My heart pounded mercilessly against my chest, fluttering like the rapid wings of a hummingbird. Butterflies started in my gut, sending oddly pleasurable tingles throughout my body, from my stomach to my fingers and to my toes. Everything felt hyper-sensitive, almost as if I’d been struck by a bolt of lightning. I tried to swallow my spit, but my mouth was too dry and my throat closed too tight for me to even be able to speak.

   He was too gorgeous. Every time that I saw him it was like looking upon a fallen angel for the first time. Everything about him left me in a dazed state of awe.

   The way his hair, a dark rich mocha color, fell into equally dark and hypnotizing eyes, alight with mirth and sparked with affection. Perfectly arched brows were disappearing into the fringe of his hair. His pink lips parted in a wide, joyous grin, revealing straight and bright white teeth. A tinge of pink filled his cheeks, but whether it was from the cold, his previous laughing fit or our close proximity, I couldn’t tell.

   As I absorbed the heartening sight of Lay, tiny snowflakes began to gently fall, dusting our hair and clothing. Removing my hands from the deep pockets of my coat I stretched out my hands, palm face up and let the snow fall into my grasp, melting instantly as it made contact with my skin.

   Suddenly, warm hands curled around my frozen fingers, cradling them to an even warmer chest. Lay was staring down at me when I glanced up at him in surprise. “Ah, you are so forgetful.”

   Warmth filled my face as he bent forward to blow bursts of warm air on my chilled hands, his eyes locked on my own gaze. Taken aback at the intimate action as he stared at me with a spark of intensity, my mouth parted as my breath caught in my throat.

   “Are your hands still cold?” He whispered, his lips faintly brushing against my knuckles.

   I had just began to say his name, the tip of my tongue pressed against the back of my teeth, readying to form the first letter of his name, but the moment I felt his lips on my skin his name got caught in my throat.

   Met with his wide doe like brown eyes, I was seconds away from melting. The heat and intensity of his gaze was heart stopping.

   Stepping closer-close enough for out chests to touch-Lay gently placed both of my icy hands on either side of smooth cheeks, so I was cupping his face. While keeping a hold of my hands he bent down until our foreheads bumped. Our noses brushed and our breaths were visible puffs of air in the miniscule space between us.

   “You’re hopeless,” Lay sighed softly.

   Instantly a pout formed on my face, earning a low chuckle from the older male.

   His expression softened, brows lowering, his big eyes were half lidded and his mouth slightly curled into a small smile. One of the hands holding mine to his face dropped to grasp my chin, his thumb tracing my bottom lip.

   All of a sudden, I couldn’t breathe. Oh God, what’s happening? Why is he doing this? A combination of excitement and apprehension surged up inside of me. He was so close. Almost too close. I was stunned by Lay’s sudden actions; he’d never acted like that before.

   “I love your expressions.” He confessed, pink filling his cheeks; the warmth could be felt against my palms. Hot air blew against my face when he spoke, causing me to shiver. “Do you know what you do to me?”

   A burst of heated blood rushed to my face, burning my cheeks and ears with intensity of my blush. He had no idea what he did to my mental state. Whenever I’m around him I turn into a mass of confounding emotions which left me feeling torn.

   “Wha..” I had to dampen my dry lips before being able to get my sentence out. “What do you mean?”

   Heavy lids fell over his eyes. “How could you not know how I feel about you? At first I thought that you were just playing ignorant and that you didn’t return my feelings, but you really have no idea.”

   Behind my ribs my heart was beating erratically as his words and their meaning began to don on me.

   This is really happening.

   Silence settled over us for an agonizingly long moment before his lids lifted, revealing his captivating brown eyes filled with genuine affection. Our surroundings started to fade, everything around us disappearing until it was just the two of us and the winter’s night chill. Lay was the only thing I could see and hear and smell and his touch chased away winter’s kiss. He overloaded my senses to the point that he was my only and every thought.

   Slowly, almost hesitantly, his head dipped closed, his nose moving to brush the side of my own, his lips parting and drawing near to mine was the full focus of my mind. Nothing could distract me from my sudden all encompassing desire to kiss him. To feel his mouth pressed against mine, to be able to learn and know his taste, to let myself go and to give my heart and love to him. I craved it all with a passion so strong that he should have been able to feel it like a roaring fire against the biting cold and crystal bits of snow. With my hands still cupping his face I pressed more force into my hands and brought his mouth down to mine.

   The hand that had been grasping my chin lowered to curve around my waist, pulling me closer, holding me tight, like he couldn’t bear to let me go. Unconsciously, my thawed fingers crept into his hair, tugging softly at the silky strands. My heart was beating so hard that I thought it would surely explode at the bombardment of emotions.

   For the past year and a half I had held back, tried to forget the love I had for Lay so that I could be the best friend that I was supposed to be without my romantic feelings for him muddling things. But there we were, kissing in the snow on our way home in the middle of the sidewalk. Finally, after wishing and dreaming, I was able to act on my feelings.

   Kissing Lay was better that I had ever imagined it would be.

   If I had to describe it in less than five words I would say that it was slow, sweet and sensual. His lips were feather light and warm on mine, contrasting to the cold weather. Long lashes fluttered against my cheek just before we parted.

   With heavy eye lids I peered up at him, meeting his equally heavy lidded gaze. Our mouths were parted and we inhaled one another’s breaths while we remained in each other’s arms.

   “So beautiful,” He whispered.

   Knots twisted in my gut as I stared up at Lay, losing myself in his eyes, in the way his arms curled around me so well it was as if we had been made to fit together.

   Using the hold I had in his hair to softly, albeit quickly, pull him back down, sealing his mouth with my own.

   The second kiss was different from our first. Where the first had been soft and sweet, like a first kiss should be, the second was almost carnal. Lips parted and my mind imploded. Everything was heat, tongue and teeth with tight grips bordering on bruising. Long dexterous fingers bit into my hips, yanking me up against a broad chest and locking me in place. In response to the onslaught of sensation, one of my hands dropped from his hair to grab a handful of the back of his jacket while the other slid down to wrap around his neck, the fingers of that hand digging into his shoulder.

   Just as the kiss deepened, a gruff voice shouted, startling us.

   “Hey, knock that off you crazy kids!”

   Squeaking in embarrassment I buried my face into his chest which was shaking with his laughter. Groaning, I spoke into the fabric of his jacket. “Ah, that’s too embarrassing.”

   “Hey,” Lay said into my hair, pulling back to look me in the eye. “If it wasn’t obvious by now, I love you.”

   A warm blush filled my cheeks as I smiled shyly, letting one of my hands find his and lace our finger together. Holding his gaze I whispered, “I love you too.”