Exposure & Shutter Speeds

| 17 |

Henry.

I raced out of the coffee shop, trying not to slam the door on my way out. My feet hit the pavement and I looked left and right, my head pinging one side to the other, not quite unlike those watching a tennis match. I was searching for the gap in height, searching for where Beth was pushing through the crowd.

I started to panic, worried I wouldn't find her.  My eyes kept scanning, and I decided to go the way we came. She'd take a familiar route.

I sprinted down the path, hoping to catch a glimpse of her, racing past faceless bodies loving in sync. If she'd gotten this far, she was faster than I gave her credit for. Suddenly, I saw the crowd parting 20 meters ahead. I kicked up a gear, and ran towards where I thought Beth was running.

Sure enough, there was a small woman sprinting, crowd parting. Her large bag was slamming against her back, and she kept looking over her shoulder. If she kept doing that she would surely trip and fall!

I caught up with her, matching her pace. "Beth!" I called out "slow down!" Beth slowed, and looked over her shoulder. What she didn't see was a teenager on a skateboard coming up in front of her. I ran towards her and scooped her up in my arms, narrowly avoiding collision.

Beth fought and thrashed against my arms around her. "Let me go! Get off me!" She said. Panic flooding her tone. Her fists hit out at anything they could reach. I pulled her in tighter, and spoke low in her ear.

"Beth, it's ok. It's me, Henry. Breathe, calm down. I'm not going to hurt you. It's ok Beth." I said over and over again. Beth slowly started to calm down, the thrashing stopped and she stopped yelling. I looked down at her face, it was red from the exertion of running, and her cheeks were wet. She'd been crying. I subconsciously reached down and wiped her tears. She drew in a sharp breath and flinched away from me. 

"Sorry! Sorry!" I apologised, letting her go. Beth looked up at me, and gave me a sad smile.

"No, I'm the one that's sorry. This is an actual case of it's me, not you." She said, wiping her cheeks with the sleeve of her jacket. "Are you ok?" I asked, resisting grabbing her in another hug. "I will be, but, are you able to, ah, walk me home? I don't feel like being alone." She asked, looking down at her feet.

"Of course! Anything for you." I replied, just glad to spend more time with her.

As we walked back to her place, she stayed glued to my side. I could see her eyes scanning the faces as we went past, and her jumping slightly at any sudden noises. I lifted my arm up and pulled her in to my side, shielding her from the world. At first I thought I'd made a mistake, she stiffened. Just as I was about to let go, she relaxed and melted into me. I heard a small sigh escape her lips, and the edge she'd held in every muscle lessened. 

We reached her door, and we pulled apart, the warmth she had spread was apparent the minute she left my side. Beth looked up at me from under her dark lashes, and looked back down again. She mumbled something, cleared her throat and lifted her eyes back up to me. "Do you want to come up?" she asked, a flush spreading across her cheeks. "We didn't finish our game... I thought, you know, if you weren't busy?" 

I grinned down at her, "Beth, I was really hoping you'd ask me that." Her face lit up in response and she headed towards the elevator, grabbing my hand almost subconsciously. Once we were in the elevator, she looked down and tried to pull away, but I squeezed her hand back and smiled. "Please don't do that... unless you don't want it." I asked her. She stepped closer, and squeezed my hand back as a response. It was all I needed, and I couldn't help myself. I pulled her in for a hug, just wanting to comfort and protect her. What I wasn't expecting was her body melting into mine, her cheek resting on my chest and her hands wrapping up and around my waist. The elevator dinged, and she broke apart, giving me a smirk. "You're not the only one who can surprise the other." She laughed and went to unlock her door. 

Pulling off my jacket, I couldn't help but laugh at Beth trying to untangle herself from her hat, coat and bag. "Beth, Beth.. stop!" I said laughing. I pulled her camera bag over her shoulders, helped untangle her hands and I reached for her hat at the same time she did, leaving me cupping her face. We both froze, looking straight into the others eyes. She smiled shyly, and ran her hand through her hair as she moved to the kitchen. "I was planning nachos for dinner - and I always cook heaps, so if you wanted to stay your welcome!" My mouth watered, I couldn't wait to spend more time with her, and there was food involved, could this get any better?