Emilie was out of breath by the time she made it back inside the house and up the stairs. She had just kissed Liam Westergard, and that kiss alone had been enough to do her in. Once she had pulled away from him she knew that if she stayed any longer she would just make a fool of herself.
She pressed the backs of her hands against her blazing cheeks, hoping to cool them so she wouldn’t look so flushed.
Perhaps she shouldn’t have looked for him, but he had been so easy to spot from the window in her guest room. She had looked down from the balcony and seen him pacing in the garden, looking as though he was arguing with himself in his head. It would’ve taken a fool to not have noticed how he looked at her earlier, so she could only guess he was ruminating over her.
The thought of Liam, that very enigmatic boy, thinking about her was enough to push her all the way outside in the first place. He clearly hadn’t known she had been harboring the most devout and deepest crush over him for the past decade. If he had known that, then he would’ve known there was nothing to worry about.
Well, besides Izzy, that is. He should always worry about her unless she magically decided to come around. But as far as Emilie was aware, her older sister was firmly against even the slightest flirtation between the two of them. She just hoped that Izzy hadn’t seen anything that had occurred in the garden...
“Where did you go?” She heard her sister’s voice from down the hall and Emilie was pulled out of her thoughts.
“I went for a stroll, just to stretch my legs,” Emilie replied, feeling the lie roll from her lips easier than expected. “I’ve been feeling so cooped up.”
Izzy raised a brow. “And you didn’t think to bring me along?”
Emilie hoped that this meant her sister hadn’t seen anything. “You just seemed so...tired? I didn’t want to worsen your mood--”
“I’m in a fine mood,” Izzy snapped, though she instantly seemed to regret it. “I’m sorry, I guess I’m not feeling as well as I thought. I mean, I feel fine. I just...” Her voice trailed off, lips pursing together tightly in thought.
“What is it?”
She sighed. “Let’s go downstairs,” she said, abandoning her other train of thought. “I believe cousin Elizabeth mentioned that she would be having tea with Jules and Marjie in the sitting room. Let’s see if they’re still there.”
Emilie nodded, linking arms with her sister as they made their way downstairs. She didn’t mind having tea with the ladies, especially since she had always gotten along with Juliette and Marjorie. They were well-mannered girls, even though they were quite a bit younger.
“Shouldn’t we have grabbed Bea to come with us?” Emilie asked, worried about having forgotten their youngest sister.
Izzy shook her head. “She’s already in there with them. She didn’t bother coming up to rest, she was much too excited about seeing the other girls.”
That wasn’t at all odd, especially considering the fact that their youngest sister had slept almost the entire journey to France. Bea was probably bouncing off the walls by now, especially with tea and snacks in her stomach.
It didn’t take them too long to reach the sitting room, but when the door opened and they were let inside, Emilie’s stomach dropped when she realized that it looked out onto the garden. Instead of greeting everyone, she craned her neck, attempting to see if it would have been possible to be able to catch a glimpse of her and Liam’s little rendezvous earlier. It seemed like most of it was obscured by small trees and random bushes, but she couldn’t be too sure.
“Em, look!” Bea was practically out of her chair, and clearly already farther gone than Emilie had anticipated. “They brought out all of our favorites! Don’t pretend you’re not hungry!”
Emilie did look, peeling her eyes away from the view outside, and she saw that the spread did in fact include some of her favorites. There were flaky and buttery croissants, macarons of various colors and flavors, and dishes of perfectly cut slices of cheese and jars of what she hoped was raspberry jam.
She sat down, letting her little sister pour her a cup of tea, not even needing to answer any questions about how she took it.
As she took her first sip of the tea she nearly choked on it from what came out of Marjorie’s mouth. “Weren’t you just in the garden?”
Her stomach dropped to her seat and she set down the teacup. “What?” She looked behind her and out into the garden, realizing there was a pretty good view from where the table was positioned.
