“Mmm . . .” Tiffany’s moan was low and husky and toe-curling y.

The moan teased Taeyeon’s ears and sent a warm streak down into her chest. The moan also got Taeyeon going harder, parting her lips wider to go deeper.

“OH MY GOD!”

The high-pitched exclamation had Taeyeon jumping off the bed and subsequently, crying out in pain as she landed on her injured foot.

“Are you okay?” Tiffany was beside her in an instant.

“What happened?” asked Sunny, scurrying to Taeyeon’s side in a hurry.

“You gave me a shock, that’s what,” Taeyeon grumbled and groaned as she tried to stand with Tiffany’s help. “Oww, my foot ing hurts again.”

“Holy . What happened to your foot? Why is it bandaged?”

Guilt flooded Tiffany’s expression as she raised her hand. “It’s my fault.”

“She was supposed to hold the door open for me but she closed it instead and my foot got caught,” Taeyeon interjected.

Tiffany stared at her.

Sunny nodded her head in understanding. “Don’t blame yourself. Accidents happen.”

Taeyeon shot Tiffany a look. Don’t say anything!

Tiffany’s frown indicated she didn’t like it but she didn’t say anymore, much to Taeyeon’s relief. She would explain things to Tiffany later.

“But you!” Sunny pinched Taeyeon’s elbow. “You’re not getting away with not telling me anything about hooking up with Tiffany.”

“I can’t tell you about something that hasn’t happened.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, you just ruined our first kiss.”

Sunny looked between Tiffany and her. To and fro a few times. “Should I get out of here and let you two get back to kissing?”

“Yes,” Taeyeon said without hesitation.

Tiffany’s cheeks were redder than ever but she didn’t dispute that. Sunny looked at them again for a moment. Then, she giggled.

“I’m out of here. You can kiss each other to death for all I care.”

Taeyeon waited till the door was shut before grinning at Tiffany. “Round Two?”

Tiffany sat on the bed. “I think we should have a talk first.”

“What do you wanna talk about?” Taeyeon asked as she sat beside Tiffany.

Tiffany stared at her. “There’s lots to talk about.”

“Like?”

“What’s gonna happen next? What was that kiss about?”

“What was that kiss about?” Taeyeon slumped onto her back and propped her hands under her head. “What kind of question is that?”

Tiffany turned to her. “I woke up and you kissed me without saying anything. Why did you kiss me?”

“Why did you kiss me back?”

“Would you get up and talk to me properly?”

Taeyeon sat up and looked Tiffany straight in the eyes. “I kissed you because it felt right. Then you kissed me back so I kept on kissing you. Was it wrong? Should I never kiss you again?”

 “Do you like me?”

“Isn’t it obvious?”

“Honestly?” Tiffany shook her head. “No.”

“Didn’t I make it clear enough when I explained ‘mana’ to you?”

“You said you don’t hate me. But that doesn’t mean you like me.”

“Why would I kiss you if I don’t like you?”

Tiffany shrugged. “You tell me.”

“I’m telling you I like you. I don’t know when. I don’t know how. But I like you. And that kiss was really good. I think we should date.”

“Because the kiss was good?”

Taeyeon palmed her face before throwing Tiffany a look of disbelief. “Are you seriously asking me that? Am I that shallow to you?”

“I don’t really know you that well.”

“You don’t trust me.”

“You haven’t really proven to be trustworthy.”

“But you still like me.”

Tiffany gave her the stern eye. “Your confidence is annoying.”

Taeyeon shrugged. “If you don’t like me, you wouldn’t have kissed me back.”

“Maybe I kissed you back because the kiss was good.”

With a chuckle, Taeyeon shook her head. “If you didn’t like me, you would’ve pushed me away and screamed bloody murder when I kissed you.”

“Are you serious about dating?”

Taeyeon nodded. “I would be dumb to walk away from this.”

“So what do we do next?”

Taeyeon’s grin returned. “That’s easy. We kiss.”

o|v

“What happened?”

“Your foot!”

With Taeyeon leaning on her, Tiffany repeated the story Taeyeon had told Sunny. She now understood why Taeyeon had chosen to tell a modified version of the truth. They wouldn’t have heard the end of it if the truth had gotten out. As it was, they had to deal with a ton of questions about them being together. Tiffany let Taeyeon do the talking, which meant none of the questions were given straight answers. And the questions continued raining down on them, until Taeyeon held her hand out.

“Enough,” said Taeyeon, her tone firm. “There’s nothing more to see here.”

“We’re just happy for you two,” Seo said with a smile.

“Yeah, we’ve been waiting for this moment for so long. Let us have our fun,” Sooyoung whined with a pout.

Taeyeon stared hard at her bandmates. “Can’t you see that Tiffany’s embarrassed?”

Hyo pushed Sooyoung and Seo back. “Alright, alright. Taeyeon wants to protect her girlfriend. Give them some space.”

“I’m not her girlfriend yet,” Tiffany said at last, taken aback when all eyes her. “I mean, we haven’t gone on any dates yet.”

“Yet,” Sooyoung pointed out.

“We’ll let you know when we’re girlfriends,” Tiffany promised with a smile. “But till then, let us live, please?”

“As you say, Manager,” said Hyo. Then she turned to Taeyeon. “Be good to her. Don’t bully our manager.”

Tiffany giggled as Taeyeon growled, “I’m not a bully.”

She would have loved to stay on and watch the ribbing but she had work to do. “I have to get to work. I’ll see you later.”

Taeyeon gave her a smile. “Sure.”

Tiffany grinned. What she wanted to do next would put Taeyeon in more pain but she couldn’t resist. Leaning forward, she planted a quick kiss on Taeyeon’s left cheek. “Bye,” she announced and exited the booth, leaving Taeyeon to deal with the hoots and cheers from the band members.

o|v