Something was wrong with me. With my lungs. They burned. Blocked by fire that threatened to tear me apart as it worked its way into my veins. I felt it on my skin. In my chest. Against my mouth—

"Laliana!" Someone shouted a name. Was it mine? The voice was distant but continued to say the name, urgency in every syllable. A prayer that demanded to be heard.

Something new worked its way into my body. Raw light pushed against the fire, and just as quickly as the fire came, it flew out of me, hurling me back into the world where fire was not what I breathed.

"Laliana!" The voice shouted again.

My lungs remembered their nearly forgotten friend. AIR.

Air filled me as water left me. My vision swam, a swirl of stars, and city lights mixed with a pair of blue eyes. I knew the name. I knew those eyes, but my brain was tired. I was so tired. I just wanted to sleep.

"Laliana," the voice said again. "Breathe!" It was an order, and with all the energy I had left, I obeyed. Breathing down a raw and burnt throat, I felt my lungs begin to work again. Ocean eyes full of relief filled my vision. "Thank God," the deep voice murmured, breaking on the words.

Then, the world went dark again. But this time, the fire was gone.

...

The world was soft. Has it always been so soft? And everything hurt. Is that normal? I opened my eyes to find myself lying in a large soft bed under several heavy blankets. I tried to sit up, but it hurt to move. Then, the night's events hit me in a set of flashes. Like my brain was redownloading my life.

But the most startling thing was what I found at the edge of my bed. Aiden, fast asleep, head and arm drooped on the bed, the rest of his body on the ground. He hadn't changed clothes, still wearing the blue flannel. But now it was covered in splashes of rust. Cuts all along his clothes bloomed with red, matching the petals that still covered the ground. Blood?

I scrambled out from under the covers and crawled to the edge of the bed. Reaching out with shaky hands, I carefully took his pulse, fingers against his wrist. Oh my gosh. Don't be dead, don't be dead, don't be dead. "Aiden?"

"I'm alive Summers," Aiden breathed, from behind closed eyelids.

I spotted a cut along his jaw and touched it gingerly. His dusty eyelashes brushed my fingers as I traced the cut up the side of his face. His brow furrowed. "That hurts."

"You look like a victim from a Slasher movie. What happened?"

"Someone crashed into the yacht," He mumbled. "Got a few scratches when I dove into the water after you."

My eyes filled with tears. "These look like more than a few scratches," I said, my voice raspy from the water I swallowed.

"Better scratches than not getting to you in time." Aiden's eyes finally opened. He placed his hand over mine, trapping it against the side of his face. "You nearly died. If I hadn't dragged you out and given you mouth to—"

"WHAT?!" I squeaked pulling my hand away and touching my lips. My heart hammered wildly as I asked myself the one question that any sane girl who had nearly died would ask... DID GETTING CPR FROM A VERY HOT BOY COUNT AS MY FIRST KISS?!? AND IF IT DOES... I MISSED IT?!?

"Summers?" Aiden asked alarmed. "What's wrong?"

"You gave me mouth to mouth?!?" I squeaked again. I tried to stop myself from reacting like a lunatic, from caring about something so stupid when I had almost died, but I couldn't.

Aiden fully sat down on the edge of the bed. "Yes. That's what people do when someone isn't breathing." My face bloomed red, my lips burned. Just let it go Laliana! My brain shouted. It doesn't matter! He saved your life!

"Why does that matter?" Aiden asked, staring at me with a furrowed brow. "Talk to me Summers. You're freaking me out. And I don't think I can handle any more surprises tonight."

I blinked, afraid to open my mouth. Afraid that I'd say something stupid. I didn't want him to regret saving me.

"Laliana?" He leaned close, putting his hand against my forehead. "Are you okay?"

"Yep. Yep. Yep." I chirped, in a neurotic fashion.

"You don't look okay." He moved his fingers down the side of my face and brought them to rest against my neck. His skin was hot against mine. Oh my gosh... please stop being so incredibly hot.

"Your heartbeat is a little fast—"

"That's your fault!" I blurted. "You and your hot hands."

I removed his hand from my neck. "I really appreciate you... helping me breathe I just..." I covered my face with my hands. "A little freaked out for stupid reasons okay?"

"Hot hands?" Aiden sounded amused. I kept my hands tight against my face, blocking him from view. I felt the bed shift and sensed Aiden right in front of me. "Look at me Summers."

"No," I whispered. "I don't want to say anything else stupid."

"There's nothing wrong with saying something honest." He gingerly took my hands and lowered them from my face. "What was so stupid?"