“We saw you running out of--” Marjorie was cut off by what Emilie could only imagine was a swift step on her toes from her older sister. “Ow!”
Just then, she watched in horror as Liam walked right into the room from the garden as if nothing was amiss. It wasn’t until the two of them locked eyes, panic written all over her face, that he seemed to realize he had made the wrong move.
“Sorry for interrupting your tea, ladies,” he said, managing the most even tone he could, though Emilie certainly wasn’t convinced and she doubted anyone else was.
If only either of them were better actors.
She caught a glimpse of Izzy’s face and she knew that they were caught. “No, feel free to stay. There’s more than enough room. Besides, you look a little flushed, cousin. You might need a bit of tea and snacks.”
Liam seemed to audibly gulp before nodding. “Sure, if I’m not too much of an imposition.”
Emilie stood from the table just as he went to sit down. “I’m not feeling so well afterall--”
Izzy pulled her back down into her seat, a strange smile still pulling at her lips. “All of a sudden? That’s so strange. You seemed fine before Liam walked in from the garden.”
Her eyes scanned the rest of the people at the table, catching Elizabeth’s eye and noticing just how intrigued Juliette and Marjorie were by the spectacle. She swallowed carefully, settling back into her seat, knowing that a grilling from them all would most likely take place whether she liked it or not.
“We didn’t cross paths in the garden, if that’s what you’re thinking,” Liam said carefully, looking intently at Izzy, seeming as though he was trying to communicate something through his eyes.
Izzy laughed, sounding more amused than she had before. “I wonder how long you could keep up that charade. I almost want to see you try.”
Her sister turned her gaze to her and Emilie felt like shrinking away. “What do you have to say, Em? Anything else you’d like to try keeping from me?”
Bea, who had been sitting quietly observing, finally interjected. “Stop being such a hypocrite, Iz.” Emilie was startled by this, but couldn’t help wanting to hear more. “You know I caught you kissing that boy behind the stables at home and you begged me not to tell anyone.”
She watched as a fire lit in her older sister’s eyes, but she seemed to have been silenced. Emilie took this as her chance. “Why don’t we all call it even and move on?”
Izzy shot a glare her way. “There is a very big difference between me kissing some boy--”
“It wasn’t just some boy!” Bea made sure her voice was heard. “It was one of Uncle Frederick’s advisors.”
“Beatrice!” Izzy slapped her hand on the table. “That’s enough.”
Emilie huffed. “So I think we really can say we’re even. I kissed Liam, so what?” She sighed. “I shouldn’t have believed for one moment anything could be kept secret in this family.”
She looked over at Bea and nodded her head. “Thank you for that. It seems like our dear sister forgets herself.”
Liam stood from the table, rubbing his hands together. “I think I should take my leave.” He looked at Emilie, his gaze searing into her. “I hope we can kiss again.”
And with that, Liam ran out the door, leaving Emilie just as breathless as he had in the garden. She brought her fingers up to her lips as though she would still be able to feel the kiss they’d shared earlier. She knew her older sister must have been scandalized by this, but she didn’t even bother to look. Nothing could bring her down from this moment, not even the wrath of her sister.
It had been a full year since Liam had seen his cousin, Isabelle, and the rest of her family. They usually only visited once a year, sometimes twice but that was much more rare. He knew a lot could happen in just twelve months, but he wasn’t prepared for just how much could change with one of them: Emilie Rose.
He had never payed any particular attention to any of the girls, not even his actual cousin. Izzy had always been stand-offish and the other girls had always been off in their own fantasy worlds of tea parties and fairies. Liam had always spent most of his time rough-housing with Lukas and James, the two younger boys.
But now, seeing Emilie get out of the carriage and step into the high-noon sunlight, everything was changing. She had seemed to grow another inch, or perhaps she was standing even taller now. Her dark hair was pulled up off of her neck in some intricate hairstyle that he couldn’t identify. And even though she was quite a few yards away from him, it seemed almost like her features had refined into those of a lady instead of the young girl she had been the year before. She had blossomed into something beautiful, and ultimately dangerous if the look on Izzy’s face was any indication to how she felt about him staring at her sister.
