"W..what weird thing?" I asked, swallowing. He shrugged and leaned away. "Well...it feels like we are friends, then when you look at us well enough, you know more about me than I do about you. It's like there is something missing...but at the same time it works."I wallowed. "Maybe because you never asked."He turned to me, his eyes filled with a mischievous humor. "Well now I am asking. Or I want to, if you would let me."For some reason, I felt like we deviated a little from the topic and I cleared my throat nervously."What would you like to know?"He looked up, then came to me and helped me off the work table, his hand lingering on mine a little longer than normal. He took the tray he laid out for both of us, and he stepped behind me as we made it to the sitting room.He set up slow music in the background then sat on the floor. I naturally sat opposite him with the tray between us."What do you think of me?" He suddenly asked, looking ahead.I watched his profile, then bit dow
I swallowed, then took a step backwards, my back hitting the door. I blinked as he came forward, his hair covering part of his eyes.We were both soaking wet and dripping and he gave a small smile. "Is this..." he started to say, then looked down across my face, then back up. "The part where we kiss?"I bit down on my lips, my breath stopping in my throat. He leaned forward, his hand on the door beside me, until his face was a mere eyelash away from me.I swallowed, his eyes holding mine in place. They were dark, and the intensity in them knocked my breath out of me.He looked down at my lips again, briefly breaking our eye contact, then looked back up to me."Are you enthralled enough?" he asked again, his eyes darting across both of mine, as if he needed to take note of each and everything that might pass by in my gaze.I swallowed again, blinking. He smiled and leaned away from me, then got a towel from the small cabinet. He then wrapped the towel around me, then opened the door
I woke up first, but Luke was sleeping too, facing me, his face a little above mine so his lips were exactly on my forehead. I didn't want to make things awkward, so I laid back, closing my eyes like I was asleep. I heard as he stirred, but didn't quite wake till some minutes later. I heard him give a soft groan as he woke up. He took a few seconds, before I heard him chuckle a little.His fingers tucked a few strands of my hair away, but then lingered a little, tracing the shape of my brows, then my nose, then my lips. As if he was trying to memorize my face.I tried hard to stay still, partly not to make him embarrassed, and mostly because I enjoyed the attention, but convincing myself that I was unaware. It made it easier to live in the moment, and not worry about temporality.Slowly, I felt him move closer and hold my hand a little, his fingers slowly massaged mine, and I heard him chuckle again."How is she so beautiful when she's sleeping?"I fought hard to keep the blush dow
Luke watched me keenly as I walked around, making sure I don't forget anything. I knew I didn't have much to forget, I just wanted to stay a little longer. It would be weird for me to stay, but I knew I didn't want to leave either."Do you really have to leave?" he said, walking up to me. He looked downcast, and his eyes bored into mine."I can't stay, Luke. I have other things to do."He blinked and gave a small sigh. "Just until evening?"I shook my head. "Sorry, Luke."He gave a small smile of defeat and nodded. "It's fine. Nothing to apologize for. I had a great time thanks to you."I smiled and he walked away to pack the cookies he said he would, even though I wasn't sure I would have the appetite to eat them now.I swallowed as he came back, then handed it to me. I stretched my hand to collect it, but he moved it away and pulled me to him instead. He held me in his arms, and I naturally buried my face in his shoulder. He felt warm and nice, and I perceived the beautiful scent
Luke watched me, a deep, swirling emotion filling his eyes as he did. I managed a small, breathless smile.I am falling for him. For a man who's dead. Falling for the image of him from seven years into the past.He mirrored my smile, and I immediately turned away. If I sat there watching him smile, watching his orbs, I couldn't trust myself to be rational. I opened the car door and went out, holding the cookies and my purse, my walk a little staggered."Take care, Karla." He called after me and I nodded and waved, then ran into my house. I closed the door behind me and leaned on it, closing my eyes and letting go of the purse and everything else. "What do I do?" I asked myself, my heart fluttering hard. I could still feel the tingles his lips had left on the side of my lips, the tingles his touch left in my hand, the butterflies his gaze left in my stomach. I let myself reach the ground and I brought ny knees to myself, hugging myself. I can't do this. I can't break my own heart
I let myself slowly sink to the floor as I heard Luke backing out of the front porch. I could feel my heart breaking even before I could let myself be in love with him, the pain filling my mind before I even let the love begin.But that was how we were bound to end up. In pain, in love, in sadness, and in hurt. This was a love story that could never happen, a love story we shouldn't even begin.But he didn't know that. To him, I was just a girl who was here, who helped him, and who, he, probably, slowly, felt something for.I swallowed as Bernice came out of my room and she folded her hands, her eyes watching me sympathetically."Are you that in love?" I looked up to her and shook my head using the back of my hands to wipe my tears away."I have never seen you cry twice for anything. Not me, not your parents...nothing and no one. But you can't even stop crying now."I looked up at her, my chest heaving. "What do I do?"She looked at me with all the seriousness in the world. "Go be
I left the window side and walked back to my bed, feeling like it was the only thing I could do. I felt weak to my toes, and I wondered how Luke would be feeling too. He was shut off by me, and then bashed by my friend, he has the wake of his father to think about...I sighed and reached for my phone. There was no message and it made me sigh again. Maybe I should call him, but I wasn't even sure I knew what to say.Hey, sorry about my friend, but she doesn't know what's between us.I swallowed. Between us?I lowered my head and dropped my phone when it started to ring again. I immediately picked it up, and then pressed it to my ear, my heart beat accelerating rapidly."Karla? Is that you?"I swallowed, the sound of his voice filling my ears. I nodded. "Yes."He went silent for a while. "Did you miss the sunset?"I closed my eyes. "Yes."Another silence. "Luke, I...""Is something wrong with me? Something you are not telling me?""Why?" I asked, my lips parting."I just...after the pho
I leaned on the door, tears welling up in my eyes again. It baffles me how many times I had cried already, as if I was paying the price for not crying much before this. His fragrance and the essence of his touch lingered, long after he was gone, and it threatened to drive me crazy. A little too crazy, more than I already was.Like a log, I dragged myself back to bed, fully intending to let myself just wallow in the sadness my heart felt, at least for today.I watched the sunset in earnest, hoping he was seeing it too, hoping that at least, the hope that I was watching too would heal him. And heal me too. My phone didn't buzz with a message or a call, and I knew he had the right to not call. It still hurt a little and I had to slap my hands every time I reached for my phone. I drifted off to sleep on a cloud of my sadness, and when I woke up, it was already 11 a.m. I sat up on the bed for a while, trying to make sense of my surroundings. My eyes landed on the small calendar on the b