Chapter 52: Chapter 52: He Was Thrilled, Absolutely Over the Moon
###Chapter 52: He Was Thrilled. Absolutely Ecstatic.
Time seemed to freeze in that instant.
Both of them snapped their eyes wide open, their pupils, mere inches apart, reflecting the other’s shocked and bewildered face.
The sensation... soft, slightly cool, mingled with the warm, hurried breaths from their chase.
It was like a jolt of electricity. A tingling numbness shot from their pressed lips through every inch of their bodies.
Maxine Rhodes froze completely. Her brain short-circuited, and she even forgot to breathe.
Ethan Hawthorne was just as rigid. He could clearly feel every bit of the softness of her lips and could count each of her eyelashes as they trembled violently with shock.
This accidental kiss lasted for three seconds that felt as long as a century.
It wasn’t until Maxine let out a soft whimper that Ethan snapped back to his senses. He recoiled a small step as if scalded, but the back of his head hit the wall behind him with a soft BUMP.
"Hiss—"
In the narrow space, only the sound of their ragged, chaotic breathing remained.
Maxine’s cheeks were as red as the last vestiges of sunset, her flustered gaze darting everywhere and nowhere.
Ethan raised a hand, the pad of his finger lightly brushing over his own lower lip. The distinct memory of her softness and faint fragrance lingered there.
Watching her, utterly mortified, his Adam’s apple bobbed convulsively.
"I..." Maxine wanted to say something to break the deadly awkwardness.
"An accident," Ethan cut in, his voice incredibly hoarse. He forced himself to look away. "It was an accident."
But his tightly clenched fists and still-erratic breathing betrayed an inner turmoil far from the calmness he projected.
That rushed, accidental, yet incredibly real kiss was like a brand, seared not only into the twilight’s end but also into the crumbling, paper-thin wall between them.
On the way to the airport, a subtle silence spread through the car, a quietness laced with something more than usual—something indefinable.
The plane ascended into the clouds. Outside the window was a tapestry of suspended stars above and a sea of city lights below.
Maxine pretended to be asleep. Though her eyes were closed, her senses were magnified to an impossible degree. The soft rustle of him flipping through a magazine, his lowered voice as he called for a flight attendant, the faint scent of cedar from him—every detail was so clear it made her heart race.
Ethan asked for a blanket for her, draping it over her with a gentle motion.
That evening, back at the apartment in Kingsland, Maxine slipped into her bedroom without a word.
Maxine felt an urgent need to vent.
"Susie..." The moment the call connected, Maxine collapsed onto her bed, burying her face in a pillow. Her voice was muffled.
"What’s wrong, sweetie? Did the business trip go badly? Is that scumbag Benjamin Sterling causing trouble again?"
"No... It’s, it’s Ethan Hawthorne..."
On the other end of the line, Susie Summers was instantly energized. "Mr. Hawthorne? What about him? Spill!"
Maxine took a deep breath as if steeling herself, then whispered in a rapid-fire hush, "We... accidentally... kissed..."
"WHAT?!" Susie’s shriek nearly pierced the phone. "Details! I need details! How exactly was it ’accidental’? Was it him or you? How did it feel?!"
"It... It really was an accident!"
Maxine’s cheeks burned as she quickly explained, "In Jaxen... we were being chased by security guards and bumped into each other while hiding..."
Her voice grew quieter as she spoke. "And, you know, that was my first kiss..."
Outside the bedroom, Ethan, who had just walked to the door and was about to knock to ask if she wanted some water, froze mid-step. His raised hand hung in the air.
He had only intended to break the awkward stalemate between them, but he was caught completely off guard by the conversation he overheard.
’First kiss?!’
’That... was her first kiss?!’
’What did that mean? It meant that in her five years with Benjamin Sterling... nothing physical had ever happened?!’
An indescribable ecstasy filled his chest.
He leaned against the wall by the door, tilting his head back slightly. The corners of his lips curled up uncontrollably into a brilliant, almost goofy smile. There wasn’t a trace of the usual cold, ascetic Mr. Hawthorne.
He was thrilled.
Absolutely ecstatic!
Inside the room, Maxine was still on the phone with Susie, completely unaware that a man was standing just outside the door, overjoyed by her secret.
"Ugh, stop laughing! I don’t even know how to face him now. It’s so embarrassing..." Maxine complained into the phone.
"Embarrassing? What’s embarrassing about it? This means you two are making progress! A quantum leap, even!"
Susie excitedly analyzed from the other end. "Think about it! That’s Ethan Hawthorne! Countless women would kill for a chance to get close to him, and you got nothing. You gave him your first kiss! Isn’t that a million times better than giving it to that scumbag Benjamin Sterling? This shows that even fate is trying to set you up with a good match!"
Her words left Maxine feeling unsettled. "A good match... We’re just in a contract relationship..."
"So what if it’s a contract? Maxine Rhodes, don’t you dare chicken out now!" Susie cut right to the heart of the matter. "Search your heart and tell me, you don’t feel anything for him at all?"
Maxine fell silent.
’Feelings?’
’The hand that held hers tightly as they ran, the chest pressed against her in that narrow space, that accidental yet lingering kiss...’
’It seemed she wasn’t entirely unmoved after all.’
Ethan didn’t hear the last part of their conversation. He wasn’t in the habit of eavesdropping on others’ private matters.
When Maxine finished her call with Susie and opened the bedroom door, she found the living room lit by only a few ambient lamps. Ethan stood with his back to her before the massive floor-to-ceiling windows. The brilliant nightscape of Kingsland spread out before him, outlining his tall figure and making him seem all the more profound.
Hearing the sound, he slowly turned around. The warm, yellow light cast an ambiguous shadow across the sharp contours of his profile.
"There’s something," he began suddenly, his tone laced with a tempting, almost hypnotic quality. "I’ve been thinking, and I feel I should tell you."
Maxine lifted her gaze to meet his deep eyes.
"That accident today... that was my first kiss."
Maxine’s eyes flew wide, and her heart skipped a beat.
Before she could react, Ethan’s lips curved into a roguish smirk. "So, Rhodes... don’t you think you should take responsibility for me?"
