Though her family were suspicious of her willingness to sleep on the sofa, Gina didn’t get unlucky until the eighth day when she headed out to see Enzo. When she grasped the doorknob and turned it, she was interrupted by a foot tapping on the floorboards. She turned slowly to see her sister staring at her, hand on her hip.

004 (1).png

“And where in the ever-loving hell are you going this late?”

Gina bit her lip and said: “Um, out.”

“Okay, let me be a bit more specific: Where are you going once you make it outside?”

“Just… going to walk around town.”

“An evening walk, huh? Can’t sleep?” When Gina nodded, she continued: “Well, I can go with you then. I can’t sleep either.”

“No!” Gina blurted before she could stop herself. “I mean… you’re not even dressed and I have to get out, like, right now, so—”

Marta laughed and shook her head, keeping up the rhythmic tapping of her foot. It sounded like thunder in the quiet house, and Gina almost told her to stop, in case she woke up their dad.

004 (2).png

“You don’t want to be seen in town with the best sister ever?” she asked. “I’m super hurt, so maybe you should explain what you’re actually doing and I’ll consider not smashing a few plates and waking our folks.”

Gina pouted. “You’re so mean.”

“Nah, I haven’t done it yet. Go on, Gina.”

She took a few seconds to say it: “I’m meeting with a guy.”

Marta’s shoulders dropped, and she sighed: “Ah, so you’re going out to do boring kissy stuff.”

“No! Or… no. Maybe not. He hasn’t kissed me yet.”

“And yet, you look like a fucking beet in the face.” She smiled wickedly, but then the corners of her mouth dropped and she rubbed the back of her neck. “Do you have to meet him in the middle of the night? I know you’re tough and all, but you’re still only sixteen and I don’t know…”

004 (3).png

Gina confirmed that it had to be at night. She had had the same thought, but when she asked Enzo, he told her his dad wouldn’t let him go out in the day. Even though it was summer, he had to do all kinds of classes and lessons with tutors, but at night he could slip out of his room window and meet her.

“Oh my fucking…” Marta covered her eyes. “Gina, there are so many reasons you shouldn’t…”

Please don’t tell daddy. Enzo’s super nice and I really, really, really want to see him.”

Her older sister tugged at her long braids and said:

“Go on then.”

“Thank you so much, Marta! You’re the best—”

Marta cut her off. “You’re only gone for, at most, two hours and you better be armed. I’m going to stay up so if something goes wrong, call me. I won’t tell dad, but if he finds out, you’re going straight under the bus, missy.”

“If they find out, I’ll say it was all my fault.”

“Because it fucking is,” she laughed. “Go on, before I regret it.”

Enzo didn’t know the town as well as her, despite living here fulltime, so he looked embarrassed when Gina asked if he knew any other places they could ‘visit’, so to speak. After a little while, he came up with a place anyway, though.

“It’s just… I don’t think we’d be breaking in or anything but maybe we could talk. That’s okay, right?” He said in a way that suggested it wasn’t a big deal, though it sounded like he wanted to talk as much as she did.

They had spent the past evenings breaking into places and practising lockpicking. That was only for less than half an hour, and then they spent the rest of their time together talking. Sometimes she told him about her family and Monte Vista. Other times he told her about his tutors and all the activities his dad had him do, like horseback riding, fencing, and playing several instruments. She had long since admitted to herself that she liked the talking most of all.

“We don’t have to break in anywhere tonight. I think talking would be nice,” she said.

The place he took her to was up a gravel path, situated on a grassy plateau overlooking Collesena. He told her it was a place where other teens liked to hang out after school and on weekends, but it was empty this late at night. It was clear right away that this was a place where the local youth gathered – beer cans, cigarette butts, and the remnants of a bonfire reminded her of her own hometown and how she spent time with her friends at home.

