was so flustered she didn't even remember to blush, she just nodded, trying to explain what they were doing that didn't involve lip contact. "Yeah, I–this is Pearce. We were just sitting here–um, we were going to watch TV, that is."

"We were going to watch a movie," Melody said. "Were you turned on?"

"Wh-what?" Grace asked, her eyes widening.

"What were you going to turn on?" Melody repeated. "Or were you just planning on watching 'something'?"

"Oh, whatever," Pearce said, underlining Grace's comments with his own defense. "We weren't doing anything in particular. Just sitting here. Thinking about TV."

"We'll give you two privacy," Grace added. "So you can watch the movie together."

"It's okay," Nina added in a soft voice. "There's room on the couch, we can share. Have you watched Redline?"

Grace shook her head. And, stupidly, said, "I've been meaning to check it out."

"Then scoot over!"

And that's how she ended up pressed right up against Pearce, the two of them so close she could feel his pulse, utterly unable to talk about what had just happened.

Grace should've just excused herself. Said, 'I have work to go do', or invented some other excuse, but paranoia told her that if she said that, Melody would know what was up. Maybe Pearce could come up with something better–but as every moment passed, the awkwardness of coming up with a reason to leave grew, and by the time Nina had queued up the movie on their TV, Grace felt utterly trapped.

She tried to communicate with Pearce via anxious glances, but if he got her messages, his replies didn't translate.

(Is he–does he like me?) she thought. (Why did I do that? What does this mean for us?)

Pearce sat stiffly next to her, trying to keep to himself, but as Nina and Melody spread out on the couch, that became increasingly difficult. Grace couldn't close her legs on account of the waddle-inducing onesie she'd been zipped into, and she couldn't help but be acutely aware of every point where she found herself touching Pearce, her leg against his, their arms touching, their fingers brushing against each other...

An eternity passed. Every second, a thousand questions rolled through her mind. Every second, she feared Pearce might say something stupid and reveal what they'd done. Moments stretched on into an endless stream where time had no hold or meaning.