This cannot be hay. Can it?
Park follows after, landing to the side of me.
My wristwatch alarm goes off, and I look up at the vent waiting for a blast of chemically charged smoke to come through the cover, but Park closed the lid, and we seem to be okay.
“I thought that would hurt more.” He sniffs. “Do I smell hay?”
“Better than gas.”
“What is this place?”
The flashlight on my vest shines between us, dimly lighting Park’s handsome face.
“I don’t know.”
He turns his body toward me, and his hand slides to my waist. His thumb traces circles on my skin where my shirt has lifted. “You came for me.”
“Of course I did.” I smile. “We have each other’s back.”
“I have a lot of questions.”
“I have some too.” I scoot my body toward him. “When you were hanging upside down, you said that it makes sense that your last thoughts would be of me. What does that mean?”
Park runs his fingers through my hair, pinning it behind my ear. “Just that if I’m going to die, I want to die with you on my mind.”
“I think I’d prefer you live and have me on your mind then.”
The corner of his mouth lifts. “I think I’d prefer that too.”
We stare into each other’s eyes, and it only takes a moment before Park’s head dips down to kiss me. I knew he couldn’t stay angry for long.
This kiss is different from the last one we shared in the cargo plane. This kiss is hot and fiery, full of passion and exhilaration. He rolls his body on top of mine, pressing me into the hay. We cling to each other like no amount of closeness is enough. It must be the dangerous circumstances we’re in because something about this kiss feels risky like we’re standing at the edge of a broken window one hundred and sixty floors above ground. We can feel the wind whipping our hair, hear the traffic below, see the people walking like little ants, but we still want to jump, no matter how stupid and deadly it seems. We still want to take a chance on each other.
Park pulls his lips back. “If that wasn’t at least a level nine kiss, then I don’t even know what we’re talking about anymore.”
I smile. “You made it to level nine.”
“Do I have time to try for level ten?”
“We’d always said that when Christmas was over or when we got to a level ten kiss that this holiday fling would be done.”
“Since today is Christmas, I guess we better live it up.”
He wraps me in his arms again, kissing me with more passion than before.
One thing’s for sure, with this kiss, Park is jumping over the edge, and if he’s falling, I want to fall too.
Soft music plays in the background.
Am I imagining the music because this kiss is so good? I’m definitely getting a heavenly choir vibe. Not to mention the bright lights that suddenly shine behind my closed eyes. They get brighter as the music gets louder. Is that part of a level ten kiss too? Have I died and gone to kissing heaven?
“Mommy, why is he attacking her with his mouth?”
Wait. What?
Our lips stop, and our eyes open just as the black curtain in front of us finishes opening.
The glowing light that got stronger wasn’t heaven.
