Forest Edwards is always running. Either literally, because of his dog, Fletch; running to escape his tiring work life; or, well, running away from the possibilities of love.
But when Natalie Dayholt, together with her dog, Bailey, waltzed into his...
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HESTOOD AT her door yet again, his free hand hovering over the doorbell for the longest time. Forest had been discharged from the hospital earlier this morning, and had made up his mind to find Natalie -- to bring Fletch home, of course.
Honestly, what else could he have come for?
So it really didn't make any sense why he was still hesitating to ring the doorbell.
"I'm just here to grab Fletch home —"
No, that didn't sound quite right to him. He sighed, running his hand through his hair as he took a step back, trying to phrase his words properly. Forest briefly wondered how he would ever be able to confess to someone if he couldn't even find the right way to ask for his own dog back, and then thank Natalie afterwards.
He could never imagine how guys usually managed to talk to the girl they liked, much less ask them out for dates. Because this was much more difficult than expected.
"Is Fletch at home?" He repeated to himself, only to roll his eyes second later. Forest groaned, "bloody hell, that's stupid. Where else could he be if he isn't there? Its Saturday, for god's sake, why would they be somewhere else? This is so annoying..." He murmured, kicking his sneakers onto the floor in frustration. Why was it so damned hard to just ring the doorbell?
He winced when he accidentally kicked the front step of her porch instead, feeling a jolt of pain shoot to his shin. He exhaled.
Whatever. Here goes nothing.
Pressing his finger to the doorbell, he bit his lip nervously, only for him to regret it the very next second. Was he supposed to start with a greeting? Or go straight to the point? The door opened after a short while, just as he was debating whether or not to hide behind the majestic maple tree that stood tall outside her house.
He swore he wasn't a coward. Except, well, maybe in front of a certain girl.
Natalie stood in front of him, and the first words she spoke to him were, "just stop it already!"
"Stop what?" Forest blinked in confusion, and the lines that he had been practicing before were all flung out of the window when he saw her. "Are you alright?" He asked cautiously.
A moment ago, Natalie looked close to slamming the door shut. Now, she was just staring at him, her eyes sweeping over his body for a short while before he face crumpled into that of utter relief. "Sorry." She muttered, "I didn't mean you."
"But you're okay." She breathed, this time never taking a step away from him. "You're really okay." Her words came out all in a rush, "is this really you? God I thought Haley was lying, but you're really fine. Oh, thank god."
Despite where they had left off in the previous week, despite all the times she had left him painfully alone, he managed a small chuckle. "Unless you know anyone else who looks just like me, otherwise yeah, it's me."
