Butterfly
Date: 1/13/2024,
Categories:
First Time
Author: byPeregrine_S_Wordsman
... smile even more beautiful.
I considered (as I have probably a hundred times before) taking her hand, putting my arm around her,something to express my feelings for her. But I gave up on anyone wanting that kind of relationship with me a long time ago. So, I just admired her from what feels like an uncrossable distance, despite being only a foot or two apart.
Now, the episode is over and it's time for her to go home. I watch from the doorway as she walks out to her car and gets in. The engine turns over, but there's no roar of ignition. She tries again with the same disappointing result. She gets back out of the car as I close the door and approach. She opens the hood as I use my phone as a flashlight. She's no mechanic, but her father is, so she knows what she's looking at better than I do. When she spots the problem, she sighs and tells me what's wrong. I don't understand, but it's clear that it needs a new part and it's too late to head to the auto parts store and pick it up.
"If you need a ride, I can take you back," I offer. "Or you can crash here for the night, and we'll go get what you need tomorrow. That way, you don't have to leave your car here."
"Really? You'd let me stay here?"
I want you to stay here, I scream in my head, wishing I could say it out loud. Instead, I say, "Of course. I don't have a spare bed, but I can take the couch. Just give me some time to change the sheets before you go to sleep, okay?"
I catch a glimpse of her smile as ...
... her face rushes past mine. Her arms wrap tightly around my shoulders. "Thank you, thank you, thank you," she gushes in my ear as she hugs me. When she backs up, her hands are still on my shoulders and her face is the epitome of everything I love about her. I catch myself staring at her smile.
"All right, let's head back in then," I ruin the moment. I hate myself for doing it, but that moment wasn't about to go anywhere anyway. Right?
As we reenter the house, I hear her saying my name, a note of uncertainty in her voice. My heart skips a beat as I turn to her, half expecting her to tell me that she loves me or some unlikely nonsense like that. "Do you mind if I take a shower while you change the bed?" she asks. I blink, stunned by the unexpected question. "It's fine if not; I just usually shower before bed, so I thought I might as well ask."
"Okay," I reply, "but you don't have any other clothes, do you?"
"I can just put these back on."
"That seems weird to me. Taking a shower just to put on dirty clothes? I can put them in the wash with the sheets, but it will take some time." Even I'm not certain that my suggestion is completely innocent, as I realize this would leave her naked. "I promise I won't come back until your clothes are done unless you need something, and I won't look." I avert my eyes as I blush, fighting my imagination as it conjures images of her naked in my bed.Those thoughts are the reason the sheets need changing in the first place, I remind ...