He cleared his throat, trying to pull his gaze away, especially when Emilie’s twin, Lukas, came up to him and pulled him into the most masculine hug either of them could manage.
“It’s been far, far too long,” Lukas said, patting him on the back before pulling away. “You looked like you’d gotten the damn wind knocked out of you. Don’t tell me you’ve grown so old yet.”
Liam forced a laugh from his mouth that he hoped sounded natural. “Same old Luke, isn’t it? How much trouble are you going to get all off us into this time?”
Thankfully, Luke didn’t seem to notice anything else off with him. “I was given a strict lecture on the way here from good old mother and father,” he said with the boyish charm he’d always had. It was how he’d gotten out of consequences so many times before. “Just means we need to be sneakier.”
“No, just means you need to be sneakier,” Liam corrected. “Aren’t you eighteen, now? Shouldn’t that mean--”
Luke groaned loud enough for some of the others to hear and turn their heads. “Don’t tell me you’re going to have a stick up your arse the entirety of our stay here. We’re practically family, cousins even.”
Liam laughed, shaking his head. “We’re not cousins. You know that, right?”
“That’s precisely why I said ‘practically’,” Liam said, wiggling his brows.
James joined them, shoving Luke out of the way. He’d grown as well since their last visit. He had been quite scrawny, looking like a much smaller clone of his father. But now, he’s grown nearly six inches and had filled out more. He didn’t quite look like a man yet, but he was getting close.
“Don’t remind him that he’s related to Izzy,” James said, almost in a sing-song manner. “Makes him remember that he has to spend quality time with such a boring--”
“I heard that,” Izzy said from behind him, her arms crossed over her chest. Though the way she had to actually glare up at her youngest brother probably wasn’t as menacing as she thought it was.
James rolled his eyes. “I was just teasing. Everyone knows you’re the life of the party, Iz.”
Liam was surprised to see her brush that off so easily, but that feeling intensified when she approached him and tentatively wrapped her arms around him. He returned the hug, never having enjoyed just how stiff she was.
“I saw you looking at my sister,” she whispered in his ear.
He pulled away, giving her a scrunched up look before remembering they weren’t alone. “It’s nice to see you too, Isabelle. Make any plans on being pleasant this time?”
She laughed. “Not if I can help it.”
He noticed Emilie standing shy behind her, looking like she was trying not to meet his gaze. He wondered for a moment if Izzy had told her to stay away from him, or if she was truly just being coy.
“Hi Em,” was all he could muster saying, even though there were thousands of words threatening to spill from his tongue.
She looked up at him, still just beyond her sister’s shoulder, and she smiled. “Hi Liam,” she replied sweetly, her voice like the first breeze in summer.
-------
Liam paced through the gardens while he waited for everyone to get settled and washed up. He had gotten the greetings out of the way, but even those hadn’t gone according to plan. What had been his plan in the first place? He couldn’t even really remember now.
Perhaps he had expected Emilie to be as she always had been. For all of the years he’d known her, she had been a little like a bug stuck under his shoe. She could be clingy at times, always begging him and the other boys to play with the girls. They need knights in order to play princesses, and he had been confused why she would even want to play that game when she was a princess in real life. She usually ended up regretting it because the boys just used it as an opportunity to play pranks on the girls.
But now, everything was different. He could see her in a new light, and she was magnificent. Even when she had gotten closer, despite Izzy still trying to block her from view, she was beautiful. She was like no other girl he’d ever seen, and there were plenty of girls to compare her to from his past. He hadn’t been chaste or celibate.
Liam loved women, and women seemed to love him too. He’d never had trouble finding girls willing to share his bed, and even sometimes multiple girls at once. He was certain some people considered him a player, but he was just performing his princely duties. Now, he figured he would have to rethink all of that.
