Is It Really Love?

ADRIAN

We decided to walk today as well. I had gone out with my friends from the university and was a bit too late to change and come back to play. Her class had extended too (for the second time this week), and we had decided to walk together instead.

She was talking to someone on the phone when I saw her. Walking from the opposite directions, our eyes clashed. She gave me a grin and I smiled back at her. We approached each other and I held out my hand. We always shook our hands when we saw each other, now. It had become a habit. It was almost as if we both wanted that small physical contact with each other. But now, instead of gripping my hand as she should have, she manoeuvred hers around my waist and gave me a one arm hug. I froze for a second. The girl who blushed at the smallest things and took way too long to open up to me had just voluntarily given a hug to me. Warmth spread in my body from where she held me close and I wrapped my arm around her body. She was so small, I felt like tucking her under my arm for the rest of the while. She then grabbed my hand and turned me around so that we were then walking in the same direction as she was.

She was still talking on the phone, so I chose to observe her (as discreetly as I could without making it look like I was staring at her). She was pretty. Not pretty like flowers, but rather, pretty like that accidental stroke of pen that gave you a perfect letter in a paragraph full of messy words. Her smile, God that smile, was almost too unreal in this world of fake smiles. She had a small dimple on her right cheek that you could only see if you were standing close to her. Her laugh was just on the border of being maniacal and exposed the rawness in her voice. I liked her. Because she was so real. Most of the girls in my university hid behind masks of makeup and shields of flirtatious attitudes. But I had never seen her hiding. Sure, she was shy, but never tried to be someone she wasn't. SNAP. I saw her fingers in front of my face.

"Where'd you get lost?" She asked.

"Just thinking about how pretty you are." I replied.

She laughed. My heart beat too fast.

"Yeah, sure."

"I'm serious." I said.

She smiled. "How was your day?"

She always asked that. "It was normal. I went out. That's it."

She frowned at my non - answer. "Right, well mine was exhausting. My coffee didn't foam enough today. Abigail also didn't come to either of the classes. Thanks for asking."

"Aww, it's fine, you're with me now. It'll go well now. Also, you hugged me." I stated.

"Yeah sure. I did that 'cause I needed that hug. Is that okay? I won't do that again if you felt uncomfortable..."

I frowned. 'Uncomfortable? That was literally the opposite of that.'

"No, don't worry. It didn't make me feel uncomfortable. I was just surprised. Pleasantly."

She exhaled loudly. "Thank God. Well, so I saw this cute puppy today, on my way to the class and...."

We talked on and on all the while I kept thinking of the feel of her petite body close to me.

Finally, when it was time to go, we faced each other and she held out her hand for me to shake it. But this time, I extended both my arms towards her, inviting her for a hug. I needed it. When she'd hugged me earlier, I had realised that I wanted her like that. Pressed close to me, into me.

She was startled. "Really?" She asked.

"Yeah, I mean, it's okay if you don't want to."

"No." She said that and walked into my arms.

I wrapped them around her and tightened them, giving her a squeeze.

She giggled. I bent my head slightly and smelt her hair. God, it smelt amazing. I wanted to bury my nose in her hair.

She pulled away. A light pink stained her cheeks. I smiled internally.

We bade goodbye.

When I got home, my thoughts, as usual, were occupied by her. Her.

But today, they wandered. To her laughter, her eyes and the rest of her body. I liked her. I always knew that. But now I realised, I wanted her. I truly wanted her. Unlike what everyone thought about me, I was capable of wanting a person. One person. A specific petite 5' 2 girl with a single dimple on her right cheek and helix piercings - type of a person. And now, I was going to get her.