Ai blinked her eyes several times. The heat radiating in her face went off the charts. She wasn't sure if her heart palpitated in her chest so rapidly because of Jun's raspy and hoarse voice invading her hearing senses or because Jun declared himself as her boyfriend.
"Boyfriend..." she mumbled inaudibly to herself.
"Yes. Boyfriend," Jun tilted his head. "Do you have any doubts remaining in your mind after the kiss or should I prove it to you again? I have been quite itching to punish you for a while now."
Her mouth twitched.
"Turn towards me," he ordered.
"No."
Jun's expression turned ugly. He threatened. "Turn by yourself or..."
Ai gulped. "T-The results are going to be out, so..."
She just moved her foot by a centimeter when Jun twirled her and locked his arm around his waist. He gripped her so fiercely that would leave her no chance of running away from him. Her gaze faced his chest, but it didn't remain like that for longer when his fingers cupped her cheek and lifted it upwards, making their eyes meet.
His dark eyes that watched her with scrutiny made her hair on her skin tingle. She felt as if her heart forgot to beat. Her mind went blank. She had bravely confessed to him while she recited her story. But now facing the object of her affection in question made all her thoughts vanish like how steam dissipated in the air.
She pursed her lips. "That's why I wanted to merge with the cosmos..."
Jun slowly bent forward, forcing her to go backwards until her back bumped on the tree where she was hiding until Yating showed up.
All the memories he spent with Ai right from meeting her the first time in his past life, the first time in this second chance to this moment he held her in his arms - everything played as a slow motion movie in his mind.
The day they met, the times when he felt himself growing attracted to her, their kisses, his jealousy, the night in the swing and in Ai's apartment, his feelings that slowly but surely grew stronger and stronger as a large wave akin to a tsunami and crashing the walls and promises he built to himself - every single thing, every single emotion raided his heart once again as he peered into her beautiful light brown orbs
Jun shut his eyes for a moment and opened them again.
"You..." He sensually pressed his thumb on her chin, "Tell me once again."
Ai, who was trapped by Jun on all sides, whispered, "What should I tell you?"
"Your confession. I want to hear it once again."
With tremulous lips, she feebly protested, "It's...It's your turn to say it now."
Jun stared at her. "I gave you my answer..." his finger caressed her lower lip, making her shudder hard, "right here..."
The pace of his words he spoke was slow and agonizing that only made her heart beat faster and faster.
"But I will do it again and again no matter how many times I have to say it."
Jun pulled her head until their noses bumped and as his lips teasingly hovered over hers, he affirmed gazing straight at her with a husky voice, "I love you, Zhou Ai. I love you so damn much."
She trembled.
"I don't care now what I had promised to myself or what I was supposed to do. Love was not in my plans, but you...You came and messed up with my heart like never before," his deep voice growled. "I tried to run away from love. From you. But you didn't let me. So now, you have to take responsibility. Now..." he lightly kissed her upper lip, "you have to be mine. Only mine."
A jolt passed through her spine as his palm caressed over her back. Her ears buzzed with his sweet and passionate profession of his love. The way with which he declared that she belonged to only him felt sultry and binding that sent her heart into a frenzy.
As she heard the three golden words she yearned to listen to, she felt as if she won a treacherous battle. The tears from her eyes slid down uncontrollably, feeling extremely lighter at this moment.
p????-?0???.??? Jun narrowed his eyes and pinched her jaw. "I don't like seeing you cry. So don't dare or I will punish you!"
She stared at him and finally burst into tears.
"..."
I just said that you are not allowed to cry! Why doesn't she ever listen to me!?
Jun dangerously smiled. "Guess I need to set up some rules the way I did when you came to live in my house. First rule is that you cannot cry!"
Ai took soft gasps. "It's not my fault. I was scared...that if you don't feel the same way for me, then I will lose everything. Even our friendship which we had built. If you don't love me, then you will start distancing yourself from me. I was afraid of that happening..."
He glared at her. "How can you? Isn't it supposed to be me feeling that? I...I..." he cleared his throat, "I touched you those nights, and I...thought you would even refuse to see my face."
She blinked her teary eyes. "Why will I do that? It happened because I wanted it too. I wouldn't have let you touch me if I didn't want it. Why will I be angry at you?"
"Because I started it!"
"But-"
"Shoosh. No more logical explanation to which I cannot rebuke!"
"That's just running away from the argument and sound reasoning," Ai seriously nodded.
Jun sneered. "Miss. Zhou. I realized that sometimes you talk too much. But you know what? I have just the perfect method to stop you."
With that, he crashed his lips onto hers once again, taking her along a wave of passion and fever. His lips and tongue went deeper and deeper until the kiss poured out the compensation of all the distance they had to suffer until now.
The kiss tonight felt different. And it was because they laid everything bare in front of each other. The hidden feelings were finally out in the open, breaking all the barriers.