"Are you serious? This is insane!" Taylor said.

Clearly, Clint was because his expression never changed from the straight forward look he wore when he made the announcement.

"Clint, how do you expect me to teleport a bottle across the room without me going with it?"

"With concentration."

Breathing out, Taylor dropped her head back. They were in Clint's family storage unit, though this time it didn't feel as cluttered and Taylor wondered if Clint had neatened up on purpose. 

"Taylor, you did the impossible last night," Clint said.

"And now you're asking me to do the impossible again."

"It's not impossible, I fully believe you can do this."

Despite Taylor's mountain size of doubts on the subject, she couldn't help feeling a bit bolstered by the certainty in which Clint spoke. She stared at him and he held her gaze, challenging her to back down. His support as well as his stubbornness were a combination she found confusing and aggravating. She didn't know how his sisters put up with him.

"It's the same as we worked on yesterday," Clint said. "You have to picture the spot in your mind, but instead of moving yourself, you're transferring the bottle there."

Taylor eyed one of the three chalk circles Clint had drawn only four feet away from her. When she focused on Clint, he was holding out a water bottle.

"This is insane," she muttered.

"You did agree to do insane earlier today."

"Yes, well I'm now regretting it."

"It will be fine, you can do this."

At the careless tone, Taylor wanted to teleport the bottle into his face. That was something she believed she could do.

"Just concentrate," Clint said.

Shaking her head, Taylor balanced the bottle on her palm and closed her eyes. She pictured the circle in her mind and the bottle landing in it. As she had done a million times before, Taylor let her ability flow through her. When she opened her eyes, Clint wasn't in front of her and the bottle was still in her hand, though now the bottle and her were both in the circle.

"Try again," Clint said. "Imagine your feet staying rooted to the spot, while the bottle disappears."

Widening her stance, Taylor focused on another circle Clint had drawn on the ground. She closed her eyes and channeled all her strength into flinging the bottle away from her. She heard a thud and found Clint working hard to suppress a grin.

"Good, next time teleport the bottle instead of actually throwing it."

Taylor flushed and scowled at she jumped to where the bottle had landed.

"Try not to close your eyes this time."

Taylor narrowed her eyes at the bottle, the circle a blur beyond it. She winked out and winked back in the circle, the bottle still in her hand.

"Again. This time remember what it was like to teleport into the car, the intense concentration you had, the way you envisioned being in the passenger's seat and made it happen."

Taylor decided not to point out that along with her intense concentration was a rush of adrenaline that spurred her on. She had no idea how Clint would try to recreate that sort of situation and didn't want any part of that.

Taking in a breath, Taylor thought of the previous night the way she acted on instinct, letting her mind take control. She stared at the bottle, willing it out of her hand and into the circle. Again both she and the bottle made it to the circle. Growling with annoyance, she squeezed the bottle, crunching the plastic.

"It's fine, it will take time. Try it again," Clint said.

For the following twenty minutes, Taylor learned that she hated the words 'try it again' with a passion. Adding to her mounting frustration was Clint's ability to remain completely unfazed and not disappointed with the lack of success.

Taylor closed her eyes, having little hope that this next attempt would accomplish anything. Thinking 'Eff it', she detached herself from the bottle. When she opened her eyes, it wasn't in her hands.

She froze. But the sound of laughter snapped her back. Clint was bent over, shaking with hysterics. Only then did Taylor realize the bottle wasn't in her hand because she had dropped it before teleporting herself to the circle. She stomped over to Clint and shoved him.

"Shut up!"

He stumbled but managed to stay upright, still laughing. Even though he had a good infectious laugh, Taylor was annoyed that it was directed at her. Seeing her glare, Clint held up his hands and swallowed the rest of his amusement.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have laughed," he said. "Why don't we take a break?"

"Why don't we call it quits? This isn't going to happen."

"Not yet. Come on, I have something for you to eat."

"Yes, because food will make the impossible possible."

"No, but you look tired and it will help."

Unable to argue with the statement, Taylor sank to the floor and Clint tossed her two power bars before sitting down across from her. To her irritation, the food did help but she wouldn't tell Clint that. Though from the way he looked at her, she had a feeling he was already aware of this.

"What makes you even think I can do this?" she said, breaking open the second power bar.

"If just our knees were touching could you teleport us?"

Taylor paused. "Where did that come?"

"I'm answering your question. Could you?"

She shrugged. "Yeah."

"What about just our feet?"

"I simply have to be in contact with you in someway."

Clint leaned forward. "Exactly, your ability isn't in your hands. It's in your mind. Since that's the case I believe that you can harness and drive your ability into something else. You're struggling because all you've ever done is teleport yourself, imagine not moving while something else does seems impossible."

