CHAPTER 9: ALISSON

HARRY:

I place my hand on her chin, and with my fingers, I can feel her soft, cold skin. I turn her face so she can see me.

"On the wedding day, we'll have to kiss. If you want, I can do the airport trick or..." I elongate the vowel and then pause. She looks at me, confused, with a furrowed brow.

"Or what?" she questions with curiosity.

"Allison, can I kiss you?" I ask, looking into her eyes, and a strange sensation starts to invade my body.

I've never fallen in love before. I'm not saying I'm starting to feel something for Allison, but ever since I saw her for the first time, I felt a strange connection with her, as if we were alike. I know, it's strange because we seem to be very different, but I don't know how to explain what I felt at that moment.

You see, I'm not really in touch with my emotions, and I don't navigate those territories very well, so I have many doubts that I want to resolve with this kiss.

Allison looks at me as if she doesn't understand what is about to happen. I dangerously move closer to her and hope she won't move. To my surprise, she doesn't. She remains still, never breaking eye contact.

I'm getting closer to her, and I see her close her eyes. With one swift motion, I kiss her. As our lips touch, I close my eyes. We don't move our lips, and it seems she has no intention of doing so either. Unexpectedly, Allison moves back, causing our lips to part, and I'm startled by her abrupt movement.

"I didn't feel anything," she says, looking into my eyes.

I feel my heart skip a beat with those words, although I'm not sure if it's my heart or my stomach.

Contrary to what she says, I did feel something. I felt an electric current entering my lips and running through my entire body. It was strange, something I had never felt before. Despite that, I decide not to admit what I felt and go along with her.

"Neither did I," I respond as I stand up and then clear my throat to continue speaking. "We should go, it's getting dark."

She just nods and gets up.

We walk towards the car, and nobody says anything. My face is serious, but somewhat embarrassed by the ridiculous thing I just did. Allison keeps looking at me, which makes me even more embarrassed. I only glance at her from the corner of my eye and notice that she's analyzing my face, trying to decipher something she doesn't want to ask me about.

We get into the car, and I start driving. I can't stop thinking about the kiss, and from time to time, I sneak glances at Allison.

She's peculiar, with very fair skin. She's petite, and her brown hair is slightly rebellious, with freckles that stand out whenever her cheeks blush.

At first, I thought I would marry a teenager, as she looks about fifteen years old. Anyone would doubt her being of legal age.

I hadn't realized how much attention I was paying to her until now, and I won't lie, some of her behaviors bother me.

I snap out of my thoughts when I see that we've arrived at her house, and when I turn to look at her, she's already looking at me.

"We've arrived," I say, and then I step out of the car, walking in front of it to open the door for Allison.

"Thank you," she says, giving me a half-smile.

I nod and Allison walks towards her front door. I follow behind her, and she turns to look at me while scratching her head.

"You don't need to walk me to the door," she says nervously. "See you at the wedding, future husband," she finishes the sentence and starts laughing. She turns around and continues walking towards the door.

I can't stop looking at her and repeating her words in my mind, "See you at the wedding, future husband." Those words only make me realize that maybe I'm about to make the worst mistake of my life or maybe I'm about to condemn Allison to be forever with someone like me.

She deserves someone better than me, and I will try to be better for her.

I arrive at my house, and I can't stop thinking about her. I grab my phone and search for her phone number.

I stare at my phone for several minutes, hesitating whether to dial or not.

"Allison," I say, looking at the screen. "No, no, no," I deny, placing the phone on the nightstand.

I walk to the balcony of my room, trying to clear my mind. I see the sky full of stars and a beautiful moon. I close my eyes, and all I can see is Allison's face before I kissed her. It's a tender yet mysterious face, with a deep gaze and harmonious lips.

"Enough, Harry. Stop thinking about her," I say as I put both hands on my head. "Allison is just a business. This marriage is just a contract."

I close my eyes and go back into the room. I lie down on the bed and try not to think. Suddenly, my phone rings, indicating that I've received a message, and I immediately pick it up.

Allison:

I don't know how to do this; I just wanted you to know that I'll do my best to be a good wife.

I read the message, and a small smile formed on my face.

Me:

I'll do my best to be a good husband too.

I reply and close my eyes, smiling and thinking about her, about Allison.