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“Because I know what I want now and I’m afraid to take it,” he admitted, bringing her hand to his cheek and looking at her. Ruby sucked in her breath at the fear and longing in his eyes.
“Can you be patient with me?” he said softly, and she nodded, only to see him turn his head slightly, kissing the palm of her hand as he closed his eyes. “I want this somehow, someday, and I don’t want you to give up on me.”
“I’m not,” she whispered, her voice thick with emotion. “I mean, you know it’s special when you are talking to a guy for nearly two years and have yet to be disappointed.”
“I hope it stays that way.”
“Besides,” she admitted. “I’ve already been looking into what it takes to get a teaching certificate in a couple of places… just in case.”
“You did? You are?” he said, looking stunned and thrilled at the same time.
“Oh, don’t let it go to your head,” she retorted, feeling nervous and reverting back to sarcasm. “I mean, I like our friendship and what we have going. Why wouldn’t I want to live near the same town as the guy I like?”
“What if you married that lucky guy someday…” he whispered – and then jerked back, looking away, clearing his throat nervously.
“I mean, hypothetically. We’re just talking and I’m not trying to be pushy or make things weird between us… you know what? Forget I said any of that. That was me just blabbing out stuff and…”
“If he asked me, I might be tempted to say, ‘yes’someday,” Ruby said softly, not looking away as she watched, riveted at the bevy of emotions that crossed his face in that moment.
Her soft marshmallow peep.
“Really?” he breathed, looking so amazed, so disbelieving, so beside himself… “Are you joking?”
“Well, I mean, we do get along really well, but I was hoping there might be a little more romance or a kiss before we started talking about what a future would look like between...”
“Can we leave?” he interrupted.
“Are you finished?” she balked. “There’s like half of the ice cream left.”
“I’m finished and just want to be alone.”
“It’s just us here,” she began, looking around. “Half the tables are empty and…”
“Ruby, I want to kiss you and hold you close.”
“Ohhhh…” she uttered in comprehension, reeling. “Car – now!”
“Car,” he agreed, grabbing their trash and bolting for the trash can nearby, before racing after her as she unlocked the doors with the remote. She slid into the driver’s seat, started the car to get the air conditioning going… and he plopped down into the passenger seat, turning towards her immediately.
There was zero grace and absolutely no finesse. It was a very long overdue, frantic kiss between two people falling for each other who knew their time was limited.
Michael’s hands were on either side of her face, pulling her close to him, as he kissed her deeply, wrapping her arms around his waist. She could taste the chocolate and caramel, combined with something else that was just him, and honestly breathed a sigh of relief.
The frantic panic and rush melted into something else as he slowed the kiss, savoring it, and she felt herself unwinding slowly.
This was perfect.
Hewas perfect.
Her hand slowly moved to cup his jaw, before caressing the back of his neck, as if her fingers had a mind of their own, tracing his collarbones and feeling him. He broke the kiss, remaining close to her, and spoke softly.
“Can you ever forgive a stupid boy for picking on the girl he loves?”
She chuckled tearfully as she opened her eyes to meet his gaze. They sat there together in the car, unmoving, not wanting to break the spell surrounding them.
“Only if the boy can forgive the girl for being so ornery and dense sometimes?” she whispered.
“So long as she loves him, he would forgive her anything at all…” Michael admitted. “That dumb kid waited a long time for his chance, and knows better than to blow it by playing it cool or trying to look tough.”
