Part 3: Chapter 11

That evening, they split up.  Kai took off with Tao and Xiumin to see what they could find out about the Black Masks and what they’d been up to recently.  Kyungsoo left to round up the rest of the guys and gather what they needed for their New Year’s celebration.  Sohee and Luhan would have gone with them, but Sohee was too careful with the surprise.  She didn’t want Luhan to guess anything based off what the guys were getting. 

Instead, Sohee and Luhan went to his place.  Sohee was tired of spending all her time safe at home or school and needed a change of scenery.  Luhan had a moment of panic when he imaged Kris coming back and finding her there.  But he had given Luhan three weeks.  Luhan knew from experience that he wouldn’t see Kris again until that time was up.  So he agreed that his place was just as safe as hers.  And they couldn’t talk at her place if her mom was home.

“You sure you won’t tell me where we’re going or what we’re doing tonight?”  Luhan asked with a grin as he sat in the armchair by the window.  He was really curious now, but the truth was he was willing to wait for any surprise that put a smile like that on Sohee’s face. 

Sohee smiled back.  She sat on the edge of his bed, close enough to lean her elbow on the rod iron footboard.  “Nothing you need to worry about,” she said in a way that made Luhan wonder if he should be worried.  “It’s just tradition for us to spend New Year’s together.”  The smile slipped from her face as she thought about how their tradition had started.

“Sohee?” Luhan asked.  He leaned forward and closely watched her face.  “What’s wrong?”

There was so much wrong, was Sohee’s first thought.  There were so many worries she wanted to voice, so much she wanted to say, so many questions to ask.  But what she ended up saying was, “I kissed Kai yesterday.”

Luhan paused for a second.  He’s eyes shifted away and he tilted his head as he took in that information.  The news stirred up too many mixed emotions for him to identify anything solid.  “Okay,” he finally said.  “I noticed you guys acted a little differently together earlier today.  Haven’t you done that before?”

Sohee blushed but shook her head.  “Our relationship has never really had a label.  We’ve been best friends forever, but I guess I’ve always been in love with him too.  But now that we’re older, moving toward a more… physical relationship… it’s confusing.”

“What was it like?  Kissing Kai?”  Luhan asked, surprised he actually wanted to know the answer.  He rested his forearms on his thighs in a more comfortable position. 

“You want to know what it’s like kissing Kai?”

“I want to know what it was like for you.”  There was a distinction there but Luhan wasn’t sure he could clarify it. 

But Sohee went with it.  “It was like…  I didn’t realize how long I’ve wanted him to kiss me until he did.  I mean, I’ve thought about what it would be like, but didn’t realize just how good until he did.”

Luhan smiled, watching the blush pink her cheek and her lips curve in a self-satisfied little smile.  “Tell me about it.”

“Well, he was gentle at first.  But it didn’t stay that way for more than two seconds.  He kept his hands wrapped around my arms.  But I felt that touch tingle down to my toes.  I got dizzy,” she said with a giggle.  “All the new sensations flowing through me.  Kai had to stop the kiss to remind me to breath.”  She blushed again. 

She was running a finger over her bottom lip as she remembered the kiss.  Luhan wasn’t sure she even knew she was doing it.  But he was sure he was thinking about his own lips following the path her finger now traced. 

“It kept me up last nig