Be Your Valentine
By: Sara
I never had liked Valentine's Day. It was probably because I was always alone. It was so depressing. All I ever did was sit at home all alone, watch a sappy movie, eat chocolate that I bought for myself, and whine about how much my life sucks.
It all started the day before Valentine's Day a few years ago. I thought that year would be the same. I thought that I would be home alone again. I never dreamed that I would meet him. I never imagined that my luck would finally turn around and that I wouldn't be spending that or any future Valentine's Days alone.
It was really quite accidental but very sweet the way it happened. My perfect man and I just happened to be thinking the same thing at the same time. I was in Blockbuster searching for the perfect movie for my annual lonely V-day ritual. I circled the store many times, narrowing my circle each time. I decided that I wanted to watch a romantic comedy, so I headed to that isle.
I walked up and down the isle for a minute. I finally decided on "You've Got Mail." I looked toward the New Release wall, where that movie would be. I noticed that there was only one copy on the shelf, so I hurried over to get it. When I reached for it, someone else reached for it at the same time. We grabbed the last remaining copy and pulled it off the shelf together.
I tried to pull the tape away from the other person, but whoever it was pulled back. I looked up and saw that it was a guy trying to take my movie away from me. He had bright blue eyes and perfect lips and he was wearing a black baseball cap. When I looked up, he smiled awkwardly. He was nearly a foot taller than me, so he had to bend down to talk quietly to me.
"It appears that we have a problem, doesn't it?" he said quietly. I immediately recognized him to be Nick Carter.
"Yeah, I guess. So, what are WE going to do about it?" I asked in the same hushed tone of voice. He looked so cute trying to hide his identity.
"Well, as I see it, we have three choices. One, you can let me have the movie," he started and I shook my head. "I didn't think so. Well, two, I could let you have the movie," he continued. I smiled, but he shook his head, "That's not gonna happen either."
I frowned, "So, what's the third option?"
"Well," he began as a smile spread across his face, "I could rent it, you could get the popcorn, and then we could go to your place and watch it together tomorrow."
"Why my place?" I asked coyly.
"Because I have people staying over at my house and I would rather not bother them," he said, still smiling. I nodded and we headed up to the counter. It was a pretty lame excuse, but I thought I would let it slide. I mean, after all, he IS Nick Carter.
He rented the movie and we walked out of the store. I started to walk to my car and he seemed like he was following me. I stopped and turned around. He almost ran into me. "Why are you following me?"
"Well, three reasons, actually. One, we were never properly introduced. I'm Nick," he said.
"Actually," I replied, "I already knew that. You're Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys."
"Why didn't you tell me that you recognized me?" he asked. I looked up and met his eyes.
"You never asked," I replied with a smirk. He looked down at me and smiled a half-smile.
"Oh," was all he said.
I looked away and giggled. "Oh, by the way, I'm Sara."
"Well, nice to meet you Sara," he stated as he nervously fiddled with the movie case that he was holding. I looked up at him again. He was staring out into space. I put my hand on his. He snapped out of his trance, looked at me, and put his hand on top of mine.
"You said there were three reasons why you followed me," I said sweetly. He dropped my hand and looked at me.
"What? Oh yeah!! The second reason is that I need directions to your house," he said. I laughed.
"Yeah, I guess that might help," I replied through my fit of laughter. I gave him the directions to my house from the Blockbuster in minute detail. He wrote down everything I said. When he was done he looked at me. "What was the third reason that you were following me?"
"Well, my car is right there," he replied indicating the dark green Durango that was parked next to my car. I looked at his vehicle, then back at him.
"Oh," I said sheepishly. I looked down and started to fidget with my hands. He put his hand on my shoulder and I looked up at him.
He smiled, "Well, Sara, I guess I'll see you tomorrow. Um...is 7 ok for you?"
"Yeah, that's great. So, um, I'll see you then, right?" I asked as we walked to our respective cars.
"Sounds good. See ya," he said as he climbed into his car.
"Bye," I said as I climbed into my car and buckled up. He smiled at me as he pulled out of his parking space. I watched him pull his car out of the parking lot and drive down the street until I couldn't see it anymore.
As I watched him drive out of sight, I thought about my new predicament, 'this is unreal. I mean, first, I'm spending V-day at home alone like I always do. And now I'm spending it with Nick Carter. Even if it is just a friendly thing, I am still spending v-day with someone finally!'
I drove to the grocery store and bought some microwave popcorn. I had an ear-to-ear grin on my face the entire time I was in the store. The cashier looked at me funny, too. I didn't care though. At that point, nothing could have ruined my mood. I was quite literally on cloud nine, and showed no signs of ever wanting to come back down.
After I got home, I called all of my friends and told them everything that had happened and about my plans for the next night. Most didn't believe me, but some wished me luck. In the process of calling my friends, I dialed several wrong numbers because my hands were shaking with excitement as I was dialing.
