SWEET SPOT

Hot Sauce 8

Nyla

We were standing so close in the narrow space between the buildings that I could feel the warmth radiating from his body. The air between us felt thick, charged with something I didn’t have a name for yet.

That was when I noticed something.

There was a small cut on the side of his face, just below his cheekbone, and another on his bottom lip. It was fresh and slightly swollen, like he’d been in a fight or hit something hard. My chest tightened with worry before I could stop myself.

Without thinking, I lifted my hand and gently touched the cut on his lip with the pad of my thumb.

“What happened to you here?” I whispered, my voice soft with concern.

Ezekiel didn’t answer right away. He just stared at me, his eyes dark and serious, barely blinking. I realized then how close we were — only inches apart. My hand was still on his lip, my fingers trembling slightly against his warm skin. His breath brushed over my knuckles.

My heart stuttered.

I quickly pulled my hand back, cheeks burning. “Sorry about that, I didn’t—”

Before I could finish the sentence, Ezekiel grabbed my wrist gently but firmly. In the next breath, he leaned in and kissed me.

The world stopped.

His lips were warm and surprisingly soft against mine, despite the cut. The kiss started slow, almost hesitant, but quickly deepened. He tilted his head slightly, pressing harder, his mouth moving against mine with a hunger that made my knees weak. I felt the faint metallic taste of the cut on his lip, but it didn’t matter. Nothing mattered except the way he was kissing me deeply and urgently, like he had been waiting for this moment for a long time.

It was my first kiss.

I had no idea what I was doing. I had only ever seen kisses in movies and stolen glances at couples in public. My body went stiff, my mind blank. I stayed numb, eyes wide open, not knowing whether to push him away or pull him closer. My hands hovered awkwardly in the air before I finally rested them lightly on his chest, feeling the rapid beat of his heart under my palms.

Ezekiel didn’t seem to mind my inexperience. He kissed me harder, his free hand coming up to cup the side of my face, thumb brushing my cheek as his tongue gently traced my bottom lip, asking for entry. A small, involuntary sound escaped me, and he took the opportunity to deepen the kiss even more, his tongue sliding against mine in a slow, sensual dance that made heat flood through my entire body.

I felt dizzy, overwhelmed, and alive.

When he finally pulled back, we were both breathing hard. His forehead rested against mine for a second, his eyes dark and intense as they searched my face.

I pushed him away gently, my hands still trembling. “What the hell… what are you doing?”

Ezekiel let out a heavy sigh and ran a hand through his hair, looking frustrated with himself. “I’m sorry. I didn’t… I didn’t mean to do that. It’s just that you—” He paused, swallowing hard. “Never mind. But can you do me a favor and… not tell your brother about this?”

I shook my head slowly, still trying to process what had just happened. My lips felt swollen, tingling from his kiss. My heart was racing so fast I thought it might explode.

“I don’t even know what’s going on right now,” I whispered, my voice barely audible.

The silence between us stretched, heavy with everything we weren’t saying. He took a small step back and ran a hand through his hair, looking frustrated with himself.

“Last night,” he said quietly, “your brother called me. He demanded to know what happened between us. I didn’t know what he was talking about, and we ended up having a huge quarrel. We… kind of threw blows at each other. It got pretty bad.”

The memory clicked instantly. Last night, Garrett had come home with fresh cuts and bruises on his face. I had assumed he got into a fight with someone random. But now it all made sense.

“So he really fought with you…” I whispered, more to myself than to him.

Ezekiel nodded, his expression serious. “Yeah. He was really angry. Said something about seeing you crying in your room and that I hurt you. I still don’t fully understand what’s going on.”

I swallowed hard, guilt twisting in my stomach. “I’m sorry for what my brother did. Please don’t take it to heart. I think I should leave now.”

I turned to go, but something made me stop. I looked back at him.

“By the way,” I said, my voice quieter, “why are you worried about me telling my brother? The person you should be worried about more is Aida. About me telling Aida.”

Ezekiel furrowed his brows, his eyes narrowing in genuine confusion. “Wait… what?”

I shook my head, not wanting to explain. Not right now. I turned and walked back into the classroom, keeping my head down as I felt eyes on me. People were staring. Of course they were. Ezekiel had basically pulled me out of class without any explanation. I wanted the floor to open up and swallow me.

I sat down next to Susie, who gave me a wide-eyed look, but I couldn’t even speak. The rest of the lecture passed in a blur. I couldn’t concentrate at all. My mind kept replaying the kiss, the way his lips felt, the way he had deepened it, and the way my body had reacted even though I had no idea what I was doing. It was my first kiss, and it had been with him.

When the lecturer finally dismissed the class, I didn’t even realize it at first. The classroom was almost empty when I snapped out of it.

“s**t,” I muttered, quickly grabbing my books and stuffing them into my bag along with my wallet and phone. I was almost late for my shift at Subway.

I ran out of the building, heart still racing, and made it to the restaurant just in time. The afternoon rush kept me busy — taking orders, making sandwiches, and cleaning tables. I kept glancing at the clock, willing time to move faster so I could leave and process everything that had happened.

Then, toward the end of my shift, Garrett walked in.

He came straight to the counter. Our eyes met. I felt a rush of emotions — anger, confusion, and worry.

“By the way,” I whispered when no one was close, “I heard you had a fight with Ezekiel. What happened?”

One of the employees noticed me talking and called out, “Get back to work, Nyla!”

“Sorry!” I apologized quickly, then looked back at Garrett. “We’ll talk after I finish.”

He nodded. “I’ll wait for you.”

When my shift finally ended, I changed out of my uniform and met him outside. We started walking home together in silence for a few minutes.

Then I couldn’t hold it in anymore. “So… you want to tell me what really happened between you and Ezekiel?”

Garrett stopped walking and looked at me, his expression serious. “What did he tell you?”