"Yeah and so far that's been proven."

"No, what's been proven is that it will be difficult, but you need to ground yourself."

Clint paused in thought while Taylor finished off the second power bar. When he came out of his thoughts, Taylor raised her eyebrows in question.

"Are you willing to try a new tactic?" he asked.

There was a eager glint in Clint's eyes that told Taylor there was going to be no trying to convince him otherwise. Balling up her trash, she threw it at him, making him smile.

"I'll take that as a yes." He shifted closer to her until their knees were touching. "Okay, I'm going to put my hands on your shoulders. That okay?"

"Yeah, it's fine."

Clint placed his hands gently on her shoulders as if cautious to touch her. "Okay, take the bottle." Taylor picked up the accursed bottle. "Now we're going to try a different thought process. Don't think about your ability, let it come naturally. Simply picture teleporting the bottle while focusing on my hands holding you to this spot, right here."

Taylor brought the circle into her mind as she felt the weight of Clint's hands, the way they curved around her shoulders, somehow making her feel small. She blinked and they were all in the circle, bottle still tauntingly in her hand.

As Taylor sighed, Clint cupped her head, his brown eyes trained on her. The closeness and touch could have been intimate if not for the completely clinical expression he wore.

"You can do this," he said. "Your ability is second nature to you, you don't need to work hard to control it so focus only on me and let instinct take over."

Taylor swallowed, she wasn't sure how she could focus on anything else at the moment. His eyes were a shade between caramel and coffee. There was an imperfection in the right that she had never seen before.

"Let it go," Clint breathed out, leaning in.

He smelled like a cool winter night. That was all Taylor was aware of when the bottle no longer weighed down her hand. Clint beamed and Taylor was certain she stopped breathing.

"Knew you could do it," he said.

She looked, sucking in a breath when she found the bottle sitting in the center of another circle.

"Did that seriously just happen?" she whispered, still staring at the bottle.

Clint chuckled. "It did. Now let's try it again."

For once those words didn't make Taylor want to throw something. Still dazed and half convinced she hadn't teleported the bottle, she let Clint bring it back and drop it into her hand. He sat back down but didn't move towards her.

"Do you think you could..."

Taylor knew there was no way she could finish that sentence. Clint cocked his head confused then understanding dawned on him, saving her from having to say anything. He scooted forward and cupped her head.

"Don't try to change anything," Clint said. "We need to see that you can do it again. So do exactly what you did last time."

Taylor locked eyes with him, knowing that was not going to be a problem. This time when the bottle vanished from her hand she was more aware of it leaving. Clint grinned again and she found she couldn't hold back her own smile.

"Okay, again."

They repeated the act ten more times until Clint nodded. "Now, as you do it, I need you to become aware of how it feels to send it away. Don't think too hard, but you need to start memorizing the feeling."

When Clint held her, Taylor let a piece of her mind, not absorbed in the way his eyes pinned her to her spot, sense how her mind released the bottle from her hold. It was a strange sensation, as if someone was tugging on her arm with chilled fingers.

Taylor quickly repeated the task, devoting more brainpower to analyzing what she was doing. After the sixth time, she wasn't even aware of Clint's hands on her face or his presence. By the twelfth time, she felt as if she had captured rhythm of sending the bottle away.

"Okay," she said. "I think I can do it."

Nerves rattling around her stomach as she held the bottle. She shook her head, trying to dispel the niggling thought of failure. When she exhaled, she watched as the bottle disappeared from her palm and reappeared in the circle. Laughing, she fell back onto the floor, relieved.

"Ready to try something bigger?" Clint asked.

Taylor propped herself up on her elbows. "You really don't give a girl a break, do you?"

"Do you want a break?"

Laughing again, Taylor stood up. "What's next?"

Clint provided bigger and bigger objects for her to teleport and with each item Taylor grew more and more confident. To her, the sensation of teleporting something away was like holding a butterfly in her fist and opening her fingers, releasing it.

When Clint pointed to a workout machine that had to weigh five times the size of Taylor, she didn't hesitate. She touched it and grinned when it popped out of sight and back across the room. Elated and tired, she spun to Clint who was vibrating with excitement. He handed her a power bar and the water bottle. Grateful, Taylor ate and with pleasure drained the water bottle that had been her source of vexation an hour ago.

"Ready for the final challenge?" Clint asked.

"Bring it!"

Grinning, he held out his arms. "Move me."

Taylor stopped in the process of knotting the plastic wrapper. "What?"

Clint pointed to the workout machine. "You moved that and it weighs a lot more than I do."

"But that thing is not a human being!"

Clint closed the distance between them. "Taylor, it's all the same."

"No! It is not the same. I'm not going to do something that could harm you."