Just as he was getting deeper into his thoughts, he was startled by the feeling of fingers pinching his waist. He jumped, turning around quickly just to be met with a dark-haired girl a head shorter than him. The exact one he had been thinking about.
“I didn’t think I was going to scare you so bad,” Emilie said, trying her best to contain her laughter. She was failing.
Liam felt his cheeks burn. “I don’t think I’ve ever been so scared in my life.” He looked around behind her, but they were alone in the garden. “Where is everyone else?”
She followed his gaze, looking over her shoulder before looking back at him. “They’re all still getting settled in. I kind of sneaked away...” Her voice trailed off and she looked at him with knit brows. “Perhaps I shouldn’t have?”
“No!” He reached out, putting a hand on her arm. “I mean...” He gently let her go, trying to regain composure. “I mean, I wasn’t trying to get you to leave. I just didn’t want to be taken off guard by your sister.”
Emilie nodded knowingly. “Izzy has been quite intense since she noticed you, um--”
“Staring,” he replied with a nod. “I think everyone noticed it, so no need to be discreet. I certainly wasn’t.”
She shrugged, looking like it was something that happened regularly. “It’s alright. I was staring at you too. I couldn’t help it.”
He chuckled, surprised at her candor. “Then I suppose we’re even,” he said, holding his hand out for a shake.
Her eyes looked from his outstretched hand and then up to his eyes before she smiled and shook his hand. “That sounds very fair, good sir. I appreciate just how forward you’ve been.”
He took this moment to pull her closer, not letting go of her hand this time. “Really? Could I be even more forward, then?”
He watched her swallow, looking up at him with her big brown eyes melting like hard chocolate in the sun. “I wouldn’t want anything less,” she said, her voice small like they weren’t all alone.
Liam pulled her even closer, now their chests were pressed against one another. He leaned down, his other hand moving up to caress her cheek softly. There were a few tense moments between them, their faces so close, before he fully leaned in and placed a kiss upon her lips.
It was a sweet and simple kiss, but she returned it eagerly before they reluctantly pulled apart. He could see her chest heaving, but her face looked serene. His heart was beating fast too, and he worried that she would be able to see it under the layers of skin and fabric.
“Don’t tell Izzy about this,” she finally said, pulling away and running out of the garden heading towards the castle.
There was nothing and no one Isabelle Rose loved more than her family. Being the eldest daughter, she had always felt an intense sense of responsibility towards taking care of and protecting her family. It was the only one she had, and the only one she wanted. Her father, step-mother she saw as practically her true mother, and her younger siblings; she couldn’t imagine their family ever being fractured. If she had it her way they would remain always as they were.
However, her younger sister, Emilie, clearly had other plans. Em had always been a romantic. She was the type of girl who took the title of princess seriously, and committed fully to the persona that came along with it. Izzy, on the other hand, had always enjoyed the kind of life she had before her sixteenth birthday. Before that dreaded day, she could spend most of her time reading books and taking long walks around Arendelle, whether it was through town or in the surrounding woods. She had so much freedom before she was expected to take the role of “princess” seriously.
“You don’t look happy,” Em said as she sat across from her in the carriage that seemed to be catching ever rock along the road.
Izzy was jostled again and she groaned. “I will not make it any less obvious, if that’s what you’re getting at.”
Her sister used to have the same blonde hair she had, but as she’d grown older it had darkened to a very lovely and warm chocolatey brown. Izzy had to admit it was only one in a list of things she was jealous of when it came to Em. Her hair, her magnetic personality, the fact that her mother wasn’t a murderous evil Westergard...
Em sighed, looking over at their youngest sister, Bea, who was fast asleep with her head resting on Izzy’s shoulder. “You know she’s been looking forward to this trip all year. We only get to see your- erm-”
“My cousins?” She asked, brows raised. She knew exactly what her sister was getting at, but she never seemed to be able to get it out properly. “They’re my cousins, we all know that.”
