Please Mind The Gap #1

29: Please mind the answer

29: Please mind the answer

"Will you be my girlfriend?"

Teddy stared at him. Her mind processed his words so fast that they blurred together into nonsensical letters. So as the rude, sharp, clever Teddy she was, she opened her mouth and said one word.

"What?"

In the flickering light, she saw Nathan flush a dark pink and swallow hesitantly. "You... you know... be...be my...my gorlfriend... I mean, my girlfriend."

"So this is...to...to make it official?" Teddy said, breathless. His girlfriend...

"Well... yeah. That's the idea."

She continued to stare at him. "So..."

He winced. "If you don't want to, just rip the band-aid off and I'll go and return those earrings, the flowers and the Harry Potter and the Cup of Fire DVD—"

"Goblet of Fire," she corrected automatically. Cup of Fire seemed absolutely ridiculous to her. A sign of disgusting disrespect to JK Rowling.

He smiled. "See?"

"See what?" Teddy felt confused.

"I need you to be with me," he said, nearing her slightly. Her heart started to beat faster than it had ever beaten before. "To correct me, to call me an idiot, to make me feel like myself again. No one would ever be brave enough to show their inner Harry Potter geek or their Star Wars dark side to me. You're the only one who can make me truly, and genuinely smile. You're the only person who sees me."

He moved even closer to her. Now they were just inches apart. "Please say yes."

All of her emotions started to rise to the surface like lava threatening to erupt out of a volcano. Affection and panic and worry and joy and a strange pang of loss started to make her stutter. "But... but... I'm leaving. I won't see you again for months...years..."

"Then again, the non-existent Friendster," Nathan laughed a little. Now his forehead was resting against hers. "But seriously... we can try to make it work. We really could..."

"But..."

"Trust me," he breathed, weaving a hand into her hair. She sighed, feeling the warmth of his fingers against her skin.

"Okay."

He started and then stared in wonder at her. "What?"

"Okay," she repeated. She moved even nearer to him and now they were close enough to kiss, their lips centimeters apart. "I trust you."

They looked at each other for a moment, frozen in shock at the thought of finally making it official. And then Nathan began to grin widely and he took her face into his hands and kissed her.

It was a brief kiss, a soft and gentle one, a whisper of hope and promise. Teddy closed her eyes and reached up to entangle her fingers into Nathan's silky hair, winding her fingers into his locks. She closed her eyes and let herself be enveloped by his warmth and love. When she closed her eyes, all she saw was Nathan Wren and nothing else. She saw the boy who had officially stolen her heart.

"You know what?" she said softly. "I think I love you back."

---

Two more days. Two more days until Teddy leaves for London. We have to do something before she leaves.

"Let's go surfing aga—"

"No," Teddy interrupted immediately. "Don't you remember how horrible I was?"