New Life : A Second Chance

Chapter 853 - I Love You

The question floated in Kay\'s mind endlessly throughout the meal.

When would be the best time?

After dinner? If so, how to bring it up?

What about the words?

Does she just say "I like you" or is that too vague? Lianne did say that Joseph was a block of wood.

So would she have to say "I am in love with you" ??

Just thinking about it made her throat constrict.

And …

Her face flushed just thinking about what Lianne had said.

Kiss him senseless?!

Just … just the thought of kissing him made her hands tremble.

She had never kissed anyone before and she was already over 20 years old!

First kiss?

And she had to be the one to initiate it?

She gulped, finding the food difficult to swallow.

Why did this feel worse than her first mission with Kyle? She had been nervous, yes, and it was to meet up with Kazuya, Nitocris\'s demented father … but even then, she wasn\'t as nervous as she was right now.

She down right terrified.

"Waiter!" Kay suddenly called out.

Joseph was surprised at her sudden call - more to the fact that she looked rather agitated.

Then, hearing what she ordered, he was even more surprised.

Wine?

Kay looked at him and smiled a bit, saying, "Well, you can drink now, right? Don\'t worry, there\'s not much alcohol in this. I wouldn\'t want you to go home drunk and all."

Joseph blinked, curious.

It would be a lie to say that he wasn\'t scared to death about the thought of his father finding out that he drank, but he truly did want to try some.

That, and the fact that he was feeling really nervous for some reason.

They said that alcohol would give one a false sense of bravery?

It\'s just that this whole thing seemed really like a date.

And Lianne\'s words were playing in his mind.

Age gap does not matter.

He wanted to confess … and somehow, didn\'t this seem like a good time to do so?

But undoubtedly, he was scared.

What if she rejected him?

Then it meant that he would have placed them in an awkward position and he would never see her again.

But he also felt like he couldn\'t keep on dragging this.

But then again, he wasn\'t sure if he could handle not seeing her at all.

It was this constant see-sawing of thoughts and emotions that prevented Joseph from really taking that first step.

But now, with Kay ordering some alcohol, perhaps he could borrow some courage from that and take the plunge?

And thus, that bottle of wine played a very important role in bringing two scaredy-cats together.

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Kay stared at her empty glass of wine.

It was only supposed to be one glass.

But it soon became a few.

It was as if her nervousness couldn\'t be dissipated with just one glass.

She poured herself another glass.

She looked up at Joseph and saw how flushed his face was as well.

Somewhere at the back of her mind, she knew that Joseph would probably get into trouble with his father if he went home like that. Yet, seeing him right now, with his fair face all red like that, Kay thought he was the cutest guy ever.

She reached over and touched his face, freezing him completely, "You\'re so red."

Joseph gulped, feeling her soft hands on his cheek, then on his jawline then chin, her thumb lightly brushing against his lips. As in unintentionally.

When she put her hand down, Joseph licked his lips, feeling it being so dry suddenly.

Kay\'s eyes narrowed upon seeing that, her lips parting a bit as she stared at his lips.

Joseph naturally saw her reaction and he, too, gulped.

Both of them quickly downed the wine that was in their glass and immediately, Kay regretted it.

This was wine, not water, darn it!

She licked her lips and quickly got up, turning to face the bay window and look out. She needed to get her thoughts together. She rubbed her arms, deep in thought.

When she realised that Joseph was beside her, she noted that he didn\'t say a word. Instead, he just stood by her side, silently as he looked out as well.

The corner of her mouth went up a bit.

He was always like this.

He didn\'t push, but he was there.

Standing by her side, silently and patiently waiting for her to say what was on her mind.

This was one of the things that she loved about him.

His quiet strength.

He may be dense like what Lianne said, but he was dependable.

She turned to face him and he, knowing this, turned to face her as well.

Using the courage and the timing, she said to him, "Joseph, I like you."

Joseph\'s face broke into a grin and he said, "I like you too, Kay."

Kay blinked, happy beyond belief until he continued, "You\'re a very good friend and I cherish it greatly."

Her eyes narrowed.

This was not being dense.

This was being beyond dense!

Suddenly, Kay felt angry.

