It missed him by an inch.

“Say something,” Emmaline demanded.

Lifting a dark eyebrow, the young man whirled his head to face her, his eyes bright with open amusement. Tossing the chocolate wrapper aside, he settled with, “I’m a man of very, very few words.”

A grin that surprised even himself tugged on his lips as Emmaline’s accusing glare settled on him. Her lips thinned as she folded her arms in front of her chest and fumed, “Oh alright, but I’m not in the mood for silence.” She then grumbled, mostly directed to herself, “This is getting nowhere.”

“Nowhere?” his eyes widened with surprise, Henry repeated after Emmaline, dumbfounded. ‘But we are getting somewhere’, he silently emphasised to himself. He usually was unable stay in the same room with Emmaline without arguing over menial things and swearing off her at the end of their regular discussions. They had, er…different views in regards to their methods of accomplishing their goals, even when they pointed at the same direction.

They stared at each other for a moment, before finally broke into giggles and laughter. Emmaline lost her control first, and Henry followed suit. Gasping for air, she clutched Henry’s arm for support as she was losing her balance and rolling off the bunk, “The most inane conversation I’ve ever had!” She tried to suppress her giggles, but instead, she burst into boisterous laughter, holding her aching stomach with one hand as she wiped away her tears with the other.

And then something else caught her off guard. The soft rumbles of a male’s voice – it apparently came from the back of his throat - Henry’s throat, and he was struggling to control it. He wasn’t successful, though; his effort only contributed more to his loss of control. His body was doubled over as he tried to muffle his laughter behind the damp towel that was still in his hands.

Eventually, the laughter died and the mask of seriousness took its place on his face once again. Emmaline almost sighed in disappointment but refrained from saying something. Heat warmed her face, however, when she found Henry’s eyes looking straight into hers.

Inhaling deeply, she prepared her mental for the inevitable and declared gently, “I always thought you laugh beautifully. It’s very… musical.”

She was rewarded with a small, genuine smile. “Ah, I don’t know about myself, but you, on the other hand...”

“Yes?”

“Beautiful. Your laughter.”

“Really?” Leaning forward on her knees, she braved herself to crawl closer to Henry, “Yours sounded like a chiming bell. The church’s bells.” Henry didn’t answer, but what she had seen in his heavy-lidded eyes was enough.

A soft giggle escaped her lips as Henry teasingly brushed her already dried hair aside, but she was not prepared for what Henry did next. Grabbing her waist, he pulled her down on top of him, his eyes searching as they tumbled together on top of the cosy bunk. She sucked a deep breath as she felt Henry’s lips sealing hers, brushing them with a feathery touch.

She struggled to free herself from his pinning arm, but her strength was not a match to Henry’s. Sighing in pleasure, she finally gave into her instinct and returned the kiss.

When they finally parted, she was torn between seeking for more of the heavenly drug and questioning Henry’s impulsive behaviour, but the latter won her logic. “Why did you do that?” she whispered softly, her tone dreamy.

“Remains of chocolate,” Henry told her impatiently as he dived into Emmaline’s sweet flavour for more, “Must clean it,”

Giggling at the lame reason, Emmaline decided to return his kisses, albeit tentatively at the beginning. It was her first kiss. For years, she had always dreamt of being in Henry’s arms. She had resolved to keep her first kiss for Henry alone, or at least for a man she might love, in the future. And she had always imagined it to be perfect.

However, nervousness seemed to take over her much-prided subtlety, as she finally gave into her instinct, closing her eyes tightly as she smacked Henry’s lips in a loud, short kiss. Berating herself for the error that she presumably made, she scrambled up in embarrassment.

Avoiding Henry’s eyes, she felt like burying herself alive. What a slovenly kiss! She totally forgot all things she had read and planned about kissing, and she refused to humiliate herself even further by continuing. Who knows what Henry might be thinking at the moment? She had no doubt Henry had more experience than she did.

Chewing her lower lip anxiously, she curled her fingers on her side, clenching her sweater as she turned her face away, nervously waiting for Henry to say something. However, as the sound of his husky breaths travelled to her ears, her curiosity was piqued.

It took only a whisper of her name to break her wall of defences.

“Emmaline…”