“Technically doesn’t that make them mine, as well?” Em asked, her full buttom lip wedged between her teeth.
Izzy placed a hand on Bea’s leg, shaking it gently. “No, it doesn’t. I don’t even know why we visit them. They’re hardly my relations.”
This seemed to get Em’s wheels turning in her head. “Well, I suppose it would make them your...” She thought for another moment as Bea stirred. “They’re your second cousins. That’s a fairly close relation. It’s not surprising Papa would want us to see them every year.”
“But they’re only my second cousins.” Izzy felt Bea poking her, but she ignored it. “And I suppose Kieran would be my first cousin-”
“Once removed,” Bea butt in, her voice soft from just having woken up.
“Yes, precisely.” Izzy crossed her arms in front of her, wishing Em hadn’t brought it up in the first place.
“I don’t see why you dislike them so,” Bea continued, sitting up straighter.
She was quite a few years younger than her, but little Beatrice had always been precocious. More like her mother, she had very dark hair and eyes that matched. She looked like a mini version of Greta and she never seemed to grow out of the role of baby of the family. She had just turned thirteen that year and wasn’t about to let anyone forget it.
Izzy rolled her eyes. “Just because Kieran married Cousin Elizabeth and she is pleasant doesn’t mean that the stain of his family is washed away.”
Bea was about to say something more but Em shushed her quickly. “No one can choose their family any more than they can choose their own first name.”
“Exactly,” Bea said without warning, “they’re not all Johanna, or even Hans.”
Izzy shot her a glare, but instantly felt bad about it when she saw the frown on her littlest sister’s face. “Don’t bring them up, especially when we get there. No one needs to be reminded.”
To her great relief, it only took them half an hour more of idle chatter to arrive. Izzy had been to France, and specifically this castle, plenty of times in her life. She was twenty-one now, so that meant she had a little over a decade of trips under her belt. It was so vastly different compared to Arendelle, it always took her a few days into their trip to fully get accustomed to the changes. Not to mention that they had just as many children running around as the combined Arendelles, Bjorgmans, and Roses had. It added to the hectic nature of their trips, and while Em and Bea had always seemed to enjoy it, Izzy just yearned to return home.
Home, for her, was difficult to define. Sometimes it meant Arendelle, and other times it meant Italy. She had spent equal amounts of time in both kingdoms, and she was never really sure of which she preferred. She supposed she held more of a closer tie to Italy, since that was where her father was from. But Arendelle had welcomed her with open arms despite half of her parentage. And she had a gaggle of cousins to both love and bother her.
Now, it was time to deal with cousins of a different sort that she hadn’t seen in a year. Nothing had changed for her, but she knew that Em had recently turned eighteen and plenty had changed for her.
They were helped down from the carriage one by one, and she wasn’t at all surprised to see that they were being welcomed by all of her second cousins. They had all lined themselves up from eldest to youngest; there was Liam first, then Henry, Juliette, and finally Marjorie. Liam looked as stoic as ever with Henry standing next to him, a bright smile on his face. But when Liam’s eyes moved over Izzy and settled on Em, they lit up.
Internally, Izzy cringed.
“Welcome,” Kieran’s voice boomed as he clapped his hands together, “I hope you all had a safe journey.”
Her father spoke first. “Everything went smoothly in our carriage.” He glanced over to his daughter, giving her a reassuring smile. “I’m sure the girls can say the same.”
Izzy took that as her cue. She stepped forward, giving her cousin a curtsy and smiling just as she’d been taught. “It was a lovely ride, truly. Very restful.”
Kieran stepped towards her with a smile, wrapping her in a hug. “That’s very good to hear. And it’s very good that you are all so well-rested, because everyone has been chomping at the bit to see you.”
She hugged him back, letting go when he seemed to be pulling away too. “How wonderful!” She hoped it sounded convincing.
