Indecipherable Looks

Chapter 9

This woman was so different than what he'd expected. And he loved her more for it. With each melodic utterance of his name on her lips, he wanted to kiss her more, be with her more, just love on her.

And that was why Riftan felt...nervous. It was increasingly challenging to hold back, to pretend Maxi didn't mean so much more to him than he had cared to let on. He didn't want to scare her with his affections; no, he would do anything to avoid pushing her away. But then the line did seem to have been crossed- he knew nothing about romantic relationships, but even the knight could assume that holding and falling asleep with a woman was not platonic. And she had otherwise embraced his advances, even initiated some of her own- so why was this so difficult?

Though of course he knew why- Riftan couldn't stand the thought of losing her. It was terrifying, the one thing that truly scared him.

He fingered the necklace he had bought her the other day at the fair, scoffing at his own weakness. The small, sparkly, lavender rose looked ridiculous in his calloused palm, and he off-handedly thought of how he could crush it in one go. Then he wouldn't have to think about the implications of giving her the thing. Maxi was genuinely kind, so she wouldn't insult him- but there was the chance the gift could be off-putting to her, not only because of the quality, but because he gave it. The gift could make her uncomfortable if she did not feel the same way he did. Besides, Maxi deserved better, something more fitting for her station.

At the fair, he noticed she was having a difficult time winning a balloon pop game, though her aim was fairly accurate most of the time. On inspecting the darts, it was obvious that they were being swindled, as each was purposefully blunted.

Thankfully, he had the strength to win regardless.

After beating the swindler, Maxi began to pick out her prize. But she was so indecisive; like it was the most important decision of her life. He offered to just buy her everything she wanted, but she refused, opting to ruminate over which cheap animal she wanted. Really, he didn't understand the enthusiasm, but everything she did was adorable to him, including that scrunched up look on her face while she pondered.

That was when he saw the stall, with rings and bracelets and necklaces that glittered in the dark night as the lantern light shined off of the jewelry. The girl working said that lavender represented adoration, and he was so filled with it of late that he immediately bought it, that overpriced trinket. But when he turned back to Maxi, seeing the winsome smile on her face as she finally chose the bear, he was too awestruck to give it to her. Instead, he tucked the necklace away and went back to her side, wondering why he ever left it.

Being around her was like...well, he should honestly stop thinking about what it was like and just go see her before he was late, but damn, he didn't know what to do. There was always another day, but he was running short on time. Riftan knew he had to take action, and yet something was holding him back.

"What is that?" Riftan closed his hand quickly, but the snake had already seen it.

"None of your business." He began walking away, but Ruth came after him like always.

"And why were you standing in front of your door like that? Have you gotten sick in the head or something? You've been acting very off recently." Ruth nodded as if he had said something profound, when it was just fatuous as usual.

"I know you think I give a shit about what you say, but I don't. So just fuck off." As of now he was good on time, but if this stooge kept following him, that wouldn't be true much longer.

"You should give it to her," Here Riftan's eyes flitted dangerously to Ruth's face. "Girls are fond of things like that. Then when you tell her how you feel, it will be less of a shock," Riftan could feel his whole body heating up in annoyance. "And then there's marriage... "