Everything was on high volume, from the moment Seth got out of bed on Monday morning, his body tense with steady anticipation.
His stomach caved itself in, dismissing any hint of appetite, his heart hammering helplessly against his chest. Nina’s face passed his mind with every second, her smile pulsing along with his heart.
On Sunday, Jae had texted Seth, asking how it all went with Nina. Of whether hefinallyasked her out on a date.
Seth: I mean, sort of?
Jae: What do you mean sort of?
Seth: Well last night I asked if she wanted to hang out again, just the two of us. She said she’d love to
Jae: And then?
Seth: She left
Jae: Bro, you didn’t set a date? A time or place?
Seth read the message over and over, embarrassment suddenly settling over him. He thought that the way he and Nina had left things was honestly fine, but now with Jae’s input, he was overthinking it all.
Seth: No? I guess I left it up to interpretation
As soon as he pressed send on the message, he knew it sounded absolutely stupid. Leave a date up to interpretation? What was that?
Jae: You’re hopeless.
Seth: I’ll just ask her out tomorrow. Like full on, just ask her on a date. No more playing around
His heart raced at the thought.
How would she react? He imagined her pupils dilating, those deep brown eyes of hers widening, her lips parting. Heat pooled across Seth’s cheeks as he thought of how Nina would feel, his fingers around her waist. Her lips against his.
When he met her at the train station that morning, he was afraid that everything was written plainly on his face. That he was transparent. Today, she’d worn a plaid skirt that fell just above her knees, a white turtleneck tucked neatly within it. God, she looked so good. He hated it. He hated her. Not really, though.
They’d chatted idly, about the most mundane topics on the train ride. It was mostly Nina, who gushed about the movieWhen Harry Met Sally,which she’d rewatched “for the 5th time this year, alone!”,and Seth tried his best to keep up with her words. He failed hopelessly, with only one thought nipping at him.
How will you confess? How will you ask her out? What will you say?
These questions floated in a disruptive orbit and she must’ve sensed his distress, because at one point, only three stations from their destination, Nina had stopped talking.
“You haven’t said anything all morning,” she pointed out, “Is everything okay? Oh my gosh, am I boring you?”
She gasped, in mock insult, though he feared that deep down, she thought she was.
“Yeah just -” he paused, words biting at his tongue. “Wasn’t Harry a dick to Sally most of his life?”
Nina tilted her head in thought, “I mean, when they met, sure he was a dick. But clearly he’d matured by the time they finally grew their friendship.”
“But he’s stillkindof a dick. Or has his dick-ish elements floating around.”
Thank goodness Seth has seen the movie himself, once before. It was during one of his stays with his Mum, in the apartment rising, a year before she got back together with his Dad.
Nina chuckled a little.
“Sure, he was still a dick at points, but Sally does well to smooth him out and call all of it out.”
His fingers curled itself around the loose thread of his jeans. He couldn’t help but think of high-school Seth, dick-Seth, who deserved none of Nina’s love.
“Okay, so how would you rate his love confession, against all the grand love confessions you’ve watched and read about?” Seth asked.
