His fingers gently lifted my chin, making me look up at him. His thumb caressed the underside of my jaw, as if he already owned the right to touch me there. The light from the hallway caught in his dark eyes, turning them almost bottomless.
"Why did you kiss me back?" he asked quietly.
My heart jolted. Heat rushed to my face so fast, I could practically feel it spreading to my ears.
"I–I…" My gaze dropped to the floor between us. The tiles suddenly seemed very interesting. "No reason…"
"Really?"
I nodded quickly, though I couldn't bring myself to look at him again. "You kissed me… and I kissed you back. What reason could there be?"
For a moment, he said nothing at all.
The silence between us wasn't empty. It was thick and heavy, like something unspoken was growing. I could feel his stare moving over my face, my lips, the slow, uneven rise and fall of my chest.
The night air pressing in on us only made it worse, like the world itself was holding its breath. Then he moved.
