Chapter 4 : kiss
The sound still hung in the air.
Sharp, Clean and Undeniable.
His cheek stung.
She had actually done it.
Jade stood in front of him, frozen in the same posture...hand half-curled, eyes slightly widened , breath uneven, like her own reaction shocked her more than him.
The system went completely silent for three full seconds.
Then it screamed.
[DIRECT PHYSICAL CONTACT CONFIRMED]
[SLAP REGISTERED]
[CONGRATULATIONS HOST]
[YOU HAVE UNLOCKED A NEW ACHIEVEMENT: "SWEET PAIN OF PROGRESS"]
A tiny chibi-system appeared, blowing a party horn.
Confetti rained down in his vision.
Alex laughed softly.
Out loud.
That, somehow, flustered her even more than the shameless flirting.
Her cold voice tried to assemble itself.
"You..." she said.
He tilted his head slowly, the red mark already warming across his cheek.
"Nice reflex," he said lightly. "Good form, Wrist alignment's perfect. Ever practiced before?"
Her lips parted. "You're insane."
"Probably," he agreed.
She expected anger.
Expected him to shout.
Instead, he smiled like the slap had only confirmed something for him.
His presence didn't retreat.
It thickened.
The system hummed again like delighted gossip.
[DESIRE METER — TARGET: JADE TURNER]
Lust: 44%
Interest: 56%
Annoyance: 71%
[EMOTIONAL INSTABILITY DETECTED]
[WARNING: HOST IS NOW OFFICIALLY ADDICTIVE]
She stared at the mark on his cheek.
Her fingers twitched — like they wanted to touch the skin she just struck, check if it hurt.
She stopped herself instantly, jaw tightening.
"Don't look at me like that," she muttered.
"Like what?" he asked softly.
"Like you enjoyed it."
He didn't deny it.
He simply kept smiling.
"You hit me because I was flirting," he said calmly. "That means it worked."
Her eyes turned colder — but her ears were pink.
"You are the worst man I've ever met."
"I'll aim for unforgettable," he replied.
Her breath hitched very faintly. It wasn't loud, It wasn't dramatic. But the system noticed anyway.
[MINOR AROUSAL SPIKE RECORDED]
[DO NOT WORRY TARGET]
[THIS IS COMPLETELY NORMAL RESPONSE TO AN IDIOT WITH CONFIDENCE]
"Hey! who's side are you on?".
She tried to step past him toward the door.
He shifted slightly.
Just existing where she wanted to move.
Her annoyance spiked.
Her heart rate did too.
She glared up at him.
"Move."
"Ask nicely."
Her nails dug into her notebook.
"I'll hit you again."
"Promise?" he said softly.
That did it.
Her composure fractured for one raw second.
"You—!" she snapped, voice cracking with heat and humiliation and something she refused to name.
The Desire Meter jumped.
Lust: 46%
Interest: 59%
Annoyance: 75%
He leaned a bit closer, voice dropping until it was just for her.
"I meant every word," he murmured. "You're beautiful. You distract me. And I do want to kiss you."
Her pupils widened instantly.
She hated that reaction.
Absolutely hated it.
"Shut up," she whispered.
He didn't.
He brushed his thumb casually over the sting still warming his cheek.
"You hit hard," he said. "Are you always this passionate on first meetings?"
Her hand lifted again before she even thought.
Reflex.
She slapped him again.
The sound cracked the air a second time.
The system lost control.
[HAHAHAHAHAHA]
[TWO SLAPS IN ONE NIGHT]
[HOST YOU ARE EVOLVING TOO FAST]
[REQUEST: PLEASE GET A THIRD ONE FOR SCIENCE]
He actually laughed this time.
Not forced, Not bitter.
Real, Free.
She stared at him like he'd grown horns.
"You're laughing?" she whispered, stunned.
"Yeah," he said simply. "Feels good to feel something real again."
That was the wrong answer for her sanity.
Her anger weakened for half a heartbeat.
Emotion slipped in its place.
He saw it.
The system saw it.
[INTEREST SURGE]
[HEART RATE ACCELERATION]
[NOTE: SLAP FREQUENCY IS DIRECTLY CORRELATED TO ATTRACTION AND CONFUSION]
Her gaze wouldn't stop returning to his lips.
