Sweet Hatred
Chapter 180: Pictures/Memory

Chapter 180: Pictures/Memory

His eyes narrowed. "Why?"

"To ruin your dignity now."

He chuckled darkly, letting me drag him forward. "I’ll give you five minutes. Then I’m owning that booth."

"Oh, we’ll see about that."

The photo booth was tiny.

Too tiny.

Kael looked at it like it personally offended him. "This feels... childish."

"That’s the point," I said, dragging him in. "Now get in before I change my mind and go with that guy over there who has better arms."

"You’re lying," he said, ducking into the cramped space beside me, shoulders brushing mine. "I checked."

"Shut up."

The curtain closed behind us and we sat down. Kael was a statue.

I glanced at him. "Why do you look like someone shoved you into a coffin?"

"I don’t do photos."

"You don’t do fun, you mean."

The screen in front of us blinked: 5... 4...

I had a split second to act.

Without thinking, I reached up and grabbed his face, literally squishing his cheeks between my palms and forcing him to look at the screen.

"Smile, robot."

Kael blinked. Then the flash went off.

"Too late," I giggled.

3... 2...

I threw up peace signs. He just sat there. Dead-eyed. So I turned toward him and wiggled my brows.

Flash.

"Oh my God," I laughed. "You look like you’re being held hostage."

He grunted. "I feel like it."

2... 1...

On impulse, I leaned in and kissed his cheek, holding up a stupid heart with my fingers.

His jaw tensed.

The camera flashed.

"Now you’re blushing," I teased.

"I don’t blush."

"Sure, Kael."

Last shot coming in...

We were already too close, the space too tight, our knees brushing and our thighs almost touching. My face tilted toward his. His eyes were already on me. Too intensely.

I swallowed.

And then, I felt it.

The softest graze.

My nose brushed his. His hand ghosted over my wrist.

I pulled back slightly, suddenly aware of the heat rising to my cheeks,

But Kael didn’t let me go.

Instead, his hand caught my chin and gently guided me right back.

And then his lips met mine.

Soft. Firm. Sure.

The flash went off again.

I froze. Breath trapped in my throat.

The camera beeped. Done.

We both just sat there.

"I..." I cleared my throat. My pulse was going insane. I was sweating under my dress. My heart felt like it had been kissed and punched at the same time. "That was—"

"Nothing," Kael said, his voice lower, calm. "Just a picture."

Oh. Liar.

We stepped out. The photos slid from the side of the machine like a truth we couldn’t shove back inside.

I stared at them.

The first was ridiculous, me holding his face like a deranged cat mom and him looking absolutely betrayed.

The second was his deadpan face next to my exaggerated pout.

The third... I kissed his cheek and he looked like he’d just been hit with a virus he didn’t know how to process.

And the last...

My breath seized.

My lips still on his. My fingers curled lightly against his shoulder. His hand on my face.

And his eyes closed.

It didn’t look like just a picture. It looked like a memory.

I quickly grabbed the third one, the cheek kiss, his face looking all confused and adorable.

"This one’s mine," I said, trying to sound breezy.

I handed him the rest. "You can keep the others. You know. For when you’re bored. Or whatever."

Kael took them silently. I dared a glance up.

He was staring at the last photo, brows slightly furrowed, lips parted like he was trying to figure something out.

He didn’t say thank you. He didn’t say anything. He just slipped the strip into his coat pocket like it meant something.

And that made it worse.

I needed to breathe.

Or scream.

Or shove him off this emotional rollercoaster before I spontaneously combusted.

So I clapped my hands and asked, "Are you having fun so far?"

Kael turned to me, lips quirking into that slow, satisfied smile that made me feel like the gift, not the giver. "What do you think?"

Ugh. Smug bastard.

Still, I bit back a grin. He was enjoying himself. Mission: Birthday Joy, successful.

"Great," I said breezily, walking a step ahead. "Let’s hit the Ferris wheel before the sun sets."

He followed me without question, of course. Like a shadow with expensive cologne and a god complex.

The Ferris wheel cabin rocked slightly as we climbed in. I immediately pointed to the opposite seat. "There."

"You’re really going to make me sit across from you?"

"You’re dangerous," I said, crossing my arms.

"I’ve been good."

"The bare minimum, Kael."

He smirked but obeyed. The ride creaked to life, and slowly, we rose, higher and higher into the soft-hued sky.

The city stretched beneath us, rooftops dipped in gold, streets glowing like veins of light. The sky itself was bleeding pink and peach into a violet haze. The sun, caught between its descent and the horizon, burned low and warm like it didn’t want to leave either.

I pressed my forehead to the glass, breath fogging slightly.

It was beautiful.

But I could feel his eyes. Not on the sky. On me.

"You’re quiet," I murmured, glancing at him.

Kael didn’t look away. "I’m wondering something."

"God. What wicked thoughts are brewing in that head now?"

He tilted his head, eyes still drinking me in. "Why am I sitting across from you, when I could’ve been beside you?"

I rolled my eyes. "Because I don’t trust you."

"I’ve been on my best behavior all afternoon." he said, faux-innocent.

"Exactly. That’s suspicious."

He smiled again, this time, slower. Quieter. Like something had softened in him. "Still," he said, voice low, "thank you."

I blinked. "For what?"

"For today. For everything."

My chest did a thing. An annoying, swelling thing that made me panic slightly because no one told my heart to throw a concert in his name.

I looked down at my hands. "You’re welcome," I mumbled, awkwardly.

His smile widened just enough to tell me he heard it. Felt it.

The ride slowed to a gentle stop. We descended, stepped out, walked in a silence that was heavier than it should’ve been.

When we got into the car, I fumbled with my seatbelt, trying to recover my usual composure. Trying to stop my brain from looping his face in that last photo.

That’s when Kael reached over.

His fingers slid gently under my jaw, turning my face to him.

And then he kissed me.

No warning. No teasing.

Just that firm, devastating pull of lips that unraveled every nerve like it knew exactly where to hurt and where to soothe.

It stole the breath right from my lungs.

By the time he pulled back, I was a blinking mess of heat and need and confusion, and he was calmly starting the car like he didn’t just short-circuit my entire nervous system.

"You—" I gasped. "You need to stop attacking me with kisses!"

He shifted into gear, that lazy, satisfied grin crawling across his face again. "It’s my favorite thing to do to you."

I thwacked the back of his head.

Gently.

But pointedly.

"Keep your eyes on the road, menace."

He chuckled. And as the city lights flickered past, I sank back into my seat, heart still pounding like it hadn’t gotten the memo...

That I was supposed to be in control.