Her eyes caught Elizabeth’s, and she knew if anyone was able to see through er facade, it would be her. She walked over to her, giving Izzy a gentle nudge with her elbow. “You’re doing a very good job,” Elizabeth said softly, a knowing smile on her lips.
Izzy blushed, feeling caught. “Well, I am happy to be here.”
Elizabeth placed a hand on her arm. “You always have fun by the end of the trip.” She looked over her shoulder. “I should say hello to your parents. Even your scoundrel of a father,” she said teasingly.
It wasn’t a mystery as to what Elizabeth had been talking about. She knew that, when they had all been at the protection palace, everyone had been entangled in various relationships. After all, her parents and Elizabeth and Kieran had all met at the protection palace. And she knew her father’s reputation had been a messy one.
“Don’t you see Liam?” Emilie asked as she gripped onto her arm, her nails digging in. “He’s been looking at me.”
Izzy tried to grab her arm away, but her sister held on tightly. “He seems strange this year. I don’t know why he’s looking at you like that, but I don’t know if I like it.”
Em was right, Liam was still looking at her strangely. And now Izzy had the strong feeling that this trip would be very different than the ones she was used to.
The best rule they could have put into place for the game was definitely a kiss per ball sunk. It definitely took the competitive edge off of things and made it more fun. Plus, Micha never specified that their kisses had to be on the lips. He had his own tricks up his sleeve that he planned to play later. When Tobias came over to kiss him, Micha smiled, placing a hand on his boyfriend’s cheek. “I think I do too,” he laughed, watching as the man turned back to the table. Micha enjoyed watching Toby play pool as much as if not more than playing with him. He got to see the look of concentration on the other’s face and watch him as he strategized about what to do next. Oddly, Micha found it very attractive.
When Toby sunk two in at once, Micha was impressed. But, that did pose an excellent question: one kiss, or two? “Hmm… I think two would be appropriate. So what, are we at three now?” he asked, making sure he had the number right. Of course, he wouldn’t complain if he gave Toby more, and he was fairly certain Toby wouldn’t mind either.
.
Tobias knew that this whole kiss after making a shot was mostly a ploy to get him not to be too competitive, or at least he figured that was Micha’s reasoning, but he didn’t mind. It was a lot of fun and he liked any excuse he got to kiss him more frequently. He couldn’t complain. “Three sounds about right,” he replied with a smile. He lined up his next shot, and while he though he really did have this one, it ricocheted off the side at the wrong angle and missed the pocket. Instead of feeling his usual frustration with having missed, he knew he at least had kisses to look forward to. He leaned against the stick in his hands and sighed. “Well, it looks like I missed. I think that means I get to cash in those kisses now.”
Annalise loved her family dearly. Of course going to the palace had been difficult to swallow at first if only because she loved being here for them and the people of their kingdom so much. Going to the palace was supposed to have been a temporary placement while things back home settled down, and while she had anticipated that she would definitely make friends there, she had no idea just how attached she would grow to some of them, and even less that she would find Darcy. It was true, that being back in Italy now, she was with her family again, but she’d been with family the entire time, really.
“I think we’ve done a find job of first impressions,” Annalise nodded, with a smile. “And you only have to do them once, so we’ve gotten them over with.” Leaning forward, Annalise pressed her lips softly against Darcy’s, and kissed him. “You’re my favorite company. I’m glad you’re here.” Smiling, Annalise kissed him a second time, in no rush to pull away.
.
If Darcy was being honest, he could endure any of his anxiety or nerves about first impressions as long as he was with Annalise. Having her there with him gave him a lot more confidence than if he was just by himself. “I think so too,” he replied, smiling back at her. “As long as the first impressions were good, then I’m satisfied. It would’ve been a mess if your parents ended up not liking me.” That was what had truly made him so nervous, the possibility of her parents finding him inadequate. And while he wasn’t the best at reading people, her parents had seemed to like him well enough.
