It Was Only A Few Moments | Short Story

Nathaniel Leyva (2)

"What about the chick right there, in the red sparkly dress?" He asked.

I looked over in his direction with my fist practically in my cheek as my elbow rested uncomfortably on the table. The lady in the red sparkly dress was a tall blonde lady who wore a beautiful red lipstick. She gave me Taylor Swift vibes. "She's pretty."

"Lame. You gave that compliment to the last person I picked out for you. Compliment her on her shoes or her lip color choice and how it compliments her hair."

"I'm not really good at this."

"Just think about what you would want someone to notice about you. Little details matter. If I were to just compliment you and say that you were just pretty, how would you feel?"

I took my fist out of my face and looked over at him. "I would actually be flattered. I'm not used to being called pretty or anything like it."

"That's a lie."

"I'm serious. I don't fit into the standard of beauty."

"That's what makes you special. That's what makes your beauty stand out from others." He turned more towards me. "Here, allow me."

"Allow you to what?"

He didn't answer me. He just stared at me for a few moments before he spoke. "I haven't known you long, but there are a few things about you that I already like.

One is the way you eat. I know it sounds weird but the way you took smile bites of the cake and how you licked the frosting from your lips was absolutely adorable. Maybe it was because you were nervous eating around me or that was just the way you ate but nevertheless, it was the cutest thing I had ever witnessed.

Another thing is how confidentially you wear your tucked in shirt with your buttons a bit undone at the top. It's hot and a great fashion choice on your end. You also smell really nice. You have that kind of smell that I never want to stop smelling. The smell that if I were to hug you tightly and go home, I could still smell you on me and it would give me that warm feeling inside as I pretended to hug you. But what I like the most about you is the sight of your smile and the sound of your laughter. I never saw a smile quite like yours and it's perfect."

I was at a lost for words. All I could do was smile and say, "Thank you."

"Wasn't that good?"

I nodded. "It was. It's funny because that was one of the things I hated most about myself...my smile. I used to always put my hand over my mouth when I did it so for you to even bring that up meant a lot to me."

"I'm glad it did, but I meant what I said."

I envied his confidence.

I would have never in a million years went that deep into a compliment with someone I'd just met a little over an hour ago. I wanted to tell him that I liked his style and how he carried himself. I wanted to tell him that I liked his love for cake and how much it made me smile to watch him get so excited over getting just a slice. I wanted to tell him that I liked his laughter and his smile and how warm a combination of those two things made me feel. I wanted to tell him that he had that certain energy about him that made me want to do things I never wanted to do before. I wanted to tell him that he was the most beautiful man I have ever laid my eyes on. I wanted to be him.

We continued to watch everyone celebrate in the back and it made me happy that I had someone to sit with. I tried a few times to start conversation but my tongue would tie into several knots and I would sit there speechless. Instead, I allowed him to do most of the talking as I just sat there and admired the way he said certain words and how he would laugh at his own jokes.

There was something about him that was intriguing, and I wanted to know more about him but we were running on the time of the hourglass and once all the sand spilled through to the bottom, it was over.

No more Ignacio.

That's when everything hit me. When everyone started to leave. They would say their final congratulations to Angelica and her husband Lucas before they headed out for the day. Tables were being cleaned, floors were being swept, chairs began to stack on top of each other and then it was about time for me to say my last words to Angelica before I stepped out and headed back to my hotel where there was no Angelica, no Ignacio, no one.

I had been to five weddings, Angelica being the fifth and after every wedding I had this heavy feeling on my chest and I hoped and prayed that it wouldn't come but it did and so I stepped out without even saying anything to anyone.

I just left.