Real Life.

They walk outside together, Alex’s heart beating faster then ever before. They slow as they reach their cars, parked next to each other. They stop and glance at one another, their eyes locking. Silence. Ryder is the one to speak first.
         “So….” he trails off. He pauses and averts his eyes. When he raises them, he says, “Did you want to kiss?”
         Alex was not expecting his bluntness. Her mouth went dry. In her head, she was screaming yes, but all that came out was,
         “Sure.” She started to lean toward him. He closed the gap and pressed his lips against hers. Alex couldn’t believe this was happening. How long had she dreamed about this very moment? And now, after months, it was finally here. She tried to focus on him but her mind and heart were racing. After a few minutes, they were interrupted by a drunken couple walking down the street. They laughed awkwardly.
         “Did you want to sit in my car for a little bit?” Ryder asked, looking at her.
Alex nodded and made her way to the passenger side of his car. As she climbed in she glanced at the clock on the dashboard. 3:06. Even though she had been up for almost twenty four hours, she felt energized. She didn’t feel as if this were real. She wanted to tell him exactly what she was thinking. But she knew she had to tread lightly. This was supposed to be a casual occurrence. Ryder knew how Alex felt about him. But Alex knew that Ryder didn’t want a relationship. So she settled for the next thing that came to mind. Kissing, with no strings. It wasn’t an ideal situation, but it was all she could think of. She knew that deep down, Ryder felt the same as she did. But he was scared. So Alex would just give him a nudge in the right direction.
         A familiar song came on the radio and they both sang along quietly. Alex looked at Ryder and Ryder looked back at her. He leaned in, signifying that he wanted to start again. As they kissed, Alex had one hand on the arm rest between them and the other on her lap. Without warning, she felt another hand grab hers in the middle. Ryder’s hand. He interlocked his fingers with hers. His other hand he placed below her neck, right above her chest. Right over her beating heart. This was another thing Alex wasn’t prepared for. The two had unmistakable chemistry between them and she just assumed that when the two of them kissed, it would be strictly sexual. However, there was something else. A gentle sweetness.  Like this was more to him than just a random make-out session. When their lips parted, Ryder smiled shyly at Alex and said,
         “Well, I like kissing you.” Just a simple statement. Alex laughed softly,
         “I like kissing you too.” She smiled at him, blushing. Ryder looked at the clock which now read 3:42.
         “Well, it’s late. I better get going.” Ryder said.
         “Yeah, me too.” Alex replied, wishing that this night didn’t have to end.