"Whoa, hold up there, Alex!" Steve exclaimed, grinning mischievously. "Words on the street is you kissed Deliah on the resort trip. Can you confirm or deny?"
Joe, always the dramatic one, leapt up and raced over to join the group. "You what?! And you didn't even tell me?!" he exclaimed, waving his long legs around.
David, in the midst of raiding Alex's fridge, heard the commotion and hurried down to join the fray. Meanwhile, Philip burst out of his room upon hearing the word "kiss" and demanded a repeat of the juicy details.
Before long, the whole gang of Aerospace boys was gathered around poor Alex, who felt like he was being smothered by a pack of overexcited puppies. He shot Steve a look of annoyance, but Steve just shrugged and pointed the blame at Brad. "Hey man, don't look at me," Steve protested. "I heard it from someone else!"
"Ugh, bro!" Alex groaned, tossing a pillow at Brad in frustration.
Brad looked bewildered as he ducked and blinked. "Wait, what? You didn't kiss her?" he asked, his confusion palpable. "But you were the one who kept asking me all those questions about kissing, like how it feels and when people get the urge to do it."
Henry wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "Ooh, sounds like someone's in love!"
Ignoring him, Brad pressed on. "And you even said you were going to make her happy. I thought you were going to kiss her for sure!"
Philip was intrigued. "So, Alex, how did it feel when you finally kissed someone?"
Joe was feeling left out. "Seriously, man? You didn't even tell me? I thought we were best friends!" He stuck out his tongue and crossed his arms in a huff.
Alex couldn't help but roll his eyes at the chaos unfolding in front of him. With a heavy sigh, he grabbed a stool and climbed on top of it, towering above the group. "WILL YOU GUYS JUST SHUT UP?" he hollered, hoping to grab their attention. To his relief, all six pairs of lips abruptly stopped moving.
"Thank you," he muttered under his breath. "Now, if you all listen to me, I DID NOT kiss Deliah on the lips that night."
"You didn't? Aww!" Steve pouted, clearly disappointed.
"I did, however, kiss her on the cheek," Alex explained. "I really, really tried to move towards her lips, but there seemed to be a force that repelled me away from them. I'm not kidding. So I kissed her cheek instead."
Henry raised a skeptical brow. "You do know it sounds ridiculous, right?"
Alex nodded. "Yes, I do. But trust me, there was something there. I just couldn't do it. I don't know why, and no, I am not gay before you say anything," he added, shooting a pointed look at Joe, who had opened his mouth to speak. Joe huffed and promptly shut it.
Alex hesitated for a moment before finally voicing his thoughts. "I just...it didn't feel right," he said, looking at his friends. Brad remained silent, absorbing everything, while David scratched his head in confusion. "But if it didn't feel right, why did you even ask Brad about it? It's clear you want to kiss her. Maybe there's just something holding you back," David prodded.
Alex ran his fingers through his hair, looking sheepish. "Well, Sarah talked to me about why I haven't kissed Deliah and she seemed really concerned about it. So I thought maybe it was the right thing to do. But when it came down to it, I just couldn't do it."
Steve let out a scoff. "Wow, you even need her sister to push you to make a move? You suck, man."
Alex pouted. "Yeah, yeah. Can we just drop it for now? I have an essay to write, so can you all please stay clear from my room and go hang out in the living room?" With that, he made his way to his room, leaving his friends to chatter amongst themselves in the living room.
Brad's gaze lingered on Alex as the other boys resumed their activities, but Brad remained fixated. Alex shut his door and got to work on his essay, and Brad couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. "No way," he muttered to himself, trying to dismiss his suspicions. "I must be imagining things."
**********
"I'm sorry," Alex apologized to Deliah.
"Don't worry about it, honey," Deliah reassured him with a smile. "I've been taking the bus for ages, a day without your Audi won't kill me." She chuckled at her own joke.
Alex scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "I'm actually going to be staying late at school for the next couple of weeks," he told her. "Did your sister tell you about the Newsletter Editor position?"
Deliah nodded, grinning. "Yeah, she did!"
"She even mentioned the bet, so you better watch out, honey. When Sissy wins, I'll be on her side too!"
Alex couldn't help but chuckle at Deliah's teasing. "Well, I guess I better make sure I win then," he said with a grin.
