We left the studio once it was finished. But I thought everything was okay between me and Gerald once we were finished the so-called scene. I still wasn’t sure if it was acting or if it had some truth in it. The sky was black, and we heard thunder in the distance. It was getting cold, and I regretted wearing a tank top. I ran my hands up and down my arms.

He gave one look at me and sighed like he was about to do was a chore. He took off his jacket and held it out to me.

I saw this and I shook my head, “I don’t need your pity. You can keep your jacket for someone who needs your real rescue.”

I sped in front of him, and searched the parking lot. I found my car and went to the side of it, but there was a boot on it. I groaned, “You can’t even park properly! I’ve had this car for three years, and I didn’t even get a parking ticket. You’re some piece of work, you know that?”

“Thanks for noticing.” He joked. A part of me was glad he lost some of the coldness towards me. “Come on, we should get going before the storm hits. I’ll get your car in the morning.” He took my arm like a gentleman and guided me along the way.

“I’m glad you’re not pissed off anymore. But I have to say, you kind of scared me back there.” I admitted.

He paused and stared at me. I bumped into him. “Ow,” I muttered tripping over my own feet.

“What do you mean it scared you?” He sounded concerned now, the Gerald I knew and was falling for…possibly.

I sighed and continued walking. “Well, you never looked at me like that before. Your eyes were dark and distant. You looked extremely mad at me, and I was afraid you wouldn’t forgive me. I am sorry though, about what I said earlier. I do trust you, at least I want to.” I said the last part quietly.

He stopped me again, but this time I caught it in time before bumping into him a second time. “I would never not forgive you.” He said taking my hand in his.

I felt myself blushing and grabbed it away. We continued walking. I stopped when we were at the fountain, the place that grew important to the both of us. We were already walking for half an hour now, and I grew tired, my legs were exhausted. “Okay, we need to stop. My legs are killing me.” I took a seat on the bench.

He looked to the sky, storm clouds were forming. “We should keep moving, the storm is getting closer.”

“Well then I guess I’m just going to have to get wet. Just give me two minutes. My feet are hurting so much, you try walking in heels on uneven ground and for thirty minutes.” I took my shoe off, and began massaging it.

He kept standing up, looking off at a distance. This was when I really wanted to be able to get inside that head of his. I had to admit, he even looked good when the cloudy moonlight rested on his perfect face.

He took a deep breath, “So about tonight, I guess we had our first kiss.” He turned and smiled at me.

I remembered it, the way his soft lips touched mine so softly. With such a small move, he made me feel so much: helpless, hypnotized and hungry for more. I touched my lips with my fingers. “I don’t think that counted as our first kiss.” I said.

He laughed at me, “I don’t think you can just choose which kiss you want to be your first. It was our first.”

I smiled, “You’re right, it was our first, but it we were acting, right? I mean we were in character, not necessarily the real Kim and Gerald, di ba?”

“Who said I wasn’t being the real Gerald?” He smiled at me.

I looked away, I knew he was in my head, and I grew accustomed to it. If he was being the real Gerald, than he asked me to be his girlfriend, ‘I’m always going to want you, Kim…I’ll be right here…All you have to say is okay. One small word, and I promise you, I’ll protect your heart my everything that I have…I’ll be yours forever,’ she remembered clearly. I said okay, so does that mean we’re together right now? I shook my head, “Okay, I’m ready, let’s go home.” I got up and walked in front of him.

He felt his eyes on me. As much as I hated to admit that I was falling for him, he made me self-conscious. Did I look okay from behind? Was my hair messed up? Was there something on my back?

“If you’re too worried, than I’ll walk in front of you,” he said, exchanging places.

I blushed again, if he heard that, what else did he hear? “Didn’t I tell you to stop listening in on my thoughts? That’s not fair, you have that advantage.” We suddenly stopped because it started, the rain. I looked up and it started pouring, with thunder rumbling and lightning striking.

He took my hand and we ran. I felt him pick me up into his arms, and he used his speed gift to race us back home, but it was ten minutes. We went the back way to ignore the guards and all the questions about being wet, and he opened the door to the pool house.

I was shivering from the cold rain drops dripping off my skin. He was soaked too, and he looked even better in the rain, was that even possible? I caught a look at myself in the mirror, and I was thankful when I saw that my make-up wasn’t running down my face. “Hold on,” he told me.

I saw him walk quickly over to the closet and he was back in a second holding a towel. He pulled it around my neck and his hands stayed by my face for longer than it should’ve been. His face was so close to mine. My heart stopped, my breath got caught in my throat, and I wanted everything for his lips to touch mine, and for real this time. I wanted it to be a kiss that was between Gerald and I, and I wanted it to be more than just a second. I wanted more than just a brush, I wanted a real kiss.

