Lina sat on a comfy seat completely lost in her daze after what had just happened.
Reuben's expressions were tender with a smile evident on his face as he tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear that had fallen on her face as he moved her to the couch.
Right now, they were on the couch with Lina seated snugly on his lap sideways with her cheek resting on his chest.
His left hand secured her position by holding onto her slender waist while the right hand was gently massaging her scalp.
How did they end up in this position, you ask?
A minute or so earlier, Reuben had finally let go of the kiss which had definitely left Lina breathless.
However, not only did it leave her breathless and dazed it even made her legs grow weak.
Reuben, unaware of the condition of her shaky legs, released her from the Kabedon.
Her knees buckled the moment he let go of her and she rapidly slid down towards the floor.
Thanks to his quick reflexes, Reuben managed to grab onto her waist and pull her into his strong embrace.
Thus, successfully helping her avoid the embarrassment of falling due to her legs that had turned to jelly after their steaming hot kiss.
Now seated on his lap, Lina's mind wandered far away as she tried to catch her breath in quick, short gasps.
Though she was in a dazed state, she could still hear the rapid beating of his heart as her ear was pressed right where his heart was.
This caused her cheeks to heat up once again and she squirms a little in his embrace.
'Kitten needs to stop moving!' The man whose lap she was on, had closed his eyes and clenched his jaw to control his desires.
Twelve minutes… They had spent a good twelve minutes indulging in their kiss which had turned Lina's brain to mush and Reuben's worldly desires to ignite.
The 28 year old virgin had finally gotten a taste of what it feels like to desire the touch of another human being from the female gender.
This was a big achievement for him and it was all thanks to this beautiful woman who was still trying to catch her breath in his arms.
However, now that he had gotten a taste of what it feels like to break that first wall of intimacy, he was getting greedy and yearning for more.
'Calm down, Reuben! You can't scare her away by going full beast mode on her!' He chided his devious heart which wanted to pin her down once again and begin another round featuring that amazing kiss they just had.
But it would not be possible at the moment because they had to finish their talk from earlier.
Due to her sudden confession of the feelings she felt for him, Reuben had broken his own rule of 'No kissing' and went ahead to capture her lips.
Though he had just slapped himself by going against his own words, he would not have had it any other way.
The feeling of claiming her with that kiss was so strong that he listened to his instincts as a man and went ahead with what his heart wished for.
Luckily, Lina was not averse to his feelings and she even returned those feelings with equal if not even more enthusiasm.
That enthusiasm was the reason why she had gone weak in the knees and couldn't even take a step forward.
Therefore her knight in shining armor, Ruby, had the honors of carrying her princess style as he took his seat first before gingerly placing her on his lap.
Feeling her breathing going back to normal and her eyes slowly fluttering open, Reuben looked down at her and smiled before he called out her name.
"Kitten…" He whispered in his tender yet deep voice sending another round of shivers running down her spine.
Lina's ear which was on his chest felt the vibrations coming from his body when he spoke and her ears turned deep red in color.
Lifting her head from his chest which had acted as her pillow for the past few minutes, she looked up and came face-to-face with him.
"We need to talk, Kitten." He remarked and before she could even react to what he had said, he continued with his next sentence.
"Before your mind starts running in the wrong direction… No, I do not want to break up with you nor do I want you to move out of anyone's path!" He declared with complete determination which made Lina blush once again.
'He's saying this because he thinks that I jump to conclusions, doesn't he?' She narrowed her eyes at him for a second when this thought popped up in her mind.
However, even she knew that he wasn't wrong to think that way because she was known to do that.
'I really need to try and listen to everyone's side of the story before jumping to abrupt and completely random conclusions.' She nodded after deciding what aspect she needed to improve herself.
Reuben let out a low chuckle when he saw her nodding her head after she was done with whatever inner thoughts that she had just now.
Hearing his laughter, Lina raised her head and made eye contact with him once again.
She gave him an approving nod which seemed as though she had just given Reuben the permission to speak his mind.
'Why do I feel like this will be my future from now on?' He gave her an amused smile after seeing her actions.
"Kitten, do you remember what you confessed before we kissed?" He inquired with the sole purpose of hearing her say those precious words that were meant for him all over again.
Lina, the innocent little lamb, oblivious to this big bad wolf's schemes, nodded her head shyly and bit her lower lip.
'I blurted out my innermost thoughts in the heat of the moment! Now he knows exactly how I feel for him.' She cringed at how she had just vomited the things that she had planned to hide for a little longer.
She felt like pulling her hair out because now her leverage to use for the 'Make me want to date you' plan would be of no use.
'Ruby knows that I like him so he won't court me anymore! Direct plain old dating for me now!' She pouted when she realized this.
She wanted to have that full-blown courting with flowers and cute dates experience but now that was all gone because she couldn't keep her mouth shut.
Reuben had been observing her frustrated expressions and shook his head while trying to stop his laughter.
'Sometimes I can see nothing on her face whereas sometimes I can read her like an open book.' He remarked and tightened the arm that was wrapped around her waist.
Getting her attention back on him, Reuben rested his chin on her shoulder after giving her a soft peck on the cheek.
Lina smiled when she saw the cute actions he had made and couldn't stop the toothy grin that appeared on her face.
"You still haven't answered me, Kitten!" He indirectly urged her to repeat the words that she had spoken at that time.
Lina took a deep breath and held the hand that was on her waist.
Gently removing his arm that was securing her, she got up from his lap.
Reuben frowned when he felt her weight lifting off of his lap.
Her feet were still a little wobbly rendering her useless to move around too much.
So she simply took a step to the side and sat next to him on the couch.
Adjusting her body so that she was facing Reuben once again, she took his hands in hers and gazed into his eyes.
"Reuben Ming, I like you." She announced with a confident voice.
The touch of her hand was already causing butterflies to emerge in Reuben's heart and now, listening to her mellow voice calling out to him and saying that she liked him was a little too much for his virgin heart to take.
The rapid thumping that could be heard in the silent room was proof of just how excited he felt after her declaration.
Lina could see the sparkle in his dark eyes and this gave her the courage to go on.
"I thought that I liked you only as a friend but when Stacy asked me whether I already like you, I was stumped." She chuckled nervously and then took another deep breath in.
Reuben sat in absolute stillness, afraid that if he moved even an inch she would stop her speech.
"Today… In fact, before I came upstairs, I sat and thought of what your presence meant in my life." She recalled how she had come to terms with her feelings.
"I have no idea how it happened but I like you… More than just a friend." She smiled sheepishly and began to pull her hand away from his grasp.
However, Reuben did not let her go and held them even tighter.
"Then tell me why did you say you want to move out of the way when you saw us in that position?" He interrogated about the grievances in his heart.
The hurt he felt when she said those words were clearly noticeable in his voice and his face.
Lina lowered her head in guilt because she was now aware of her folly.
"I… I…" She stammered but did not know how to proceed.
Reuben sighed when he saw her remorseful face before she looked down.
Hooking his finger below her chin, he raised her head until they could see each other again.
"You like me and I like you! I think we have established that already so please don't even think about saying that ever again." He implored in a pleading voice to which all she could do was nod as she looked away.
He sighed in relief when she readily accepted his request.
Then, the little devil in Reuben's mind gave him a wicked idea causing him to smirk.
He quickly reverted to his serious face before she could catch his smirk and cleared his throat, indicating that he was about to speak again.
"Would you be willing to make the same sacrifice if it was some woman instead?" He raised his brows and the half-smile on his lips deepened.
Lina whiplashed to look into his eyes and the fierce glare in them proved just how much she was annoyed with the question he had just asked.