A Love of Steel

First Date Jitters

Neha finally arrives at the student center. She receives a text from Adrian that he's headed there soon.

"Hey." Neha is startled when she hears his voice behind her.
Should I hug him? Should I not? Ah, I have no idea what to do.
"Hey, how was school?" Neha replies.
"Not bad at all, my students just started a research project so that was what my day was. What about you?"
"That sounds good. I finally finished my impact project today with the kids. Feels good to have that done!"

There's a silence after she speaks. Neha knows that Adrian isn't much of a talker, but she feels so awkward when he doesn't say anything.

"Yeah so my mentor, I'm not sure how I'll survive the year without her. She seemed annoyed that I left right on time. She likes to stay after school a lot but half the time there's no reason for it. So annoying. How's Ms. Payne doing? I miss her." Neha rambles on and on.

"You don't like when it's silent, do you?" Adrian asks.

"Not at all." Neha replies.
"You'll get used to it."

They sit on a bench together and Neha does most of the talking with Adrian stares at her with a smirk on his face. This girl really loves to talk.
"You know there'd be no such thing as awkward silence if people didn't make it awkward?"
"Hmm, I don't know. I just feel like silence is awkward sometimes. But how about this? Let's try timing our silence, maybe I'll get used to it." Neha replies.
"Sounds like a plan, one minute?"
"One minute." Neha starts the timer.

Neha fidgets with her hands, looking down, blushing. Adrian looks at her red face and Neha knows exactly what he's thinking. She can't believe he would look at her for that long. Neha's long black hair might be her best feature and that's only when she straightens it. Everything else about her, Neha can't imagine anyone liking. Her eyes are too big and their brown color is too basic. Her hands are a little chubby and so is her face. Matter of fact, she's chubby all around. How does Adrian find this so entertaining? She thinks as he continues looking deep into her eyes. As much as she wants to look back, she gets shy. She had been sneaking peeks at him during her internship... not only his face but his whole body. And now that she has the chance, she's too shy.
The timer interrupts Adrian's one-sided staring contest.
"There's the timer." Neha says

"I could tell you were nervous. We have to keep trying that. Let's do it again. Maybe a minute longer?"

"Huh. You must really not like my voice."

"Wow! Neha it's not that at all. In fact, I really like your voice. I just don't want you to feel awkward around me."

"Ok, two minutes it is."

Neha starts the timer and immediately starts fidgeting her hands by her side, playing with her bracelet. This time, she's facing Adrian and tries to make some eye contact. Adrian reaches down and grabs her hand. That first touch immediately seems to calm her nerves. It was perfect.

Adrian looks deep into her eyes and brings her hand closer to him, interlocking her hand with his. They seem to fit perfectly. This time, Neha can't seem to look away from him. His eyes are greenish-blue, lips pink. She looks from his eyes to his lips, hinting that she wants his lips on hers. She's been craving the taste. She's kissed other people before but she never felt this passionately about someone. She never crushed this hard before. She can tell at this point, Adrian is nervous but trying not to show it. He leans in and in a moment, his lips touch hers gently. The timer tries to stop them but they ignore it completely. It's as if they can't hear. Their hands are still interlocked, they never want to let go of this moment. There's an electricity that no one could deny. Neha knew she could kiss him for days. Maybe it was too soon, but who cares? She felt what she felt. As their lips pulled away, Adrian pulled her body close to his and hugged her.
"You have no idea how long I've been waiting for that hug." Adrian says.
"Me too" Neha is breathless. That was the best kiss she ever experienced. No word could describe it but perfect. He felt the same. The hours passed by, they talked, and kissed, and talked again. It was 9:00 before they knew it and Neha knew her parents would ask where she was. They had to go. And they knew from now on, they would never want to be apart.
"I guess we should start heading to our cars?" Neha asks sadly.
"I guess so." Adrian replies.

They want to their parking lot, hand in hand, silently. It didn't take Neha long at all to get used to the silence.
Adrian walks her to her car and pulls her in tight for another hug. He doesn't want to let go but he has to. She can't come home too late.
"Good night Neha. I had a really good time with you. I can't wait until we meet again."
"Good night Adrian."

As she arrives to her house, her mind is filled with thoughts of his lips. She cannot believe that they actually kissed. She's still breathless just thinking about it. She's already in too deep.