Deliah made a face at him and giggled. "You're not going to win, Sarah is going to," she teased, prompting Alex to playfully push her forehead. "You're not very supportive," he teased back.
Deliah simply grinned and stood firm in her principles. "Family over boyfriends, honey," she said. "But don't worry, I'll be just fine without you sending me home. I'll go shopping with Iris and Yvonne today." With a cheerful wave, she darted off.
Alex watched her go before turning to head to the library, where he was meant to meet Sarah. "Good luck with the essay, Alex honey!" Deliah called out, leaving him to wonder if luck would really be enough to get him through this.
**********
He found Sarah already buried in a stack of books when he arrived at the library.
Alex approached the small table meant for four and couldn't help but notice that it was almost entirely occupied by Sarah and her piles of books. Undeterred, he took a seat directly across from her, propping his chin up with one hand and resting his elbow on the table. As he watched her, he realized just how stunning she was. Of course, he had suspected as much even before seeing her without her glasses, but now he knew for sure.
Despite her external appearance, Alex had always felt that Sarah was beautiful on the inside. Her kind heart and genuine personality made her the most beautiful girl in his eyes, no matter what her physical features looked like.
Alex gazed at her, mesmerized by the way her lips formed a firm line and her eyes scanned the book, occasionally biting her lips and furrowing her brows. To him, this girl was perfect not because she was flawless, but because of her imperfections. Even her flaws were beautiful, making her perfect in his eyes.
As he watched her, he couldn't ignore the irony of it all, but he couldn't deny that she was beautiful. Suddenly, she noticed him and slammed one of the books down, visibly startled. "When did you get here?" she whispered in confusion.
"Seven hours, fifteen minutes and twenty-two seconds," Alex replied, his eyes still fixed on her.
Sarah stared at him for a few moments before realizing he was joking. "Jerk," she whispered, wrinkling her nose at him.
With a soft chuckle, Alex picked up the book that Sarah had just put down. "Wow, you've been here a while, haven't you? You're about to clean out the whole library," he teased, eyeing the stack of books she had gathered.
"What?" Sarah huffed, her frustration palpable. "I need them for the essay."
Leaning forward, Alex gently pressed his forehead against hers, mirroring a move he had just made with Deliah. But the energy was completely different this time around. "You're really determined to win, aren't you?" he murmured, admiring Sarah's tenacity.
"Even if I didn't have the bet and Ian McEwan, I'd still want this," Sarah replied, her voice soft and sincere. Alex could tell she meant every word.
She looked up at him with a small smile. "So you better work hard if you don't want me to beat you hands down," she playfully wagged her finger at him. In a moment of impulse, Alex caught her finger in his own, and the sudden urge to kiss the tips of her fingers caught him off guard.
*What the hell am I thinking?* Alex gulped, suddenly aware of his thoughts. He quickly let go of her finger and cleared his throat, trying to play it cool. "I will," he replied, leaning back in his chair with a smile.
Alex hung out with Sarah until they were the only ones left in the library, with only ten minutes until closing time. They had collected so many books that their shared table was hardly enough to hold them all.
But when Sarah suggested that they separate and take two tables to themselves for more space, Alex adamantly refused. He enjoyed being cramped together, with the books pushing them closer and the simple joy of reading together.
As a bit of a dork, Alex found happiness in the small things, like their cozy setup. He closed his book and yawned, glancing over to see Sarah's head resting on the table, glasses askew as she dozed off.
The librarian approached to remind them of the closing time, but Alex quieted her down and motioned to Sarah, asking for ten more minutes to finish up.
With a grin and a nod, she sauntered off, making sure not to click her heels too loudly. Alex turned his attention to Sarah, gently pushing her crooked glasses up before donning them himself.
He wasn't surprised to find out they were just plastic frames - Sarah's vision was perfect without them. Alex couldn't help but stare at her slumbering face, which had been invading his dreams ever since that fateful beach volleyball game where her spectacles went flying. But he kept that little tidbit to himself.
Sarah had gone out of her way to hide her face from everyone, and Alex couldn't help but feel protective of her. Holding her glasses tightly, he watched her sleep, muttering to himself, "I think I know what I'll be wishing for if I win the bet Sarah Johnson."