Tonight's not over

Chapter 17

I slept badly. Christine's words kept passing through my brain "Chris has always had a soft spot for you." "Haven't you ever noticed the way he looks at you?" "Trust me, he likes you." How could she have got it so wrong? Why had I believed her?By the time I heard the knock on my bedroom door I was exhausted.
"You awake sleepy head?" I heard Chris' voice call as he tapped gently.

"Yeah." I called back. "I'm awake." I watched as the door handle moved and the door started to open. I sighed not sure I was prepared to face him yet.
As the door opened I saw him stood there, cup of coffee in his hand and that wonderful smile spread across his face. My heart melted. I knew there was no way I could resist that smile no matter how hard I tried.

"Are you alright?" he asked looking concerned as he walked towards me "You don't look too good."

"Thanks!" I moaned and rolled my eyes trying to keep things light hearted so he wouldn't see what I was really feeling.

"No! I mean..."

"It's OK I know what you mean and if I look half as bad as I feel I must look dreadful." I laughed.

"You look great as always." he said quickly. "Erm.... I mean...." All of a sudden he seemed a little flustered and I'm sure I saw him blush. A little spark of hope lit up in my heart and I tried to extinguish it. It was just my imagination after all. "You look tired." he finally finished by saying.

"I didn't sleep well."

"Anything wrong?" he asked, more relaxed again now.

I shrugged "No just couldn't settle for some reason."

He looked disappointed as he said "Well if you're not up to surfing I guess we could cancel."

"No way!" I exclaimed.
It might be a bad idea but I wasn't about to miss my chance of being that close to him for a whole day. Who knew, maybe time together was all we needed for him to find something more than just a feeling of friendship towards me.
The smile was back now, bigger than ever and those gorgeous eyes of his shone.
"Great! Well I've brought you a coffee. Then you can grab a shower if you like, while I make breakfast."

"Thanks." I replied as I took the coffee he was holding out towards me. For a moment he seemed to hesitate, his eyes locked on mine but then he turned and walked away.

As I drank my coffee Christine's words rang in my ears again "Haven't you ever noticed the way he looks at you?"  Now I was noticing but did it really mean what I wanted it to mean?

After my shower, I dressed and put on a little makeup. I didn't want Chris thinking I wasn't up to our day at the beach. As I wandered into the kitchen I could smell pancakes cooking.
"I hope you're hungry." Chris said.
"Starving now I've smelt those." I replied walking over to him and leaning over his shoulder to look in the pan he had on the stove. He turned his head and our noses almost touched. My breath caught in my throat as our eyes met and I had to fight the desire to kiss him.

He turned away, his voice strained as he said "Uhm... good job they're nearly ready then."
I felt my cheeks burn slightly as I turned and walked across the room.
"Shall I make fresh coffee to go with those?" I asked trying to make things seem normal even if inside I felt anything but.

"Great idea."

I fiddled with the coffee maker giving myself a few minutes to get my feelings under control and then carried the pot over to the table just as Chris was bringing the pancakes. He smiled at me and my heart skipped, today was going to be hard.
"Perfect timing." he said as he placed the pancakes on the table.
"Help yourself. You're gonna need your strength for surfing." He said.
I looked up at him, he winked and I felt butterflies inside. I knew I was in big trouble now. He only had to look at me and shivers ran down my spine. How had I let this happen? Could I really survive a whole day of this? I was about to find out and if I was honest with myself I wouldn't want to miss it for the world.