I felt his body coming closer to mine, his face leaning in. BAM! Thunder and lightning both struck at the same time. I screamed and buried my face in his shoulder, grabbing onto him.

I heard him laugh and he wrapped his arms around me, like sheltering me from the storm. It was getting pretty bad out there, with all the blistering winds. The trees looked like they’d get ripped apart from their roots. I clung onto him, feeling safe and protected. I let go of him after a few more seconds and chuckled embarrassedly. “Sorry,” I muttered.

“I guess you truly do need me,” he wiped my damp hair away from my eyes, smiling down at me. He pulled away from me, and shut the blinds, locking the door.

“What--?” I asked, but stopped, totally confused. He would never hurt me, right?

He stared at the door, and I guess he realized at what it looked like to me, “I’m not sending you back out there, even across the lawn. We’d have our own case of Mary Poppins without the umbrella.” He laughed.

I laughed, “Sorry, I just…”

“I’ll be back in a second.” He told me, passing me by, his hands brushing against mine. That tiny touch made everything in me shiver.

He was back in a second, holding a shirt. “It’s the only that I have that may look flattering on you, I know how important image is to you with being popular and all,” he handed it to me.

It was grey and long, seemed more like a long dress than a T-shirt when I held it against me. “There’s also a hair dryer there – not mine, I’d like to mention. And other towels. And under the sink are extra tooth brushes, and I guess you can use my comb if you need to.”

“How chivalrous you are,” I said walking to the bathroom.

I walked back out within a couple of minutes and when I opened the door, I saw his staring directly at me. I turned around and my jaw dropped. I saw all his muscles flexing. Even in just sweat pants, he looked good.

I heard him sit on the bed, which made me think I was safe to turn around, so when I did, I was taken by another surprise to still see him without a shirt. I walked over to the chair on the other side of the room. To keep temptation away, I had to stay away.

He stared at me. I saw his eyes run down my face to the t-shirt hanging off my body and to bare legs. I tried to pull the shirt down as low as it would go, and I heard him stifle a laugh. “Sorry, I just thought you looked good in my clothes.”

I laughed in total humiliation. “You need to stop that because I can’t possibly go any redder than I am right now.” I looked up at his smiling face.

“It’s a nice shade on you,” He commented.

“So do I get the floor?” I asked, laughing.

He shook his head, “You can have the bed, Princess Kim.”

I walked over and joined him on the covers.

We spent the most of the night talking. It surprising because there was never an awkward silence between us. We were always talking, finding different things to talk about. And from the hours of non-stop chatter, I’d say 60% of it was laughter. I never realized how funny Gerald was, cracking up jokes here and there.

I learned so much about him, and not about the whole wraith thing, but as a person. I felt my own walls begin to fall a bit, letting my guard only a tiny bit. I told him some simple things, like my dreams and the things I was afraid of. 10% of our talk was about serious stuff also, he told me how much he missed his mother and his dad. He told me about some of the hardships he went through as kid. He told me by talking to him like this would make up for not being able to read his mind.

My eyes were beginning to feel heavy, and the talking was losing its hype now. We were relaxing against the headboard. I was under the covers, and was struggling to be aware of everything. It was finally quiet after three hours of talking. We heard the rain tapping on the window and he turned off the lights. “I think I’m going to hit the sack, or in my class hit the floor. Good night,” He grabbed a pillow and hopped off the bed.

I opened my eyes as wide as it would allow me. “Don’t be ridiculous, it’s a king-sized bed. We can share,” I moved to the far side of the bed.

“Are you sure?” He asked.

“Will you just get in?” I told him.

He smiled at me, “I didn’t know you’d be that desperate to get me in your bed.”

I bit the inside of my cheek. “Yeah yeah, I don’t think your fat ego can fit in this king-sized bed. And may I remind you that this is your bed and you’re the one who asked me to stay here tonight.”

He nodded. “Sweet dreams, Kim.”

For some reason, I was wide awake now, and completely aware of how close we were laying beside each other. This wasn’t our first time, but it was under different circumstances. I could feel his body heat spread through the sheets and I wanted to close the distance between us. “Good night, Ge.” I said.

From the way it looked, I wasn’t going to get any sleep tonight, because here was guy who I was definitely attracted to, and possibly falling for just inches away from me without a shirt on. My mind was definitely going to be filled with some images; I just prayed he didn’t look into my thoughts for tonight.