004 (5).png

Enzo walked her out to the edge of the platform, to the rickety old railing and she took in the scenery below. They took turns pointing out the places they had already broken into, and the one place that they had failed to get into, when she wasn’t quick enough to disable the alarm. It was incredibly lucky that they had managed to run off before anyone saw them.

Little by little, they ran out of words and instead communicated in glances, chuckles, and awkward smiles. The two hours Marta had given her were up much too soon, though for the last thirty minutes together, they had hardly shared a word.

Gina came home late, because as they said goodbye, he hugged her extra tight and, stumbling over his words, asked if it were okay that he said she was pretty. She clung to his shirt that smelled like detergent and almond soap and nodded because her word supply still hadn’t recovered.

004 (6).png

They gave up on the breaking and entering after that. They talked about the buildings they were going to visit and even looked at cars, parked outside buildings without alarms and with stupidly easy locks. It just didn’t have any appeal anymore. Instead they walked around town, fingers or arms intertwined.

It was a new experience for Gina, who had always at least been able to utter a good swear or two, but on those evenings, only few words came to her. She spoke when he asked her about home. About her life and experiences and her plans for the future. He spoke when she asked him about the same things. But always, it felt like his hand around hers said more.

The thought of kissing him always lingered at the back of her mind, but it wasn’t until nearly two weeks had passed that she saw her chance.

They lounged on the grass by a lake in one of Collesena’s parks, her head resting in his lap. His hand came up to touch her hair. The very tips of his fingers softly—so softly it could have been an accident—brushed her cheek.

004 (7).png

“You’re pretty,” he said, blushing furiously. “And really cool.”

“Do you like me?”

He touched her hair again, this time more deliberately, and nodded.

“A lot. Do you—?”

Gina sat up. “I think you’re gorgeous and I want you to kiss me.”

His mouth fell open like a fish’s and closed again. “But—that is—I couldn’t do—I mean…”

“You don’t want to?”

“Yeah, but I’m afraid I’ll do it wrong. I’ve only kissed one girl and it was pretty bad. I don’t think it’s supposed to be that wet.”

She chuckled. “All the boys I’ve kissed shoved their tongue down my throat right away and it was so bad. If you don’t do that, you’ll do fine.”

Enzo sat up next to her and moved closer so he could snake an arm around her shoulders. He was only centimetres from her, and she could smell mint on his breath. With a small chuckle she asked if he had brushed his teeth for this.

“No. Or—yes. That is… yes.”

004 (8).png

“I’ve wanted to kiss you really badly,” he said. “But I don’t know if…”

She moved in before he could babble further. Time stopped when their lips met. It was even better than she had imagined—his lips were soft and warm, his arm tightened around her, and he didn’t use any tongue until she subtly opened her mouth to let him in.

When they came up for breath, he clung to her, as though he were afraid to collapse.

004 (9).png

He whispered: “I think that was okay. Do you think it was okay?”

Gina let out a shaky breath, while her fingers traced the collar of his shirt, and said:

“That was very okay. But it’s like lockpicking: You should practise a lot to get really good at it, so it’s a good thing I’m here to teach you.”

“Yeah, you’re a good teacher.” Enzo smiled. One of his hands traced the line of her bare arm, and it sent tendrils of fire racing down her spine. “You’re so different from everyone I know. So… alive.”

She cocked her head. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t know. It’s hard to explain.”

He didn’t explain. Instead, he kissed her again. He did it with more confidence, with hands that carefully started to explore the lines of her back and came to rest on her waist. One kiss took the next, followed by more and more that made her entire body hum and her head spin. By the time they finally disentangled from each other, her lips were swollen from all the kisses and she was warm to her core.

They shared one last kiss before they said goodbye, the deepest it had been that night. It was only the thought of the coming separation that drove them, of course. And yet, in the coming years, Gina would sometimes wonder if deep down she knew that it wouldn’t just be the last one that night—but the last one, full stop.