I sighed. "You kissed me."

He searched my face, confusion flickering into his blue eyes. "What? I must have missed that."

I shook my head. "No. I did."

"I don't understand."

"You gave me CPR."

Realization dawned on his face. "Ah." He let go of my hands. "And you think that counts?" he asked, eyes dark, a mysterious look flickering across their depths. Two pools of perfection that threatened to swallow me whole. I was convinced he could sit in an interrogation room and get anyone to talk just by looking at them. It should be illegal to have eyes with that kind of power.

"Doesn't it?" I replied.

"Is it the idea of kissing me that bothers you..." He shifted so he was slightly closer, his body warmth wafting off of him. "...Or that you missed it?"

My mouth went dry at the question. Blood roared in my ears and all the breath left my body. He had asked a question that there was no coming back from. And I had never been so terrified of answering a question in my life.

"Pass." I blurted. Smooth Laliana.

"Summers. I can wait all night for an answer."

"You can always go back to Tate's room, Dalton," I suggested, using his last name in reply. I suddenly wished Tate would burst through the door, demanding dibs on all the food in our minibar.

Aiden stretched out on the bed, eyeing the door. "Last time I checked, there were a few nosey people lurking in the halls. I'm not leaving you alone anymore. Not when things have gotten so dangerous." There was a beat of silence then he looked back at me, a spark of determination in his gaze. "Come on Summers."

"What was the question again?" I asked to buy time as I tugged on a strand of my damp hair.

Aiden sat up fully and leaned towards me until he was a breath away. The smell that was purely him filled me. "Is it the idea of kissing me that bothers you, or that you missed it? Because if it's the second option... you should know..."

He leaned forward, whispering into my ear. "If I were to kiss you..." His lips tickled my neck. "You would remember it."

I leaned back and looked into his eyes, needing space to breathe properly. "You seem pretty confident. What if you are a terrible kisser?" I asked, tilting my head and giving him an appraising look.

"I haven't had any complaints," he replied with a quirk of his lips.

"What if you've been dating a bunch of liars?"

"Would you lie to me Summers?" Aiden asked, looking up at me from under his dark lashes.

I laughed, weakly, finding it hard to breathe when he looked at me like that. "You've met me before right? I can't lie. I blurt out anything and everything."

"Let's test your theory."

I gasped, brain short-circuiting. "Um... what now?" Oh my gosh, he's going to kill me by giving me a heart attack.

Aiden leaned in slowly, terribly, jaw clenchingly slowly, and kissed my cheek, lips tender and soft. My pulse responded like fireworks going off. Chaotic. Excited and overwhelming. "How was that?"

"You missed my mouth." I blurted. Then wide-eyed, I covered my lips with my fingers. "Do me a favor. Don't talk to me for the rest of my life." I mumbled through my hands.

Taking my fingers away from my face, Aiden caged my face, his eyes raw and dark. His voice was husky when he spoke again. "Summers, do you want me to kiss you?"

"This isn't fair." I breathed. "You can always find out what I want. But I never know what you want."

Aiden placed his forehead to mine. "I would think that what I want is obvious."

Then, in a flash, his lips came down and captured mine. And suddenly, I was drowning for a whole different reason. Drowning from desire, from want, from hunger I never fathomed before.

His lips were fire. A fire I couldn't get enough of. A flame that grew so bright that it threatened to burn me if I let it. And suddenly that was all I wanted. To be burned by this handsome boy with eyes that made me question my sanity. I felt a fire deep inside of me wake up as his hands trailed down my cheeks, leaving a trail of heat.

His hands snaked into my hair, getting lost in the tangles, pulling me closer, hungry for more. I gasped against his lips. When I felt him begin to pull back, I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him back, not wanting to come up for air. Not yet. I didn't want to process what it all meant. I wasn't ready. I just wanted this fire for as long as I could stand it without burning.

I felt him shudder against my touch. His fingers moved down my neck and onto my shoulders, down my arms, and to my waist, keeping me pinned against him. And just when I thought I was going to burn and fall like a shooting star from the cloud nine high I was on, he pulled away and looked down at me, his eyes brighter than I have ever seen, breathless.

"How was that?"

"No complaints," I murmured, trying to keep the sudden smile that crossed my face looking normal and not like a grinning beacon of pure joy.

Then, Aiden collapsed down onto the bed, the last of his energy gone, passed out.

I stared down at him trying to decide if I should be insulted that he passed out right after kissing me. "Liar. You weren't fine."

---

What is your favorite kiss scene from a movie or book?