BENEATH THE SMILE

Chapter 4 - The Date

When I set my eyes on him,  butterflies went off in my stomach.
He looked way hotter than he looked back then in school.

I was waiting outside his apartment. He donned a green sweater and black shorts, revealing his hairy legs. I used to think that hairy legs looked ugly but his were not even close to that.

I started to panic as he got close. I felt my legs shake, my hand held tight onto the cross bag that slung over my left shoulder.

"Hey gorgeous," he said. "Are you ready for the most unforgettable walk of your life?" His voice was the sweetest thing I had ever heard.

I stood still, eyes fixed on him, dumbstruck. I was astounded by his looks, for a minute or more. How does he keep that coal black hair so neat?

My eyes betrayed me and went ahead to rove over his body. I took my time and had a fill of his sexiness. He had sparkling brown eyes and light pink lips, those are features caught my attention the most. His skin color was a shade of light brown. His arms were very masculine,  I knew I'd feel safe in them.

Damn look at those lips!

"Jenny. Are you alright?" The sound of his voice awoke me from my day dream. I hated myself for embarrassing myself the very first time I met Paul.

"Aaah. I'm sorry," I stammered. "Sure. Let's go."

"Okay beautiful. Shall we?" he asked, crossing his elbow over my arm.

What a gentleman! I wondered.

It was starting to get dark by the time we started walking. We moved through fairly lit streets, silent below the moon. We reminisced on the days he used to perform and leave the entire auditorium screaming.

I can't remember exactly what he had said. It could have been a story uninteresting, but every word that escaped his lips tingled my senses. Beyond half way the walk, we reached my church, where I used to pray on Sundays.

About a meter from the church premises, Paul slowly held my hand in his, locking our fingers in the process. My heart skipped a beat. The feel of his rough palm on my smooth one, sent tingles through my body.

His grip was tight. He held me firmly, like he owned me. Some ladies sat outside a shop across from the church, chatting. They fell silent as we passed by. I could feel their stares on our backs as we left them behind.

I smiled. It made me feel good that they felt envious of us. After a few more minutes, I stopped forcing Paul to come to a halt himself. I turned and faced him. I searched his eyes, but didn't understand what I saw.

The spark that had been in them was now gone. He didn't look happy at all.

"Hey. What's wrong?" I asked.

He avoided my gaze and looked past my ear instead. "Nothing. Why?"

"You're eyes are telling me something I can't understand."

Paul held my second hand and looked me in the eyes. "Nothing's wrong. Trust me."

I exhaled.

"Okay.  If you say so."

I never wanted to bother him so I let it go. It must be nothing serious. I shrugged.

We talked about so many things, some I do not remember because I was only listening to his voice, nothing else mattered. There was a way the words that came out of his mouth sounded to my ears, sweet. I didn't want him to stop talking.

Time was again us. We did not even realize that it was getting late. Our walk was cut short. We changed route and walked back to my house.

As soon as we were outside the gate, he stopped and faced me, preparing to say goodbye.

"I think I should say goodbye for now," he whispered. "We'll talk tomorrow pretty one. I can't keep such a beauty out in the cold of the night."

Please stay. Don't go now. I badly wanted to say those words, but I figured that I would come out as a desperate girl. So they stayed back in my head.

"Alright. Goodnight Paul. Thanks for the walk. I had a great time this evening. We should do this again sometime."

"Of course. Anything for you."

He placed a kiss on my cheek and we hugged for close to five minutes. Neither if us wanted to let go. His embrace was tight, I felt safe and wanted in his arms. I felt at peace.

After minutes of hugging, I decided that I had to go inside. As I turned to leave, I felt his hand hold tight on my wrist and my body was whisked around, coming to a stop when I met his. My bosom pressed hard on his chest.

The poor heart inside me was racing at that moment. My hands started to sweat. My eyes were glowing like the stars that shone above our heads. I had no idea what he wanted to do, but I wanted him to do it, whatever it was.

"Jenny. I know that this is very soon but I can't keep it in.
I think I'm in love with u. I have looked for you for a long time. I liked you back then in high school but I had no way of letting you know.
I could not stop looking at your photos when I found your Instagram account.
I lost you before, I am not letting that happen again. I want you Jenny. Please be mine." I could not clearly make out everything that he had said but in my head, if I was thinking right, he was telling me that he loved me.

That was the last thing I expected Paul to say.
Was it real or had I been dreaming? Dreaming with my eyes open was something I had gotten used to.

Maybe it's one of those dreams I usually jump into. The thoughts in my head were far from the truth.