“Oh, well he’s - he’s kind. He’s funny, he’s handsome. When we worked together, he wouldn’t stop asking what I think, making sure I’m included. I don’t know…”
Blush painted her cheeks, and Seth had to look away.
“And you’re sure that he’s the one you want to be with?” it came out as an almost whisper.
There was a momentary pause, a lapse in Nina’s response. Seth turned, and met her gaze, realising she’d been looking at him. She turned, a little too quickly, before clearing her throat.
“Do we ever really know who we want to be with, until we’re with them?” she asked, yet it came out as an almost uncertain laugh.
I know,thought Seth.
“But anyways, we’ll see what happens. I haven’t even told him I liked him yet,” Nina said.
“What did you see inme?”
The question slipped from his reins before he realised. Nina laughed, but her tone betrayed a hint of timidness.
“Oh gosh, you’re asking me that now?”
“It was coming at least once in our friendship, wasn’t it?”
“I suppose it was,” Nina shook her head, before dropping her face into her open palms, “Wow, this is embarrassing.”
“Why? It’s not like I didn’t know, or that you shouted it out loud enough for all to hear…”
“Okay, okay, shutup. I never reallytoldyou though.”
Something about this conversation made Seth feel warm, the sensation tingling up and down his arms, reaching down to his toes. He nudged Nina, a smirk playing on his lips.
“Let me guess, it was my good-looking smile. You couldn’t resist.”
“Nope, I won’t tell you,” she shook her head from side to side, her lips pursed.
He nudged her again, leaning into her.
“Comeon, tell me.”
“Fine,fine!” she laughed again, but didn’t move away from him. His shoulder stayed pressed against hers. “I guess, back then, there was this energy about you. Everyone around found you annoying, found you loud, a little rebellious. But I always found you endearingly funny, I always got your jokes and knew you just wanted to make people laugh. Andfineyes it helped that you were a little cute to me back then. And you were really smart too, you always answered the math questions correctly.”
His heart stumbled with every word that came out of her mouth.
“You liked me because I was good at math?”
Nina rolled her eyes, a scoff escaping her lips.
“Yes, that is exactly it.”
Then, her gaze turned to him. She held his eyes, and he felt frozen in spot, like she was Medusa and he’d turned to stone.
“But, I don’t know. I just always liked being around you. I always wanted to be in your orbit, like you were this magnet. Even if we never spoke. Even if, on days, all I got was so much as a millisecond of a glance. To me, you were like a book you pass at a store, with a pretty cover, one that you’re so desperate to read.”
Fire turned in his stomach, and he smiled, still holding onto her gaze.
“There were other guys though, better looking than me. Funnier than me, more popular…”
She tilted her head, a feather of a smile tickling her lips.
“Yeah, but they weren’tyouSeth, so I didn’t care. I was 100%, totally, completely all for you.”
