Because I Thought I Hated You

12

"Are you the girl I was texting?" He asks as he sits down across from her. He held a plate of raspberry pie and placed it on the table.

She stared at him in shock, it was like she was a deer caught in highlights. She had no idea what to say. She just thought about how weird this thing called life was. How they just happened to be texting each other, and then at the party, where they sat across from each other. But then she thought about his text from that night, how he had thought the girl across from him was the anonymous texter on his end and he had been right.

"You figured it out already though." That's why he had been looking at her at the party, watching her text right after he had sent his. She leaned back trying to take it all in.

How could I have missed it?

"Not really, I thought I had, but then I thought that maybe it wasn't you because you said you were texting a guy." Nolan grabbed his spoon and began to eat his pie. "But then," he says as he points his spoon at her. "When the waiter said you didn't eat fries, I was wondering if I was right."

She nods, which explained his expression when she had said it. She leans forward and looks at her pie. So in reality, she didn't have to make a choice, because he was the anonymous texter all along. He was the only choice. She put her hands in her hair with her elbows on the table and grabbed it as she looked at her pie. She didn't know how to look at him now. Did he know that she had feelings for him? She braced herself to look at him as she released her hair and looked up at him. He as always had his eyes on her.

"Are you disappointed to find that I ended up being the guy behind the screen?"

She shakes her head. "No, just flabbergasted."

He licks his lips and leans forward, so now they were closer than before. He glanced down at her lips then at her eyes. "Hi."

She smiled and shook her head. He snorts making her push his face away. "Get out you weirdo."

They land back in their proximity and just stare at each other. "This is the most amazing moment in my life, Olivia Armstrong."

She smiles and looks down with the thought that his effect on her was unfair, she shakes her head and looks back at him. "Why do you say my full name?"

He smirks. "You'll laugh if I tell you."

She smiles, "Try me."

He stares at her with a glint in his eyes and then nods. "I saw it in a movie," she bursts out laughing and he grins at her. He liked the sound of her laugh. "Wait, but it was a romantic gesture."

With a stilled smile, she looks at him with a tilt of her head. "This whole time it was a romatic gesture?"

"I mean, not at first, but just recently."

She nods. "How recent?"

He puts his hands up. "She's putting me on the spot already?" She laughs and then brushed her hair back. He gets serious and looks at her. "Since the party."

Her eyes widen a bit, "Wait did you like me since the party?"

He smiles. "Like you? Who said anything about liking you, Talia Armstrong?" She covered her face with her hands as her face heats up. Of course, how could she be so sure of that without the facts? Was she projecting her feelings onto him? "Hey, hey," he peels her hands off her face, leans closer, and speaks lowly. "I was just joking."

She stares at him, searching his face, and realized that yeah, he was joking. She playfully smacked his shoulder and he snorts. "Jerk."

She smiles at her pie, and then at him. "So do you want to get out of here?" She nods. She grabs her spoon and eats the pie as fast as she can. He smiles at her when she was done but she doesn't look at him as she stands up. He follows her outside.

"Did you bring your car?" She asks him. He shakes his head.

"No I came in a taxi, my car is at the shop right now." She nods and leads him to hers. "Can I drive?" She tosses him the keys and they get in the car.

"Where are we going?" She asks as he pulls out of the parking lot and onto the road. He smirks at her.

"To my secret spot." She nods, and turns on the radio, instrumental music erupts in the car, and she lows it down. "So you like Instrumental music?"

"Yeah, it's calming." He nods. He takes a left turn and then looks at her for a quick second. Her eyes were already on him, she was looking at his profile, how his hair looked messy and how his cheeks had small freckles scattered on them. His eyes were brown and with his brown hair, he reminded her of a bear. Which in her book made him adorable.

She sighs and looks out the window. She was still trying to wrap her mind around this whole thing. He wanted to get to know her but turned out he was already getting to know her through text. And her, him.

Was this her destiny? He throws a coke to the floor and they end up in the same car with mutual feelings. This world was twisted. She wasn't mad, she was just still shocked. Somewhere inside her, she was glad that it was him and not a complete stranger.

I like Nolan Evans.