Page 73 of Seeking Stars
Ana stole a glance at Ely, taking joy out of her frown. Ana pressed her lips together not to laugh.
"Friends, then? That's good. Like with the other people you've worked with. A check in email twice a year or something like that."
"It'll probably be different. Or I hope so, anyway. None of the other documentary people kissed me or used their fingers on me 'till I saw stars, after all. Well, I kissed him, but. Same results. It kind of changed things."
Silence. It stretched for one second, two, before it broke with her friend's scream.
"What? What?! I thought you meant— but then— When?!"
Ana laughed with delight. Ely had shot those questions in rapid succession, her tone shrill. It was a minor miracle that she hadn't lost control of the car, as Ely expressed some of her shock by shaking the wheel back and forth. It echoed the movement of Ely shaking someone— Ana— by the shoulders.
"Ana María Lira Gutiérrez," Ely said. "What the hell happened?"
"I think Liam and I decided to give our rel— a potential relationship— to give this thing a chance."
"When the fuck did that happen? We talked early today and you didn't say anything!"
"Okay, first of all, we don't always talk about that stuff and rarely in detail. Second of all—" Ana began, but she got distracted by a text notification.
She checked it right away and butterflies took flight in her stomach at seeing Liam as the sender.
Liam: According to my calcs, you made it home already. Hope it was a good flight. Call later?
Ana: Yes to all :) Ely is driving me home.
Liam: Say hi from me. Did you tell her yet?
Ana: Yes. She's freaking out
Liam: good
"Was that Liam? Did he send anI miss you alreadytext? Please tell me he's cheesy."
Ana laughed. "I don't think he's that cheesy, I'm afraid. But yeah, it was him. I'll talk to him later. He says hi, by the way."
"Cute. So?" Ely insisted. "What happened? What made you change your mind?"
"A mix of things, I guess," Ana shrugged. "I was packing and we were talking. I was panicking because I was leaving and didn't want to lose him— I almost messed up, Ely, but he said he didn't think of me as a friend; that I was something else to him. Then I lost it. And did something about it."
"That you're something else to him? What does that even mean?"
"I don't know. We didn't talk much after—" Ely snickered. Ana grinned and wrinkled her nose. "It was so… he took my hand with such tenderness, like he wanted more but he wasn't going to ask for it. I couldn't lie and tell him we should be friends, not when I also wanted something different."
"So you kissed him."
Ana bit her lip, flashes of the moment going through her mind: the feeling of his lips on hers, his warm breath against her skin, the intensity in his eyes. The way he had taken the lead after she kissed him, as if he'd just been waiting for permission and knew exactly what he wanted; how to get it.
"I did."
"Oh my God, Ana. You kissed Liam McMillan."
"Do you think I shouldn't have? Do you think that maybe I should have had the actual conversation we still need to have, ask how exactly are we supposed to make this work—"
"No. All you did that month you were together was talk and it took you nowhere. Also I know how your mind works; if you'd stopped to think you'd've fallen into a trap of your own thoughts. It's what you do, isn't it? Overthink things and avoid actually doing until it's gone. So kissing is way better than words in this case. It's a clear sign of where things could go— nothing platonic. Besides, letting Liam McMillan give you an orgasm with his fingers is a good idea in every scenario."
Ana laughed. "Stop using his full name."
"I'm using it for effect. Remember when we went to seeLove, Neverin the theater?"
