“Y-yeah” she sniffled. She was crying. Damn, it absolutely killed him when she cried.
He opened the door to find her sitting on the bed. Hugging her knees to her chest, she was rocking gently back and forth. Even with the tear stains and mascara smudges on her cheeks, she still looked great – more beautiful, if that was possible. “Are you all right?”
“To be honest, I really don’t know if I’m okay. I’m very confused,” she replied. “What did you need?”
“Uh, listen, maybe now’s not a good time. I wanted to talk to you about what happened in the car, but if you want me to come back later, that’s fine with me,” he said.
“No, now is fine. I kind of wanted to talk to you, too.”
“Do you want to go first or me?”
“Go ahead.”
He sat down and paused for several seconds, trying to find the right words. “Michelle, I love you. I understand you’re in a relationship, but I can’t deny my feelings for you anymore. And as for that crap you gave me in the car about me being gorgeous or whatever, that’s not true.” He sighed deeply and touched her cheek gently. “God, look at you. I can’t help but love someone who looks like you. I mean, that’s not the only reason why I love you. You’re a wonderful person – kind, romantic, sweet…just all around perfect. I look at you and I want to be able hold you forever. I want to be able to take care of you and protect you and kiss you and hug you…and now I’m just rambling, aren’t I? Well, I guess what I’m trying to say is maybe you should give this a chance.” When he ended his speech, he brushed several tears off her cheeks and kissed her forehead.
“Ugh, you have no idea how much I wanna give us a chance, but there’s so much going on in my head right now that I can’t even think clearly.” She paused. “I’ve made a decision. I’m going back to Atlanta.”
Nick was dumbfounded. “You mean…you’re moving out?”
“No, I meant I need some time to myself to figure things out. I’m going back for a month and then I’ll come home and we can go from there,” she clarified.
“Thank God. I didn’t want you to leave because I’m an idiot.”
“How are you an idiot?”
“I put us in this situation. I fell in love with you.”
She couldn’t help but laugh at his innocence. “Nick, I’m no less responsible than you are. You can’t really help who you fall in love with. It’s neither of our faults.”
This offered him only slight comfort. “You’ll only be gone for a few weeks, right?”
“Right.”
“All right. I think you made a good decision. I’ll leave you alone for a while,” he said, standing up.
When he got to the door, she stopped him. “Nick?”
“Yeah?”
“You’re not mad at me or anything, are you?” she asked timidly.
He turned and went back to her. After smoothing her hair back and kissing her cheek, he replied. “Of course not. I totally respect your decision. I understand.”
She smiled slightly. “Thank you.”