Restriction.

Even when we stopped kissing, it was clear that neither of us had had enough. We were still hugging, and Alice was resting her head on my shoulder. At one point she’d taken my hand in hers, interlocking fingers, and she had yet to let go. Not that I wanted her to.

“I… I didn’t mean to go that far,” Alice said, gasping. “It was… I didn’t know a kiss could be that good.”

“I take it you’re not mad at me, then?” I asked sheepishly.

“Idiot,” she answered, still with the biggest grin on her face. She licked her lips, stared at me and suddenly burrowed her face on my chest. “I… I want to kiss more.”

“We can,” I told her. I wanted more, too. Yet Alice shook her head.

“No more. Not until you… until we both clear things up with Noelle.”

I tensed up for a moment, but as I thought about it, the more it made sense to me.

“I shouldn’t have started the kiss,” she continued. “I only meant to show you I was serious. I should have pulled away when you deepened it, but… I couldn’t resist.” She bit her lip. “Whether or not you start something with Noelle, I’d rather we not go any further until we’ve talked to her properly. She’s my friend, a good friend. I don’t want to hurt her by secretly dating the guy she likes.”

I nodded. “That’s probably the right thing to do. I… wasn’t thinking straight, either.” For that short moment, I forgot about Noelle. All I could think of was Alice, the girl right in front of me. But she was right. We shouldn’t have done this. That said… “But does this mean you…?”

“I’m willing to give it a fair shot.” She said, squeezing my hand. “I’m starting to really get what the girls said. There’s something special about you, Oliver, something that’s not normal. Maybe that’s what makes not-normal relationships work with you.” She smiled. “I can’t exactly say I’m making a blind bet. You come with great recommendations, after all. And it’s always easier to trust someone who’s upfront with what they want than those who hide behind lies and manipulation.”

I chuckled. “What makes you so sure I’m not lying?”

“I have it on good authority that you’re the world’s worst liar, and I have five sources.”

Wait… “Five?”

“Mila, Grace, Sarah, Isabelle… and your mom.” She laughed. “We had a little chat once when I was at your house, and she was telling me some of the ways you and Isabelle are polar opposites. Apparently Isabelle is a good liar when she wants to be, but you’ve never been able to tell a straight lie to her.”

“I’d like to make a correction to that,” I told her. “Isabelle has never been able to get a lie past me. She can hide things, but not lie. I can tell.”

“Is it that twin bond?”

“Maybe?”

“And you haven’t told your mom you’re dating three girls, right?”

“To this day I don’t know how I’m getting away with it…”

“Maybe she knows already.”

“She doesn’t…!” I swallowed. “It’s… possible.”

We laughed together. The tension that was there between us at the beginning of the night was completely gone now. Things had finally clicked, and I could say with full confidence that I was seriously into Alice.

“Okay.” Alice sighed. “I think it’s best if we leave it here for now, Oliver. I’d love to keep talking, but the longer I see you, the more I want to… make out again,” she said shyly.

I smiled wryly. “Same here.”

Letting go of her was harder than I thought it would be. We got in her car and began making our way down the mountain.

“11:40…” Alice said, noticing the time on the radio. “If I tell the girls I made it home, I just know I’m gonna get a video call.” She sighed. “If so, I’ll tell them what we did, and where we stand right now.”

“Okay. If they call me first, I’ll tell them.” It was the right thing to do, after all.

We mostly kept quiet the rest of the way. We’d talked about the things that mattered already, and if we brought something else up we ran the risk of wanting to stay together a bit longer. Honestly, I WANTED to stay with her for longer.

We made it to my house, or at least a block away from it. Again, just to make sure Isabelle didn’t see the car and started asking questions. Alice and I said our goodbyes, promising that we’d talk again at school on Monday.

Back home, I found mom in the living room watching a show with Cake. She asked me why I was home so early, since I told her I’d be back much later. I had to tell her the meet was canceled and that Alice and I just talked for a couple of hours.

“Is Isabelle in her room?” I asked her.

“Yes. She’s been there all day and I haven’t heard a peep from her, which is odd.”

I almost wanted to check up on her to see how her video was coming along, but I didn’t want to get interrogated, nor distract her.

“I’m going to bed. Goodnight, mom.”

“Goodnight, dear.”

Cake jumped off the couch and began following me up the stairs. At moments like those I could almost believe she understood human speech, but still wouldn’t bet on it. She followed me into my room and jumped on my desk, watching me as I fell face first into my bed.

“Hgggrrmmgg…” I groaned coherently into my pillow.

The mental exhaustion hit me all at once. I didn’t even feel it by the end there, but now the piled up stress made my head feel heavy.

Cake took the opportunity to jump on my back.

“Get off…” I told her lazily.

She meowed in response and started nibbling my hair. I didn’t have the strength to stop her. Maybe it was more than just stress. The times when I heard her thoughts had made me feel dizzy and even hurt me a bit. Maybe it was part of why I felt so exhausted? I wasn’t sure.

Yet when I tried to fall asleep, I couldn’t. I kept recalling those conversations… And that kiss. The memories were vivid. The taste of her lips, the smell of her hair, the warmth of her hand on mine, they were all engraved in my brain. I wanted to see her again. And the strangest thing of all? I had the biggest urge to see Mila, Grace and Sarah.