Author’s notes: Ehehehehe. Oh man, you’re going to hate me next week :’)

Before you all pelt me with rocks, though, may I add: Gina’s comment that all the guys she’s kissed shoved their tongues down her throat? It’s… pretty auto-biographical. If you’re a guy reading this, don’t. I personally stayed with the one guy who didn’t do that. Read the mood, dudes.

I’d also like to add that if you missed it yesterday, today it’s been exactly five years since I posted my first SimLit story 🙂 I made a celebratory post yesterday about all my different stories through the years that you can check out if you like. It also has a few announcements for future projects that you might find interesting (you can always skip to that rather than read all about my embarrassing old stuff).

With that, I’ll take my leave and wish everyone a good weekend. If it’s sunny where you are, enjoy it and remember sunscreen! 🙂 I’ll see you in the next post,

Cheers!
~Louise


24 Comments

sempreviva · June 30, 2018 at 6:12 am

Awww Gina and Enzo are falling in love! <3 <3 Their kiss was so romantic, and it's clear that Gina has never done it in such an "innocent" – if I may use that word – way. I love how their relationship is forming, more talking and less breaking into buildings, hehe!
Seeing Marta was a blast! I remember I loved her style reading the OC tag, but seeing it in an actual chapter was great! 😀
I loved this chapter (and those nightime Monte Vista pictures *swoons*)! <3 <3

    NotJustaBook · June 30, 2018 at 6:19 am

    Their kiss was my favourite thing to write in such a long time <3 You're definitely right that Gina isn't very innocent at all. She's the more experienced of the two 😛
    I looove Marta <3 And I'm so glad you enjoyed her little cameo.
    Thank you so much for reading and commenting, friend <3

      sempreviva · June 30, 2018 at 6:57 am

      Aaaah, and I just now realized – reading Lila’s comment and rereading the chapter – what you wrote about their last kiss! 💔💔 (Sorry!!! My head is a total mess these days) Whyyy??
      Now I so dread the next chapter 😥 Everything was so romantic and sweet and aaagh, it all has to end?!
      (But I still loved this chapter and all your chapters no matter what ❤)

        NotJustaBook · June 30, 2018 at 11:11 am

        Don’t worry about not noticing. Literally right after seeing your comment I went back and re-read my last line and it was a convoluted mess!
        But um, yeah, like I said – you guys will hate me next week hahahahhaha 😀 Thank you, still, for your kind words <3 🙂

Lila Remonn · June 30, 2018 at 6:51 am

Awwwwwwwww! This chapter was super adorable — you wrote the whole thing so nicely. Such a tranquil mood, as with the last chapter. The way they quieted down throughout the chapter and moved naturally (and slowly) into their first kiss was lovely to read. I’m jelly of how wonderfully you wrote it. Quite clear which writers have romantic experience or not, because I can’t write romantic scenes for shit 😂
Last kiss? EXCUSE ME?! You give us this heartwarming first kiss scene and now something is going to go wrong enough that they don’t kiss again? Maybe Gina’s parents, or Enzo’s, find out and stop them from meeting up? Oh nooooo 🙁
Great chapter <3

    Lila Remonn · June 30, 2018 at 7:04 am

    Oh, I forgot to say, I loved seeing Marta! She’s got such a straightforward personality, it’s enjoyable to read. And as Sempreviva said, lovely nighttime pictures 😀

      NotJustaBook · June 30, 2018 at 11:15 am

      I can’t help but love writing Marta! 🙂 And I’m so glad you like the nighttime shots. They’re my favourites to take. Lots more of those coming, though I swear there’ll also be daytime ones, haha 😛

    NotJustaBook · June 30, 2018 at 11:14 am

    Fun fact: Boyfriend beta-read all of this, and at a few points he was like “Reminds me of our second date” and stuff like that. I’m definitely drawing on experience here, ha, ha 😛 I’m very glad you liked it <3
    And I laugh and laugh and laugh… What can I say – evil writer here 😀
    Thank you very much <3

loladiamond01 · June 30, 2018 at 11:53 am

I agree that this was a very sweet chapter. It’s apparent a lot of young people have sleep troubles – I noticed Marta has her hair in braids again, meaning she couldn’t sleep well, if I remember properly.
Yes, that line. That sounded so true I was wondering if you used your experience for that. Oh, I think my lack of romantic experience shows in my stories as well, so I’m with Lila on this one 😂 You are very good with conveying emotions and setting up the right mood.
But last kiss? OH SHOOT 😓