After I had finished calling everyone that I knew, I decided to watch TV for a while. I lay down on the couch and turned on the TV. I must have drifted off because when I opened my eyes, there was sunlight streaming down on my face from the window.
I sat up on the couch and looked at the clock. It was noon. I immediately stood up. I had a lot to do. I ran around like a chicken with its head cut off all afternoon cleaning, straightening, rearranging, etc. I finally finished cleaning at around 5:30 pm.
After I was done cleaning, I went to my room to find the perfect thing to wear. After a half hour of trying on and rejecting clothes, I had a huge pile of clean clothes on my bed and the perfect outfit.
Now, it was 6 pm. I went into the bathroom and took a long hot shower to calm myself down. By the time I finally climbed out of the shower, it was a quarter to seven. I put on the outfit that I had chosen to wear, brushed my wet tangled hair, and threw it up in a clip.
Then, clad in my favorite pair of jeans and gray Florida State t-shirt, I padded into the kitchen to make the popcorn. I took the little baggy, threw it in the microwave, and watched it go around and around. I looked out the window and saw that the sky was cloudy. It looked like it would rain soon. The darkness outside gave an eerie atmosphere to the inside of the house. I had no artificial lights on, so the only light in the house was filtering in from the outside.
The microwave dinged and disrupted my train of thought. I opened the door and pulled the hot bag of popcorn out. As soon as had I dumped the contents into a large bowl, someone knocked on my door. My heart skipped a beat.
I rushed out into the living room and placed the bowl on the coffee table, did a quick look around to make sure that everything was in place, turned on a light, and then went to the door. I looked in the mirror by the door and replaced the few misplaced strands of hair. Then I slowly opened the door and looked out.
There he stood with a smile on his face and the video in his hand. His blonde hair was wet and it looked like he had just run his hand through it. He was wearing some baggy jeans and a white jersey with orange and yellow trim and a big number 12 on it. He looked really good. He was wet, though. I wondered why, but then I noticed that it was raining.
He looked at me. "Well, are you gonna invite me in or what?" he asked with a soft smile.
"Oh...yeah," I said sheepishly as I stepped out of the way. He stepped up into my house. I hadn't realized until that moment just how tall he really was. He stood there towering over me in my living room. After he had walked in, I closed the door behind him. He stepped toward me for some reason and nearly stepped on my foot in the process.
I jumped back and it startled him. "What?" he said quickly.
"Nothing. It's just that you almost stepped on my foot," I said indicating my lack of shoes. He looked down at my feet and then back up at me and cocked an eyebrow. "I hate wearing shoes. I love shopping for them, I just hate to wear them, so whenever I get the chance, I don't," I replied to his unspoken question.
"Oh," he replied. He walked farther into the room and put the video down on the coffee table next to the popcorn. He sat down on the couch and looked at me. "So, do you wanna start the movie, or should we stare at each other more first?"
I hadn't realized that I had been staring, but apparently I had. I looked down at the floor and laughed. "Sorry," I said awkwardly. "Well, I'm gonna warn you before I put this movie in that I get really mushy during films like this. I am probably either going to cry, sigh, or make a hundred comments. If the comments bother you, just hit me and I'll stop," I finished as I put the tape in the VCR. I turned the light off and grabbed the remote. I sat down next to him and turned on the TV.
At the start of the movie, we were each sitting on our own cushion with the popcorn bowl between us. Just like I had warned him, all through out the movie I would sigh and make comments like "Oh that was so sweet" or "Awwwww" or "Man, I wish someone would say things like that to me." We finished the popcorn about halfway through the movie, and once the bowl was out of the way, we kept inching closer to each other. Toward the end of the movie, we were sitting right next to each other and he had put his arm around my shoulders. I was leaning against his shoulder. I could feel his breathing and his body heat.
When the movie had ended, I was still looking at the TV, watching the credits. I started my usual rant, temporarily forgetting that he was there, "See, why can's real life be like the movies? In real life 90% of guys like that are either taken or gay. It makes me so mad. I'll never meet anyone like that who likes me too. I have never had a valentine before..." I kept talking completely oblivious to Nick until I felt his soft lips on my cheek. I turned to look at him, and when I did, his face was mere inches from mine.
He smiled and whispered, "You've never had a valentine before?" I shook my head slightly and he smiled again, "Can I be your valentine?"
I felt my heart jump into my throat. A single hot tear rolled down my cheek and he wiped it away tenderly with his thumb. "What's wrong?" he asked softly. I answered by closing the remaining distance between us. I brushed my lips over his and he kissed me back. He caressed my face with his big warm hand as he deepened the kiss. He was so tender and loving. I was so happy, and he had made me that way. The kiss went on forever. He pushed me down on my back on the couch. We kissed a little while longer, and eventually we wound up lying still on the couch together. He wrapped his arms so tightly around me. I felt so safe and happy. I knew that from that moment on that I would never be lonely again...
Email: panda_angelaj@hotmail.com