He kissed her back, his hands continuing to move over her hips and waist, exploring her. He could tell that she wasn’t going to pull away, so he slipped his tongue past her lips, deepening the kiss. When they were like this, so close together, he didn’t have to worry about anything. His entire attention was on her, and it was like everything else was irrelevant and unnecessary.
While Micha meant it that this would be a friendly game, he could admit to himself at least that he did have flirtatious intentions. Sometimes he enjoyed seeing Toby get a bit competitive, but they weren’t playing for anything other than each other’s affection, which was fine by him. He took the cue stick from Toby with a thank you, and thought for a minute. “Sure, I’ll go first. You have an advantage anyway,” he chuckled.
Since the balls were already racked, Micha removed it and set it aside so they could start playing. He took a moment to look over how the balls were organized before lining up a shot. Pulling the cue back, he took the shot, watching as they all scattered across the table. One of the solids rolled into a pocket, which meant if he got another in, he’d go for solids. He picked his next shot carefully, and lined it up, sinking a second. “Looks like I’m getting better at this,” he smiled at Tobias. “Well, sort of, anyway. That last one put me in a tough position.” He looked around, not seeing many good options for moves. After finding the best one, he took a chance, but missed, unfortunately. “Ah well. At least I got two,” he said, simply. “Which means you owe me two kisses.”
.
Tobias didn’t really care which of them went first, especially since this was supposed to be a game for fun. If they had been playing competitively he might have insisted on going first. But still, ever since he’d taught Micha how to play, he did like getting to watch him lean over and concentrate on hitting the ball. It always looked like he was really thinking hard about it, like he took the game seriously and Toby appreciated that. Besides, he looked so cute doing it.
He wasn’t surprised when Micha broke and one of the solid balls rolled into the pocket. He’d made a pretty good hit, and he couldn’t help chuckling when he took his next turn and hit another one in. He leaned against his pool cue, nodding his head. “You were practically a natural, so I’m not surprised,” he said with a smile. He watched as Micha missed his next shot, but he was still pretty impressed regardless. “I think I like this version of the game better,” he said, moving towards him and placing an arm around Micha’s waist. He leaned down and kissed him, once and then twice, trying not to linger for too long. If he did, he was certain that he wouldn’t be able to pull himself away. “Now that it’s my turn I might try to get as many in as possible,” he joked, pulling away and getting ready to set up his shot. The striped ball he aimed for sank into the pocket easily, so he moved onto the next, managing to get two of the stripes in at once. “What are the rules on making two in at once? Is that one kiss or two?” He asked, raising his brows at Micha.
Micha loved the idea of learning something new, especially with his boyfriend. He’d always been a curious person, interested in knowing, but Toby had given him more confidence to actually explore things. Even something that seemed as silly or trivial as learning a new game. Chuckling to himself as they walked down the hall, Micha shook his head. “No trick questions, just genuine curiosity.”
He tried not to laugh as Toby mentioned a friendly game would be good practice for him. it was true of course, though Micha had to admit there was a part of him that enjoyed Toby’s competitive side. “How about this,” he began to suggest, as they got closer. “Friendly game. But, every time you sink one in, I’ll give you a kiss, and every time I get one, you give me one,” he smiled, a bit mischievously.
.
Tobias was glad that it wasn’t a trick question, though he figured that if it had been, he probably had answered correctly. While he did love being competitive, he also worried that sometimes it brought out a bad side of him. He just wanted the two of them to have fun, however that ended up looking. When Micha explained his idea of how they should play it sounded pretty perfect. “Alright, I like that idea,” he said with a laugh. “The perfect amount of competition.”
They made it to the game room and he pulled Micha over to the pool table, excited to start their game. “Here,” he said, letting go of his hand so he could grab two of the cue sticks, handing one to Micha, “one for you.” The rack was already set up on the table so it was ready for them to start playing. “Do you want to go first?” He asked, leaning casually against the table, not really minding who took the first shot.
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