22 Letters✓

Chapter 6: Lemonade and Tulips

Nathan and I sat down at Rocco's together to talk.

It wasn't a date, God I know it's not a date.

He was on his phone and I was busy looking at the menu, while also sneaking looks of him.

"What? Like what you see?" He suddenly said, making me blush a bit.

He looked up with a side smile. "I'm kidding, Lee."

"Lee?"

"Yeah, I figured a lot of people call you Leon or Leo, why can't I be different and call you Lee? It's pretty cool, right?" Nathan smiled at me, his emerald green eyes sucking me in.

"I just thought of Lee from kissing booth," I joked. "Maybe you're comparing me to Lee."

"First of all, yes I am. And second, you watched the kissing booth? I thought boys didn't enjoy that movie." He smiled sweetly.

"Boys can like cheesy movies too," i quipped. "Did you watch it?"

"Both movies, actually. Don't tell anyone but..." he leaned over the table, "I stan Marco and Elle."

"Me too! I mean, did you see the chemistry between those two the entire movie? And then she had the audacity to go for Noah." I rolled my eyes.

Nathan laughed. "You're actually funny."

"Thanks," I said sheepishly as I sipped my lemonade.

"So, do you know where Winfrey Street is? I'm looking for a garden over there." I choked on my drink.

"Why? Planning to go there?" I asked.

"You don't need to know why." He looked away. "I just wanted to see the garden."

"That's nice. I'll take you there sometime, if you're not too busy that is," I spoke quickly to avoid any suspicious activity.

Nathan laughed again. "Sure, I guess so. Maybe after your bet is over and you aren't running around naked."

I smiled at that. Nathan and I continued talking for a while and I noticed we had a lot in common: flowers, coffee and even chess. He told me he always wanted to be a part of the chess team, but because of athletics, he couldn't.

I then offered to play with him when he's free. Presumably over coffee.

Time seemed to fly between the two of us. It was as if we couldn't get enough of each other, and soon enough, he inducted me into his close friend group.

As soon as we said our goodbyes, I phoned Cece as Nathan left.

"Yes, Leon from Ninja turtles?"

I rolled my eyes. "I hope Nathan likes me, I was just with him."

"Oh, I-" she paused. "I would like to know more, maybe later?"

"Of course, what are you doing now?" I asked her.

"I'm with Derek and we're just... chilling," She said until Derek took the phone.

"And totally not making out." He laughed, before the line went dead at the sudden revelation of them hooking up with each other.

As much as I cared for Derek and Cece, I knew Derek very well. He wasn't the type to be in a relationship with anyone, and I didn't want Cece to be hurt.

But I guess that's a story for another day.

I left the place and made my way to the garden. I liked calling it the garden of Eden, because of it's simple aesthetic beauty.

Parking in the lot, I left my car and walked through the garden.

As I walked through the garden, something caught my eye in the distance. I walked to it and noticed a note stuck on one of the tulips.

I picked it up.

This is a long shot, and you probably won't read this if the wind is too much, but you're quite cute. I like how cheesy and smart you can be at the same time, J.

Nathaniel ❤️

I simply couldn't believe it. Nathan wrote this? And he credited it with his full name? This is simply sweet.

This leads me to a question I'm hesitant to answer:

Should I continue these letters to Nathan, pretending I was someone else? Or flat out tell him I like him?