She gasped when he kissed her, having not expected it. She pulled back long enough to look him in the eyes, feeling breathless, and said, "I love you, too," her heart was racing, having never said that to another person in her life. Not in this context. Not romantically. Alexander had not been her first in many aspects, but in this he was, and it felt so overwhelmingly right she could have cried in relief.
But she didn't want to cry, she didn't even want to talk - talking meant coming clean to him about her issues, her history, her insecurities - and so she kissed him again, wrapping her arms around him desperately, devouring his mouth.