Paired With The Potterhead

Epilogue

"I know this is a big step in our relationship, Laney. Are you sure you're ready for this?"

I nodded. "I am if you are. But can we take it slow? I want to take it all in. Relish in the euphoria."

"Euphoria?" Nora snorted. "Where did you learn that word? Actually, I don't want to know. Let's just take this next step of our relationship together."

She bent down on one knee and reached into her backpack. Slowly, she pulled out a book and handed it to me with a smile on her face.

"Laney. Would you do me the honor of reading The Chamber of Secrets with me?" She beamed up at me.

I took the book. "I do. You may now kiss your girlfriend."

She snickered as she leaned in for a kiss. I loved the way her lips felt like mine. Mine always felt cold whereas hers were constantly warm. Always warm. And soft too so that's a plus.

"I can't believe we have all summer to ourselves to spend reading together," she said, pulling away with a big smile. "We'll start Chamber of Secrets today and then we'll-"

"Whoa. Let's not get ahead of ourselves here." I leaned back against my headboard to get more comfortable. "I still want to go outside. Board around town. Consume that delicious vitamin D."

She laughs. She's now sitting comfortably beside me on the bed, her fingers gently playing with mine. "Sorry. I just got a little excited there. There's only so many days of summer and you're leaving for school in September..."

"Hey. Listen," I whispered. "Don't think about that. Focus on the time we have together now. The rest we'll figure out. Okay?"

She nodded. Her focus seemed to now be on the old tape player on my desk and the smile returned to her face. "Do you still need that in order to read? Or are you a big girl now?"

I poked her in the cheek. Even her face was soft and warm. "No. At least I don't think so. Isn't that why you're here? To test me and see if I can read by myself?"

"Ouch," she grumbled. "I thought I was here to spend time with my girlfriend but okay. Guess I'll leave-"

"Stop," I giggled. I had to reach for her hand to keep her from getting up and leaving. "Hey. That's not what I meant. I just meant that-you know what? Forget it. Just say I'm your girlfriend again and I'll pretend this whole conversation never happened."

She smirked. "Why?"

"Because I like the way it sounds coming from you. You make it sound....special."

Nora leaned closer to me. Our foreheads were touching now and I could see my reflection in the lens of her glasses. "Fine. I'm your girlfriend." She kissed me. "And I love you very much." She kissed me again. "There. Is that what you wanted?"

It wasn't really so I cupped her cheeks and pulled her back closer to me again. Was being addicted to a pair of lips a thing? "It was good enough for me. Anything to get you to kiss me."

We snickered and fooled around for a few minutes before settling down with the book in our hands. Ever since we both got the highest marks for the English project, reading has suddenly become a lot easier for me. Sure, I wasn't as much of a bookworm as Nora but I did find myself broadening my horizons and checking out more books. I finished The Catcher in the Rye not long after school got over and I actually enjoyed it.

"Ready to read, tiger?" Nora asked. "If we start now, I'll let you watch The Philospher's Stone movie."

I perked up at this. "Are you serious?"

"As a heart attack."

Well that was motivation enough for me. I picked up Chamber of Secrets to open it to the first chapter but stopped there. "If I go any further, I can't be held responsible for whatever happens in the future. If I turn into a full blown Potterhead, I want you to stop me before I go too far-"

"Oh stop it. You won't go that far. I won't let you mainly because I'm the Potterhead in this relationship. You're the....dark and brooding one."

I snorted. "Funny. Very funny. Can we just get started on the reading already? I wanna go to In'N'Out for a burger later. I have a coupon."

She nodded in approval. "Fine. Let's get started. You first, Coupon Queen."

This made me grin as I lift the book to my face and began to read, for the first time, out loud, ever in my life. "Chapter one. The Worst Birthday...."

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You see, people are a lot like books. We constantly judge them by their covers when we haven't even read them to see what they're like on the inside. Casually flipping through a few of their pages isn't the same thing. Neither is reading the back of their book. Or even listening to reviews. You have to actually sit down and read them if you want to know their full story. Thanks to Nora, I know that now. I'm also starting to enjoy reading a lot more.

But don't tell her I said that. She'll never let me hear the end of it.