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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IF NATALIE HAD felt anything at all about what he had just said, then she didn't show it at all. The girl simply kept quiet, and he watched as she swallowed nervously.
And that was what worried him the most. He had no idea how to continue the conversation with her.
Right now, it seemed blatantly obvious to him that Natalie didn't return any of his feelings, and now he had just gone right ahead and ruined it all — possibly their friendship included — by being so frank.
He blew air out slowly, looking around exasperatedly as he thought of how to salvage the situation. Perhaps he could still have the chance to persuade Natalie that he only wanted to meet her as a friend and nothing more. Anything could do. He just hoped that she wouldn't act so strangely around him any longer.
Forest would much rather stay as friends with her than lose the friendship that they had.
"Natalie —"
"Uh, Forest —"
He blinked, almost in anticipation, "yeah? You could go first."
The waiter had returned then, carefully placing the two steaming bowls of soup in front of them. Natalie had stopped looking at the menu altogether, staring absentmindedly at the spoon in her hand.
"Could we finish our meal and go soon? Both Fletch and Bailey are probably really lonely." She mumbled, looking anywhere else but at him.
"Yeah. Alright."
Natalie looked up when he replied, and he was surprised to see that she looked apologetic. She looked away at once and he sighed.
Forest had thought that Natalie was going to give him a reply on what he has said earlier, except, no. All she wanted was to head home earlier.
"Forest, were you going to say something?"
He gazed at her intently for a while, wondering what to say to her now. Forest put his spoon down. "Yeah, I wanted to ask you how you felt about what I said."
Natalie blinked furiously, finally forcing herself to stare at him. "About?"
Forest narrowed his eyes. He swore that Natalie knew exactly what he was talking about, and he really didn't like to beat around the bush. "No, Natalie." He clarified. "When I said earlier that I want to see you. You know, more. I don't know, maybe not just more — every day if I could."
Natalie ran a hand through her hair, and he watched as it cascaded to her shoulders. Forest wasn't sure if that was a sign for him to continue speaking. So he sat quietly and patiently, waiting for her to compose herself again.
