Forehead Kisses (ONGOING)

Part Nineteen

     I'm not cute.

     "So... what's it like to be you?" taking a tiny bite of my cake. "What's it like being Sev Pembleton?"

     He raised an eyebrow. "Oh you know... rich, famous and uh..." He leaned closer. "... countless girls ringing on my doorstep," he whispered and gave me a smirk. 

     "Most girls would do that." I nodded.

     Sev gave me a frown and just focused his eyes on me. "I take you're not most girls, then?"

     "You're darn right." 

     "Interesting," he said. His lips were curling upward. "Then, if you're not most girls, what do you consider yourself to be?"

     "Dunno." I slightly shrugged. "An alien I guess. From another planet in another universe." Smiling, I sipped my coffee.

     "And you're not the least attracted to me?"

     "Why do you ask?"

     "Because my beauty is out of this world." His dimple appeared. I chuckled. He took a bite of his cake and looked at me. I hated it when he looks at me like that. It makes me nervous. "So... what's it like to be Elizabeth West?"

     I put down my spoon. "It's... it's complicated, I guess."

     "I like complicated." He puts down his spoon as well and laid his arms on the table, paying attention. "Well, I don't," I replied at the verge of being overtaken by my memories again when he asked "Why do you always do that?"

     "Do what?"

     "Open up then abruptly close the conversation. One minute, you look okay then the next thing I see is you breaking into pieces. I don't get it." He shakes his head. 

     "I don't know," I say. "I'm sorry, Sev."

     "Look. You don't need to apologize. You didn't do anything wrong." My head was drooping with humiliation but his hand held it back up. "I just want you to tell me what's going on." I looked round the room then to his face. From his thin lips to his aquiline nose until his eyes. His black eyes where I can barely see his pupil. They were fixated into mine. 

     I backed away.

     "I can't, Sev." He leaned back as well. "You know Elizabeth, from the moment I met you, I knew you were something else." He continued eating his cake. There wasn't anything special in our first conversation as I try to recall. It was just another casual meeting. I wonder what he was thinking about me back then. "That's a really cliche statement, you know." I said, stabbing another piece of my carrot cake.

     "Cliches are what make you understand something, Elizabeth."

     "A great quote from Sev Pembleton, everybody." I answered, pretending we were in one of those Jimmy Fallon talk shows.

     "Actually, that came from Matthew Vaughn."

     "Oh."

     To be honest, I'm better at my job as a photographer than being in dates. Heck, I've never been in a date for years! Why am I even considering this as a date? How do I remove this awkward feeling anyway? The only date where I felt like I really belonged was when it was just Scott and me.I bowed my head in embarrassment. He chuckled. "I like it when you do that. It makes you look cuter."

     I raised my head up. "I'm not cute, OK? Geez." I sipped my coffee. "I'm just... embarrassed, you know." I bowed my head again. It's a habit I guess. "You're not embarrassed. You're kind and shy. You rock those jeans and shirt flawlessly but never use a single dress because you're shy to be in one. You don't jab at every careless thing I say or even contradict me when I snap narcissistic comments about myself. That's why you just keep quiet and look at the ground," he said, finishing his cake. Those were like... the nicest things he ever said to me and then he finished it with a "In other words, you're boring."

     The jerk.

     I glared at him. I could've swore right in his face but no. I only swear when it's Retty or Sam. Not to anybody else. I gripped my fork tightly. "Wow, Severus. I can't believe you can be so..." I bit my lip. Arrogant? Mean? Rude? A complete jerk? "-mindful, Sev. So mindful..." I nodded, loosening my jaw.

     "For a moment there, I thought you were going to call me a jerk and stab me with a fork."

     That could happen, too, you mind-reading picaroon.

     "You know what else? I like boring people." He flashed his dimples as he smiled. 

     "Sev... It just so happens that you like everything in general."

     He laughed. "Maybe. Just maybe."He smiled at me when his phone rang. I gobbled my carrot cake as he was talking. He looked a little bit serious. It might be his dad I guess. Joshua always looked like that when he's on the phone with dad. He put the phone down and stood up. "Meet me tonight in the town square. 7:00 sharp. See you there."

     Before I could say something, he whizzed toward the door and disappeared. There he goes telling me what to do again.