Infatuated | Tom Blyth

two

"Get yourself together" Tom whispered to himself. He took a few deep breaths before getting up and making his way to the other side of the table where Aurora and Rachel were seated.

"Hi, I'm Tom" he smiled, faking confidence as he looked into her green eyes and offered his hand for her to shake.

"Aurora" she barely said, shaking Tom's hand before turning back to talk to Rachel.

Tom blushed as he thought of the spark he felt when he touched her hand. But why was she being rude, he wondered.

Sighing, he sat down next to Aurora on the leather couch. She didn't acknowledge his presence in any way, except by inching her leg away from his.

Tom frowned as he fiddled with his rings, she clearly was not interested in him.

"Excuse me, but..." Tom started, interrupting Aurora and Rachel's conversation. Aurora sighed, turning to him annoyed.

"What?" she asked, not hiding her annoyance.

"Can I buy you a drink?" he asked, still faking confidence. He had decided he would not back down, not unless she directly stated she wanted him to go away.

"I already have a drink" she said, her face not showing any emotion as she lifted up her Long Island ice tea so Tom could see it.

"Well then... Do you maybe want to- want to dance?" Tom asked, mentally cursing at himself for stuttering in front of this angel.

"No thanks, I'm good here" she said. "Anyway..." she continued, turning back to talk to Rachel.

Tom frowned. She clearly enjoyed the other man's company. Maybe he was her boyfriend? He sighed, feeling defeated. Then, he got an idea.

"Rach? Can I talk to you for a minute?" he asked, eyeing Rachel who was sitting next to Aurora and Josh on the other side of the couch.

"Sure, I'll just be a minute" she said, smiling to Aurora and getting up.

Tom and Rachel walked outside to the patio where people were smoking so they could hear each other a bit better. Tom scratched his neck awkwardly as he started to talk.

"So Aurora... What's her deal?" he asked, looking down at his shoes shyly.

"Aurora? Why, you interested?" Rachel asked teasingly, smirking at Tom.

"Maybe..." Tom breathed out.

"Well... She's my childhood friend. I've known her since I was like gosh... Maybe 6 years old. She's quite guarded, but amazing once you get to know her" Rachel spoke softly, placing her hand on Tom's shoulder.

"But..." she continued, sighing and going quiet.

"But what?" Tom asked, lifting his gaze to Rachel's eyes.

"I'm not supposed to say anything but Tom... She's been through an awful lot in her life. You have to be careful with her. She's not someone to play around with" Rachel said, clearly protective of the gorgeous girl.

"Yeah, I get it... It's just... I have a feeling she's supposed to be mine... I know we just met and it's stupid but..." Tom rambled.

"It's not stupid, Tom. I'll put in a good word for you, okay?" Rachel smiled.

"Okay, let's get back inside" Tom smiled and the pair walked back in together.