I was looking around and then back at Diana noticing how gentle and defenseless she looks. These long eyelashes, the gently freckled nose, the tiny emerald stud-earrings… Suddenly her eyes opened wide and she rapidly breathed in. Her head went to the back of the chair while I instantaneously noticed a small emerald cross pendant in the opening of her blouse. "A set" I thought for a second remembering a book on History of Jewelry I read last year. Then she looked at me with a plea in her eyes and her lips slightly parted. It was clear to me she is asking for a kiss – after all that's what the romance novels talk about, don't they? A maiden looks longingly, sets her lips up and the knight seals them with his before going off on a journey. I clearly had the theoretical backing but sometimes wondered – what do you do about the nose? With two people bringing their faces together, won't their noses collide and the lips never touch? I looked into those eyes and decided to risk it – I'll do it even if someone will tell my parents and they will yell at me for this. I bent over and several things happened at once. First, I've learned the answer to the "nose" conundrum – turns out when the heads are slightly tilted – by I'd estimate about 15 degrees – the nose touches the cheek of another person and is not in the way. Second – that cheek is soft and smells nice. Third – her lips are soft and are slowly moving slightly catching and releasing mine causing sensations not described or maybe just hinted at in books.
Suddenly a jolt pain hit me through my whole body. I've felt electric shocks before, when I've attempted to repair domestic appliances. No matter how good the guide is, wrapping insulation tape over wires with frayed casings, is something you end up learning by experience. The pain subsided quickly, lingering in the eyes for a while. As I was still trying to open them, I heard Diana's voice: "Thank you… I got what I wanted… For a while now… My first kiss… from you… Thank you… Sorry…" I finally was able to open my eyes and saw her still sitting in the chair with her head hanging back into the aisle between the seats. Somehow I knew – she was gone. One arm was hanging into the aisle, another – still held onto a large purse on her knees. I could see her mouth still parted and her eyes now frozen, looking into something beyond the limits of the living.