Once. Twice. Again.
She clearly hated that it kept happening.
He lifted his hand — slow, visible, completely non-threatening — and brushed away a strand of her hair that had fallen across her cheek.
Light touch. Barely there, But intentional.
She froze.
The system squealed.
[HOST HAS INITIATED GENTLE CONTACT]
[WARNING: THIS IS ILLEGAL LEVEL CHARMING]
[REQUESTING PERMISSION TO RECORD FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES]
Her breath broke rhythm for the smallest second.
"Don't touch me," she whispered — but she didn't step back.
His fingers lingered near her jaw without actually holding it.
"Sorry," he said softly. He wasn't sorry at all.
She knew it.
Annoyance and something warmer tangled together across her face.
The Desire Meter pulsed again.
Lust: 53%
Interest: 65%
Annoyance: 78%
She shut her eyes for a moment like she needed to restart her entire brain.
"This is ridiculous," she muttered.
"Yeah," he agreed. "You're distracting. It's a problem."
Her eyes snapped open again.
"You really don't stop talking, do you?"
"Not when you look at me like that."
"Like what?"
"Like you're trying not to want me."
Her throat tightened. She didn't answer.
The system clapped.
[EXCELLENT DIRECT HIT]
[EMOTIONAL CRITICAL DAMAGE LANDED]
[PLEASE CONTINUE, THIS IS BETTER THAN TV.]
She tried again to step past him.
Again, he didn't block. He simply tilted slightly closer, presence brushing against her like warm gravity.
His voice went low.
"Jade."
She regretted giving him her name. Names sounded different in that tone.
"Stop saying it like that," she whispered.
"Like what?"
"Like you own it."
He smiled slowly.
"Do I?"
Her heart tripped.
The meter jumped again.
Lust: 65%
Interest: 70%
Annoyance: 71%
Arousal: Rising…
The system hummed like a microwave about to explode.
[AROUSAL LEVELS APPROACHING UNSTABLE THRESHOLD]
[RECOMMENDATION: SLOW DOWN OR DON'T, I'M JUST A SYSTEM NOT YOUR MORAL COMPASS]
He leaned in just close enough that she could feel his breath against her ear.
"No one's ever slapped me twice on a first meeting," he whispered. "You're memorable."
Her hand twitched like it might do it again.
"Don't tempt me."
"I'm counting on it."
He traced a line ...not quite touching, from her shoulder down her arm, like his presence alone followed her skin.
She shivered and hated that she shivered.
"Alex…" she said, voice softer than she wanted.
He met her eyes.
Her resistance melted for a heartbeat.
Just one.
The system lost composure entirely.
[ALERT ALERT ALERT]
[DESIRE METER CRITICAL SURGE]
The numbers spiked.
Lust: 77%
Interest: 82%
Annoyance: 60%
Her lips parted without meaning to.
She whispered, almost afraid of her own reaction
"This is a bad idea."
He smiled gently.
"Yeah."
He tilted closer — slow, deliberate — giving her every second to pull away.
She didn't.
Her hands trembled, caught between pushing him and pulling him closer.
The system finally snapped.
[HOST STOP]
[HOST WAIT]
[OKAY NO DON'T WAIT THIS IS GETTING GOOD]
He spoke one last time, barely audible.
"If you don't want this… tell me to stop."
Silence.
Her heartbeat answered for her.
She didn't say anything.
She didn't step back.
She rose slightly on her toes without realizing.
Their mouths brushed.
Soft contact
Just slow. Warm. Inevitable.
A sensual first kiss.
Her fingers curled in his shirt.
The Desire Meter slammed upward.
Lust: 79%
Arousal: HIGH
Interest: 90%
The system screamed in triumph.
[CONGRATULATIONS HOST]
[YOU HAVE ENTERED HIGH-AROUSAL STATE]
[NEXT CHAPTER CONDITIONS HAVE BEEN MET]
[RECOMMENDATION: PROCEED WITH MATING RIT—]
[CORRECTION]
[PROCEED WITH WHATEVER YOU TWO WERE ALREADY DOING]