KISS by Jalissa Pastorius

her.
    “ Very well. I’ll go but
this isn’t the last time you’ll be seeing me,” he said blowing her
a kiss. Iris held her breath and watched him leave. She couldn’t be
bothered by Jean-Pierre despite the fact her erratic heart said
otherwise. It was time to go meet Jay.
     

15
    Rendezvous at Midnight…It’s a
Promise

     
     
    Iris didn’t know quite how to feel.
She had made Ryan swear he would keep her visit with Jay a secret,
and the only way he would keep her secret is if she promised to be
back in an hour, that didn’t leave her much time. She shooed
Ryan—her driver away as she sat on the library steps. She
understood why he had some reservations. What decent young lady
would be found sitting outside at night on the stairs of a library?
This was not another teen movie. At least there was a beautiful
crescent shape moon in the sky that provided additional light. She
did feel a lot better knowing Ryan was close.
     
     
     
    “ You came.”
    Iris looked up and she took flight
into the sky, marveling at its limitless beauty. Jay was here. He
stood in front of her like a phantom, and held his hand out to her.
This was the magic moment in the fairytale she always dreamt of.
Should she take it? The second she placed her hand in his, long
fingers wrapped around her own providing her with warmth. She
stared at their joined hands in wonder, it was such a simple
gesture but intimate nonetheless.
    “ You’re not going to faint
on me are you?”
    “ No!” she said indignantly
looking at his back as he led her to another place. Where would he
get such an idea? Why would she faint? She wasn’t a pansy. There
was a subtle grin on her face as he turned away and led her into
the unknown. She thought about her feelings, wouldn’t most people
be a little anxious about someone leading them to some unfamiliar
destination at night? The wind ruffled his hair and her fingers
itched to straighten it. This boy was something foreign—an alien
species that she was curious to learn more about. A slight frown
marred her face when they stop in front of an old cathedral
church.
     
     
     
    “ Jay, I don’t understand.
What are we doing here?” It was so hard to follow his thought
process and it intrigued her endlessly. She looked down at their
intertwined hands. His fingers were long and they wrapped around
hers cocooning them—she shook it away, the image of a more
masculine hand wrapping around her dainty one.
    “ This is the perfect place
for me to reveal it all,” he said looking her in the eye. It was
such an intimate moment—staring into someone’s eyes. Her heart
raced in her chest and her palms became sweaty. This was completely
different from staring into Chester’s violet eyes. It made her
nervous, Iris wasn’t certain if that was a good thing or a bad
thing. The wind howl in the night almost like an ominous warning,
tendrils of hair escaped her ponytail and danced in the wind
tickling her face. She tucked them behind her ear and waited for
Jay to reveal his secret.
     
    She unconsciously held her breath
while gazing at him with stars in her eyes.
    “ I’m sick Iris,” he said
turning serious. She froze. Sick what did he mean he was sick? He
wasn’t dying was he? Her young heart was working double time in her
chest and she thought it would exploded from her chest. She feared
the unknown for him; she briefly wondered if there was anything her
mother could do to fix him.
    “ Wait? What’s wrong with
you? Can’t they fix it?” she asked desperation clinging to her
voice.
    “ Axel isn’t real.” Wait a
minute…what did he mean Axel wasn’t real. She was looking at him.
She watched as he paced back and forth like a cage animal. Iris was
in tunnel, the sounds echoed around her. She moved towards the
light—the end of the tunnel where she knew Jay waited for her but
the tunnel continued to expand and extend making it impossible to
reach him.
    “ He let them believe that
Axel is real. He’s not!