Drowning In Shallow Water

10

Kaden

"I like you," I confessed, my heart doing somersaults in my chest. "A lot, but I think you know that already."

I looked at her, holding m breath and biting my tongue. She blinked a couple of times, unmoving. She was easily the most beautiful girl I've ever seen. She had short wavy brown hair and bangs over her forehead. Right underneath were her bright brown eyes. She had small heart shaped lips and a button nose. Everything about her is cute, especially the blush painting her cheeks.

Even though it shouldn't, it hurt to know that she forgot about me. I never did. I even kept a picture of her on my bedside cabinet but I was currently hiding it. We had been best friends for a while but maybe, to me, she had been more. There had been a big fight between my parents and hers before they moved away, and I never heard from her again. The next thing she's being dropped at my house after her brother's assumed death. She looked so broken and withdrawn. I had missed the bubbly and happy Nicola I used to know.

Daniel returning restored the light in her, but I could still see that something was missing. When she called me, I realised that she was lonely, and I vowed to always be there for her.

Of course, my good for nothing friends were no help. I had answered the call in the game room at the pack house, with all the guys in there with me. I choked when I heard Nicola's voice and accidentally dropped the phone, making it painfully clear that I like her. I had to punch a few of them to get them to shut up before I could talk to her.

Being the guy I am, I translated her words to mean that she wanted me over. I ran faster than I ever did and tried to act cool. Then somehow, our conversation led to my confessing my feelings for her. I was afraid that she would flat out respect me and that I would end up destroying our just rekindled friendship.

"I---"

"You don't have to say anything.. yet," I told her with a smile, afraid of what she would say. "You can just pretend I never said anything."

I felt like a fool. Maybe I had gone too fast. Maybe she doesn't see me like that. She might even see me as her friend, or worse, a brother.

"I've never been in this situation before," she confessed shyly.

I looked at her in disbelief. "What do you mean?"

"Boys never saw me as.. a girl.. before. I know I'm weird with how I dress and act and talk so I just accepted it. So I don't know what to do..."

"Why do you think like that?" I asked, brows drawn together in distress as I felt anger bubbling up inside her.

Boys are jerks. I know because I hang around jerks myself. I knew it was much more than them thinking she was weird. I didn't want to bring up any bad memories.

"I know it's true. Just look at me. This is the first time someone has seen me differently, which I don't understand at all. I've dressed in Dan's clothes most of my life. I rarely wash my hair and I use men's deodorants. I'm weird, there's nothing to hide about it," she argued.

"You're not weird, or even different. You're just the most beautiful girl I've ever seen," I said but she shook her head.

"You don't have to lie--"

"How about I show you?" I bargained. "Let me show you how much I mean that. It doesn't have to mean anything to you."

She sighed. "What do you propose?"

"A date," I said, and she froze, which told me I shouldn't have jumped to that. "Or is that a bad idea?"

"I've never been on a date before..." She covered her face with her hands. Cute.