No wonder Lianne told her that she ought to kiss him senseless.

Kay put her hands on her h.i.p.s and she glared at him, making Joseph take a step back, his eyes wide open in shock.

Just what happened?

Earlier, she said that she liked him and his heart skipped a beat. He was beyond happy but the rational mind of his kicked in and he knew, she just meant she liked him as a friend.

Thus, even though the words of confession he wanted to say was at the tip of his tongue, he swallowed it.

He couldn\'t ruin this special \'bonding of friends\' moment now, could he?

He would confess another time.

Yet, she looked angry?

Why?

"Wha..what\'s wrong?" Joseph stammered, seeing the fire in her eyes.

She took a step forward and pressed her finger on his forehead, "Joseph Yang. Are you serious? Did you not understand what I was saying?!"

Joseph blinked rapidly, and took that finger that was poking his forehead into his hands, and he said, "I understood."

"No you do not!" Kay said in exasperation. If he did understand, what sort of statement did he make just now?

Like her too? As a friend?

What f-king nonsense.

She took another step forward, their bodies almost touching as she looked up at him. And she was suddenly struck with the realisation that she had to look *up* at him. Just when did he suddenly grow so tall? He had been shorter than her two years ago and during their \'dates\', they weren\'t really close like this.

She was distracted for a bit, and Joseph, seeing her in a daze, bent down lower in concern, "Kay, what\'s wrong?"

Kay looked at him, her mouth gaping wide open, then suddenly, she kissed him lightly on the lips.

Joseph froze.

The kiss had been very brief, and the touch had been so light, that he would have thought he had imagined it if it wasn\'t for the fact that he felt completely electrified when their lips had touched.

"Joseph Yang, I am in love with you," Kay said, "You blockhead."

Now, Joseph truly felt like he was imagining it.

"You … you … what?" Joseph said, his mind whirling, "Did you say you are in love with me?"

Kay pouted and stomped her feet.

"Stupid Joseph. Stupid stupid Joseph!" she suddenly shouted, "It\'s bad enough that I have to tell you twice, but you can\'t even believe it? Even after I kissed you?!"

Joseph looked at that flushed face, anger and embarrassment evident upon her face and his heart just felt so full.

She loved him.

She truly loved him.

Kay, the Angel that he had in his heart for so long, loved him.

Joseph reached over and grabbed her, holding her tight to him as he had a silly grin on his face, "You call that a kiss?"

Kay pouted even more and Joseph found that so adorable.

Kay, the normally matured and confident woman, was acting so coquettishly right now but it didn\'t seem cloying. It was actually so cute.

She hit him on the c.h.e.s.t repeatedly, "Stupid Joseph. It was my first kiss. You know how hard it was … and … and … you! What are you doing?!"

It was only then that Kay realised how tightly he was holding her and how he was just looking at her so lovingly. He c.a.r.e.s.sed her face gently and said, "I love you too."

"You do?"

"I do," Joseph replied, then claimed her lips with his own.

Unlike her quickie kiss that couldn\'t be counted as a kiss, Joseph was more decisive. After all, he had been dreaming of kissing his Angel for so long and now that he could, he wasn\'t going to let go of this opportunity.

This may not have been his first kiss as that had already been stolen long ago, but this was certainly the first kiss that he initiated.

One that he was more than willing to explore and indulge himself in.

He may be inexperienced, but who needs experience when you\'re with someone you love? He wanted to feel her and taste her, and everything he did was out of instinct.

He kept kissing her lips, finding them so soft and sweet, s.u.c.k.i.n.g and biting, feeling like it was not enough. His hold on her got tighter and he felt her soft body pressed against him, making him even more eager to feel everything about her.

Perhaps it was the alcohol, perhaps it was all his pent-up d.e.s.i.r.es and fantasies, or perhaps it was just everything that came crashing down on them at that moment - whatever it was, the kisses did not stop.

When Joseph managed to enter her sweet mouth, tasting her, he found that it ignited something deep and primal within him and his hands started exploring the softness in his arms.

Just as his hands reached under her shirt, a knock on the door startled them. They broke apart immediately, both breathing hard.