    NotJustaBook · June 30, 2018 at 2:05 pm

    Thank you Jowita <3 That's correct – Marta suffers from nightmares a lot and she braids her hair when she has sleepless nights 🙂
    Ha, ha, I know right?! Such bad kisses, I tell you. Like, dude, you can't tell I'm clamping my mouth shut? So clueless XD
    I am a very evil writer, as I think I've established 😛
    Thank you for reading and commenting, Jowita <3

Kymber · June 30, 2018 at 1:14 pm

Growing up with two sisters, I can feel Gina’s pain at being cornered and teased by Marta. lol

“But always, it felt like his hand around hers said more.” I. Love. That. Line.

I thought this chapter was a really sweet moment in time for these two. I’m kind of sad that it’s their last kiss? What’s up with that? :O lol

    NotJustaBook · June 30, 2018 at 2:06 pm

    He, he, he, I’m an older sister myself, so I wrote her from experience hahaha 😀
    Thank you very much <3
    Basically, you guys may or may not hate me after the next chapter. Writers are evil – let's not forget 😛
    And thank you again for reading and commenting, Kym <3

amyqueen · June 30, 2018 at 4:40 pm

Aww the sibling banter between Marta and Gina was hilarious and also extremely relatable 😆 I love Marta’s coolness, but it’s sad she’s having trouble sleeping 😕 This was such a blissful chapter, the way you described the developing relationship between Enzo and Regina was heart fluttering, and while I enjoy the lovely night time meet-ups, I’m raising an eyebrow at this guy being unable to even come out ONCE during the morning, hmmm. That aside, he’s such a sweetheart and like sempreviva I’d say innocent is the best adjective to describe him. I was on cloud nine until the last sentence there. Why did I not have a sneaking suspicion something was going to happen given how wonderfully everything was going? 😭 Great chapter, but now I’m worried, lol 😂❤️

    NotJustaBook · June 30, 2018 at 6:01 pm

    Their banter is inspired by real sibling banter, for sure 😛
    Yeah, Marta isn’t a hundred percent, but she does her best to put up a strong facade.
    Innocent is definitely a good adjective for him – sheltered is another I’d use 🙂
    I am a writer, so honestly, everyone should have realised that it wouldn’t stay so lovely and blissful, ahhaha 😛
    Thank you so much for reading and commenting <3

socallucyfan · June 30, 2018 at 10:19 pm

Awe, awkward teenage romance is the best. So adorable.
But your note at the end troubles me. I think that I am going to start preparing myself for it now so I won’t be such a wreck next week.

    NotJustaBook · July 2, 2018 at 4:47 pm

    He, he, I am a little bit evil, I’ll admit that. I’m really glad you enjoyed this, though <3 It was so nice to write!
    Thank you for reading and commenting, friend <3

      socallucyfan · July 2, 2018 at 7:45 pm

      At least you admit it, and wear your evilness with pride! 🙂

Kater Creation · September 26, 2018 at 5:07 pm

Aww!! So cute! <3 <3 <3

freja64 · October 29, 2018 at 7:08 pm

Gina is a handful! 😊

    NotJustaBook · October 29, 2018 at 7:42 pm

    You’re right about that, lol 😀

Trip · March 5, 2019 at 8:54 pm

Kissing is just picking a lock with your tongue. 😉 Congrats on these crazy kids for being a little more experienced than the average teen in all of that.

    NotJustaBook · March 5, 2019 at 9:20 pm

    Ha, ha, you’re not wrong about that! 😀

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