Deeper

She led me up the stairs.

She's freaking leading me up the stairs.

Calm down, Soo Ha, he had to tell himself.

Physically he was still an excitable puppy.

From the kisses, hot and sweet, they had shared on the stairs.

I shall never take you for granted ever again, dear staircase, he thought silently as he smiled goodbye at his new favourite feature of Hye Sung’s apartment.

He quickly followed the latter into the house, where they both came to a halting stop at the threshold.

Unsure of what to do next.

"Uhm…are you hungry?" Hye Sung asked, hesitantly.

"Eh…not really. You?"

"Nope."

She looked around like a trapped deer, and then focus downwards at her feet.

Tick tock, tick tock.

The ticking of the clock was almost deafening to Soo Ha.

Embarrassingly, he could feel his palm started to sweat.

In hers.

He quickly pulled it away and rubbed them down his pants self-consciously.

Pulling down his bag pack as he did so.

Oh no, what? 

He saw her eyes giving away her uncertainty.

He smiled and put his palms up to face her.

"Sweaty palms," Soo Ha smiled. "You make me nervous."

She laughed, again uncertainly, her eyes darting wildly around the room.

Nope, Soo Ha thought. I’m not letting her retreat into her emotional shell again, nor find a possible escape.

He reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, prompting her look up.

I'm not sure what to do, her eyes conveyed.

“I do,” he replied, smiling softly.

He proceeded to bend down and pick her up bridal style.

He carried her to the sofa and sat down, cuddling her on his lap.

Her hands, that were earlier put around his neck to maintain her balance, remained there.

Both of them looking at each other like bashful teenagers.

Of course, Soo Ha, who has just left teenage-dom a year before, would have more practice.

"Are you ok?"

"Eh," she asked, cocking her head in question. "Why wouldn’t I be?"

"You were thinking while we kissed earlier," he answered.

She laughed and transmitted her thought, wrinkling her nose.

I was just thinking which angle of your kiss was more delicious.

"Liar," but he grinned just the same.

"I am," Hye Sung concurred.

"You ok, then?"

"I am now," she smiled, cupping his cheeks in her hands. "I love you and I was so happy to realise just how much."

He smiled.

Touched at her words.

He could not find a proper rebuttle.

Because her eyes professed an even deeper declaration of her love than mere words could.

And that made him beyond happy.

Again he gave her an eskimo kiss, touching the tips of their noses, before rubbing them side to side.

He suddenly realised how much he enjoyed that intimacy.

"I suppose they do it to keep their noses warm, " he suddenly said.

"Eh?" She pulled away, surprised at his unexpected remark.

"I like rubbing noses with you," he smiled. “We should do it more often. Not just to keep our noses warm, like the Eskimos do. But just do it just for the sheer fun of it."

She laughed at the weird remark.

"Are you for real?" She asked.

"Wei? Do you think I'm some kind of a figment of your imagination?"

"Seeing how perfect you are, you could very well be," she said albeit a little sadly, folding her hands on her lap.

And he was completely attuned to that fact.

"Well, I'm very much real," he assured her, holding her tight. "And far from perfect."

"To me you are," she rested her cheek on his head.

Sensing again her mood swing, he kept silent for a while, simply letting her hold on to him.

"I'm scared," she finally admitted.

"I know," he leaned up to place a kiss on her cheek. "And as long as we love each other this much, we will remain being scared."

She looked at him quizzically, not sure of his meaning.

"We will always be scared," he begun explaining. "Scared that we will break up; or for one of us to leave for the office and not come back; or of losing this intense feeling we have for each other. We will always remain scared."

She stared at him, amazed at his astuteness of her feelings.

She did not think that it was in her eyes for him to read.

He smiled at her thoughts.

"No, I didn't read your mind," he answered her. "Those were my fears that I spoke of. And because we love each other that much, they are very much your fears too."

Her tears fell, at the stab of feelings his words left her.

Not in pain or pleasure, rather of the pure recognition of the deep bond they shared.

"But you know what ..." he started.

"I know," she finished for him. "We must not let those fears get in our way of living. And from being with each other."

He smiled, and kisses her fully on the lips.

"You're one smart cookie, you know?" he smiled again. "Are you spoken for?"

In fact, he could not stop smiling, ever since he got back.

Unable to get his lips to spread wide in pure happiness.

Unless when his lips were busy with other assignments.

"Just make sure though," he said. "If ever you want to leave me for whatever reason, to do so before you reach 50."

"Mwo? Why?" her eyes wide in alarm.

"Cos it'll be easy for me to find another woman at the height of my virile 40s," he snorted.

Shoot, she thought, he read my mind again.

"Yup, I did. And I'm telling you again," he scolded her. "If you ever have it in your mind that you are too old for me again, I swear to God that I will date the first 40 year old I see on the street!"

She laughed out loud at his adamant voice, knowing that as much as she was insecure with being older than Soo Ha, he was at times insecure with the fact that he was much younger.

She cuddled him in her arms to placate him.

Counting her blessings that she was able to enjoy these special moments with him.

She gathered his head in her arms and pulling it to rest on her commendable bosoms.

Soo Ha was pretty sure she was not aware the havoc she created to his libido with that action, but too was contented to stay that way, until he felt the beginnings of his stomach rumbling.

"You're hungry now?" Hye Sung laughed softly.

"Erm..." he nodded, again pleased with where his head was resting. "Are you not working today?"

"No, I called in sick."

"Really?" He asked in surprise, looking up at her, knowing Hye Sung was never one to shirk work. "Why?"

"Just because..."

"You were worried about me?"

She narrowed her and mentally told him to watch it.

Soo Ha simply grinned at the silent threat, proceeding instead to nibble her ears.

"I'm hungry," he announced, cautiously placing his palm on her knee and started to caress the back of it.

"You wanna get food?" she whispered, her eyes fluttering at Soo Ha's actions.

"Uhum, shall we?" he continued to pull her up more snugly against him, his hand already leaving the sweet spot behind her knee to start caressing her thigh, making a mental note to compliment her on her cute outfit later.

"Ok..."

"So, what would like to do?" He whispered, still paying lavish attention to her lobe. "Wanna go out for a date?"

"Would we be able to do this?" She whimpered, her hands playing with his nape.

He grinned at her question.

"Uh.. Probably not."

"Ok, we'll stay in, then," she answered, her hands moving from his nape to the side of his neck, warming them in the folds of his collar.

He grinned and gave a quick kiss.

Before pulling her to lie on top of him as he threw himself across the sofa.

All thoughts of food dissipated into thin air.

Fin.