Chapter 55: Chapter 55

KRISTIN

June ate with a familiar look of anxiety in her eyes, one I had seen before.

It was the same look she had after her first time of the month. The universe had decided that it would happen on a day she was undoubtedly dressed in nothing but white.

White shorts. White shirts. White shoes and headband.

I'm still grateful because, for one, it didn't happen on the school premises or during the basketball game; and she didn't freak out (else I might have run mad).

I clearly remember the first panicked yell that tore out of my guts before my mushy brain put two and two together...

I was concerned and embarrassed; she was anxious.

Nobody prepared me for that day. Edith was the one I ran to the following morning for help with pads and what to do if it came again. Amidst chuckles, she helped me even though she knew nothing about June at that time...

There was this look of anxiety in June's eyes. She had probably thought that she was... dying...

Just like she always thought during the early stages of her mother's demise. I don't want to think of that right now...

"I'm done." That scared and concerned look was still in her eyes. I smiled softly. June grew fast... Damn!

Fast and beautiful.

"Come with me." I led her up the stairs and to my room. When we got in, June's first stop was the picture on the wall. The day the picture was taken, June had followed me to the office—she was still a kid at that time. As expected of anyone who comes in contact with June, my office family (as I like to call them) were smitten. She didn't allow anyone to touch her and she didn't answer their greetings, so a photographer lined up all for a pose while making it look like everyone was going about their business.

June was the centre of attraction in that picture...

Edith wasn't working for me then but the copy of the picture in the office always brings smiles to her face.

Looking at June's chuckle at the frame made me smile.

I carried a box and placed it on the bed. "That's not the first time you've seen that," I said, still smiling. "Yet, you have the same reaction every time."

"It looks... peaceful." She caressed the slab of glass guiding the photo. "I remember some parts of this day."

"You always say that. Well, you were not so little."

She looked back to say something but her eyes landed on the box on the bed and she creased her brow, "What's that?"

"Come over." I waited until she was sitting beside me before lifting the lid and placing it beside the box. Brows knitted, June placed the paper box on her lap and dug out the first item in it.

Her hands instantly flew to her eyes. It was a precise reaction, one I could relate to because my eyes suddenly became watery.

"I kept all of them," I whispered as a tear rolled down June's cheek. "I took all her pictures down because I didn't want to be sad all the time, but there are times when I actually sit here and just open this box and... and smile."

All my sister's pictures down to the pics on her phone I could find were printed at my request.

"You've never showed me this." June wiped her eyes and sniffed. "All you've shown me about my mom are those pictures you took down from the wall in the sitting room."

"They are here." I pointed to my bedside table. "I figured if they left the sitting room, it would be easier not to see her every time of the day and get sad."

June continued browsing through the pictures and wiping her eyes.

When she got to the picture of me and my sister who held June to her hip, she sniffed and smiled softly.

"This is actually beautiful."

"Yes, it is. She was so beautiful... in and out... just like you." I reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind June's ear. "You are beautiful, Doll... You deserve beautiful things from life... beautiful people who would treat you like you should."

She looked into my eyes, trembling in my cradle, "Thanks for showing me this."

She was whispering for no reason. I matched her voice with a gruff—not intentional—whisper of mine.

"It's okay, doll. I should have shown you before now. I didn't want to, you know, make you feel—"

"I understand," she cut me off softly. Her brown eyes sparkled like diamonds. "You know, you don't have to explain yourself to me every time. I'm not a baby."

I will have to agree to that. A baby could never have these round and finely-shaped boobs...

For once, since my perverted mind started hitting on June, I didn't reprimand myself for thinking of her in such a manner.

"You're beautiful," I whispered and scooted close to her. Our eyes met. Her eyes... Those eyes... They are so expressive that you can see right through them, right through her soul, right through what she wants...

And right now, I can see that she wants me. She wants nothing else but a taste of my lips.

And I want that too. I want to taste those soft lips, kiss her, make her feel safe, pull her close, show her how much she was missing with Mark... teach her the beauty of being with an actual man and not some inexperienced teenage prick.

We slowly moved forward at the same time... Our lips touched...

She gasped slightly and didn't move, somewhat scared I was going to pull back.

But I have never been so enticed in my life. Our lips dived deeper until I tasted the warmth, the feminine sweetness and the silky desire coursing through her. An exhale escaped me as our eyes closed at the same time.

From her upper to bottom lip, I couldn't decide on a convenient spot to settle.

A warm breeze filtered in through the windows with a warmth that made my body hot. June's fingers wound around my neck, her proximity sending chills down my spine.

I couldn't breathe; it seemed her respiratory tract wasn't functioning properly because she began to moan softly and force air out of her nostrils.

It felt better than I fantasized... She... Jeez, she had the warmth of a woman and the tenderness of a child...

I cupped her waist and pulled her close.

An invisible force pushed our lips away from each other, leaving our fingers in the same spot they were while we kissed.

From somewhere down the street, someone was playing the piano, or was it just my ears?

The room looked darker... When did the sun set?

The room appeared dimly lit, a perfect atmosphere for pure romance, one I wished to experience—with June, of course!

"Don't tell me that was a mistake," she whispered hotly, her chest heaving and fear seeping into her brown orbs. "And don't tell me to get out."

I shamelessly caressed her face, noting how her body shook. "Didn't cross my mind one bit. What if I say I want to kiss you again?"