Donning his professor mask, Clint crossed his arms. "And how would it harm me? I've teleported with you before."

"Yes, but this time you wouldn't."

"It's still all the same basic mechanics."

Frustrated, Taylor shoved him, but he barely moved. "How can you act so causal about something that could hurt you?"

"Because I have faith in you. You can do this."

"What if it kills you?"

Clint regarded her with skepticism. "How would it kill me? It is the same as if you teleported with me."

Taylor stomped her foot, growing more angry with his calm and logical reasoning. "I'm not doing it."

"Taylor, what have we spent the last hour working on this for, if not this! This is what it's all leading up to! Have some faith in yourself and take charge."

His words hit a nerve and she lashed out. When she touched him, she sent her ability through him and he disappeared. For a heart beat, panic and guilt twisted inside her then he reappeared inside the circle.

When he started yelling, Taylor stood petrified with fear, picturing the most gruesome outcomes, his insides all in the wrong order. Part of his hand missing. His blood no longer in his body. Pieces of his brain gone.

Taylor crashed back into the present as Clint collided with her, scooping her up and spinning her around all the while cheering. Hit with relief, she held onto him, shaking with the force of her emotions. When he set her down, he was bursting with excitement.

"That was incredible! You're amazing! You were-"

When their eyes locked, the energy between them crackled and Clint kissed her.

Taylor nearly collapsed from shock and a flood of excited nerves. Every cell in her body exploded. His lips were like him, warm, soft, caring. Before Taylor could deepen the kiss, Clint pulled back.

"Wow...uh...sorry," he said, flushing. "That was..."

All Taylor could do was stand there focusing on remaining upright, feeling like she had just survived a tornado attack. She still buzzed from the feel of his lips and couldn't find her way through her thoughts but wishing he hadn't broken away so soon. Clint ran a hand through his hair, reddening at her silence.

"Say something..." he said.

Taylor opened her mouth, wanting to tell him to do it again.

Before she could voice her thoughts, her phone rang. They both stood frozen as if debating whether the sound were real. When it came again, Taylor realized it was her phone. Breaking herself out of her stone-like state, she dug through her bag and found it.

"Hello," she said, her voice a bit wobbly.

"Sweetheart, are you okay?" her mother asked.

Taylor put her back to Clint, not sure she could think while looking at him. "Yeah, fine. What's up?"

"It's getting late and you weren't answering my texts, I wanted to check in."

Taylor closed her eyes, hearing all to well the worry her mother wasn't admitting. "I'm sorry, time got away from me. I'll be home in a minute."

She could almost hear the relief escaping her mother. Guilt over making her mother fret knotted in her stomach.

"Okay, good. Love you."

"Love you too."

Taylor lowered the phone, not sure what came next.

When she turned around, Clint was moving about, resetting items that Taylor had teleported and picking up bits of wrappers. Following his lead, Taylor gathered up her stuff and slung her backpack over her shoulder. When there was nothing else to distract them, they met in the center.

"I don't think I should try to send you back to the gym just yet," she said. "It's a bit far."

Clint gave her a small smile. "Smart thinking. You might leave one of my legs behind."

"Can't have that."

They held each others gaze until Taylor reached out and laid her hand on his arm, trying not to notice how strong it was or think about how it felt to have it wrapped around her.

The sky was dark when they popped into the alleyway and Taylor realized how late it had gotten. She took a step back.

"See you tomorrow, Danger," Clint said, burying his hands into his pockets.

"Later, Clint."

The alley was wiped away and replaced by the tight confines of Taylor's closet. Sighing, she rested her head against the wall.

"Oh boy."

**********************************************************************

HOLY BUTTER BUCKETS BATMAN!! AHHHH!!!

CLINT AND TAYLOR KISSED!!! ARE YOU FREAKING OUT!!!! TELL ME YOU'RE FREAKING OUT!! IF YOU'RE NOT WHAT ARE YOU THEN CAUSE I NEED TO KNOW!!! 🦹🏾🦸🏽‍♀️🦸🏾‍♂️

Boy! What a surprise that was (for you, not for me I planned it like months ago!)

Question, which kiss was more surprising to you, Day or Clay?

And yes, I'm sticking with the Team names because I like them!

Now! Use that super power of yours and predict what you think will happen with this new development!

It's funny, I've written a lot of kissing scenes and each one is so different from the next but each fit with the book and the characters. It's weird being a writer, I gotta tell you, wonderful but weird.

What is your favorite kiss scene from a book?

వినోదాత్మక వాస్తవం (Telugu): Tom Holland And Robert Downey, Jr. Improvised Spider-Man's Death Scene

Vote, comment, follow but only if you stand for surprise kisses!