Page 24 of The Pacifist
I loved that he kept his hand behind my neck and that his nose touched mine when he asked.
“Uh-huh,” I sighed and pursed my lips again, not wanting our kissing to ever stop.
Pressing his lips against mine in another hard kiss, Jonah cupped my face, and then he sucked on my lower lip, releasing it with a pop sound.
With thousands of butterflies in my stomach, I felt sure that my seatbelt was the only thing preventing my body from lifting in the chair.
“How did it feel?” His question came as a whisper.
Despite having my eyes closed, I knew he had pulled back because I felt the loss of his closeness.
In a breathy voice, I answered, “It made me feel dizzy, like the drone was spinning or something.”
“Do you want to kiss more?”
There was no hesitation, just a quick, “Yes.”
Jonah’s lips were full and plump in the most delicious way. The way he nibbled at my lower lip and planted kisses on my upper one made me want to never stop. I moved my head and kissed him back, and when my mouth couldn’t be quiet about the wonderful feeling that was building up inside me any longer, a moan escaped from my throat.
“You okay, Mila?”
He had pulled back again, but I was reluctant to come out of the daze I was in. Kissing Jonah was everything I’d imagined times a hundred. My head was exploding with the need to tell him about the feelings I’d had for him for more than a year. But this was Jonah, who was critical about my interest in marriage every time the subject came up. He wasn’t a romantic but a coolheaded Councilman. So what if he indulged me in a kiss? It was only because he wanted to help me, and I wasn’t foolish enough to think it meant as much to him as it did to me.
Telling Jonah how I felt could be the end to our friendship, and he was too important for me to risk that.
“Mila?”
I exhaled the breath I’d been holding in. “Yes, I’m okay.”
“What about this time, did you still like it?”
My brain felt molten but I still understood that this would be a defining moment in my life. Just like moving to the Northlands and being adopted had been.
“Yeah… Yes… I liked it.” My eyes were blinking as I rambled on, “This was good. Now I won’t be so scared anymore. I mean, if this is what kissing feels like, bring it on… you know?”
Rubbing his face, Jonah moved in his seat and turned to his window. “We’re nearly there. My home is nothing much but then I don’t spend a lot of time there, and I guess that compared to the Gray Manor everything looks small.”
He had changed the subject away from our kissing and I went along with him.
“Small can be cozy.”
“True, but I’m afraid my talent for decorating a house won’t impress you.”
“Don’t worry. I love decorating and I’m good at it. If you want, I’ll be happy to help you.”
“I’ll take all the help I can get.”
The drone began descending to a rooftop in what looked to be a large city.
“Welcome to Old York. Once this was one of the busiest cities in the world. It had buildings reaching high up in the sky.”
I took in the colorful houses and the naked trees along the streets.
“It’s beautiful but very cold in the winter.” Jonah picked up my jacket from one of the empty seats and handed it to me before putting on his own jacket.
“Did you ever consider living in a warmer place?” I asked.
“Yes. Every winter. But the summers are nice here and one of the biggest restricted archives is located only ten minutes from me. I go there often to research.”
