In the Eye of the Beholder - written by Jenny Tran

Chapter 13

Their lives continued on as usual and soon around the corner crept up Valentine’s Day. This was the day that Terrie dreaded every year, unlike her best friend who always has a guy to spend the special day with. Terrie was different, she never liked the fact that you would have to wait for a day to show how much you care about another person.

She seldom saw Chris, he was always busy with something. Even at night she couldn’t talk to him, but Paul seemed to cover that time perfectly. Richard had basically moved on to his next victim, a girl by the name of Wendi. Last time she heard, he wasn’t serious with this girl, but she was someone for him to kill time on. She and Eric were getting along very well during December, they even had deep and long talks. But he seemed to disappear. And for her best friend? She was always out with her boyfriend.

She was sitting at her desk at work minding her own business when she felt a person looking over her. She had a strange feeling it was Chris, when she looked up her heart skipped a beat. It was him, he was holding onto one wrapped red rose and a heart shaped container with her favorite European chocolates inside. Her face brightened up with a smile “Well, didn’t think I’d see you for another few weeks.” She teased.

He laughed and handed her the rose and chocolates “How about lunch? We’re meeting Eric and Keri for lunch.” Keri worked across the street from her friend, they seldom went out to lunch together since her friend had a different lunch hour.

“She’s going to lunch late?”

Chris nodded. “Yeah, we decided to do something nice for you two. Come on. Its twelve.”

She glanced at her watch “Oh my gosh, it is. I didn’t even realize it.” She picked up her purse and walked out with him as she waved to the receptionist, who was grinning at her.

They met at a near by food court where Eric and Keri had already arrived. They ordered sandwiches and chatted about what their plans were for the night. “Im going out with Andrew.” Keri boasted.

Terrie saw Eric flinched at the comment but she quickly brushed it off “How about you?” she asked Eric.

“Nothing. I have to work tonight.” He worked at a computer shop, building computers and at night he worked as a check processor for banks.

“How about you?” she turned to Chris.

“I promised my father that I would help with the tables.” He shrugged his shoulders “No big deal. How about you?”

She smiled “Renting my favorite comedy action movie and curling up with home made spaghetti.”

Before they knew it, it was time for the girls to return. Eric took Keri back while Chris took Terrie back to her work place. “Thanks for the chocolates.” She said before he left.

He threw her a wide grin “You’re welcome. Don’t eat them all the same time now.” She nodded and gave him a slight wave. She sighed to herself, another four hours of work until she could go home.

Terrie was so into her work that she didn’t realize it was half an hour until she was off. From her desk, she heard the elevator door open with a ‘ding’. That strange feeling returned, the same one she got when Chris showed up earlier. ‘But it can’t be him.’ She shrugged away the question and returned to her work. “Hey there!” the familiar voice was too easy to detect.

She looked up and gave him a puzzled look “You again? I thought you were working?”

He laughed “I guess I lied then huh?”

“I don’t like liars.” She said it with a serious tone.

His face immediately fell “You mad?” he asked cautiously.

She shrugged her shoulders “No, but just don’t let it happen again. Let me tell you a little secret, the worse thing you can do to me is lie. Everything else, its okay…” she smiled and grabbed her purse “Where to?”

“How do you know Im taking you out?” he teased.

“Oh, okay. I’ll go home then.” She began to walk away when he blocked her.

“Little smarty. Come on.” He chuckled as he led her to his car. “We’ll come back for you car later. Is it okay to leave it here?”

“I think so.”

He drove through the thick traffic of people trying to get to their destinations. Mostly couples going out to restaurants for the special day. She was calm and very patient as she waited for him to take her to where ever he wanted to take her to. “Are you curious as to where we’re going?”

“As long as you’re not going to murder me, I don’t really care.” She quipped.

He nodded with a grin plastered on his face. He drove up a dark road that lead to an observatory where you an look at stars through a huge telescope. It was a very popular place that people go to. She’s heard about it but never had the chance to see it. There was no parking in the small lot so he ended up parking along the curb a few yards down the hill. He killed the engine and handed her a box. “That’s our dinner, afterwards, I’ll take you up there.” He nodded to the observatory. “Have you ever been here?”

She opened the box and at the food quickly. “No, but I’ve heard of it. You come here often?” it was a double meaning question.

“No, just once.” He said quietly.

“With you ex?”

His head shot up and he shook it vehemently “No, no, it was for a class trip. I never took her up here.”

Terrie shifted her head to the side as she closed the box of food. “I have to ask, Chris. Do you like me?” it was a total understatement, yet she’s never heard him say. Every time she brought up the question, he would dodge it. Yet this time he was prepared to tell her everything.

“Hold on.” He closed his own food box and reached behind his seat and gave her a card. It was pink with a red card inside. Nothing special about the cover but when she opened it, his handwriting poured all over the card. He opened his car door while she read it:

‘Terrie,

I know you have been wondering for a long time if I like you or not. Like you? Gosh, I think you are the second girl I fell in love with. I know you don’t have the same feelings for me and you might never have them. But I just had to tell you how I felt. You know I knew my feelings changed when there were times when I got upset about what you said. Then I looked at your face and you gave me a smile, the anger seemed to disappear. Im not good with words, so please don’t be embarrassed by what Im trying to say. From the first moment I saw you, you’re beauty had taken me in. I knew deep down that it was just a cover, so I wanted to get to know you better. As God would have it, we had a chance to get to know each other even more. I don’t know when I came to realize how much you mean to me, but I know it didn’t change overnight. I’ve always known but it was just a matter of when. I guess it doesn’t matter now that you know. You don’t have to tell me anything, I just want you to know that I want to be a part of your life. As much as I want things to progress, I will support your decision. I don’t mind being your ‘dai lou’ or even a friend as long as Im a part of your life.

Love Always,
Chris’

She took a deep breath before returning the card back into the envelope. Her heart fluttered when she read the word love. She felt her eyes welling up with tears, never in her life has she felt this way from reading a note. She’s had a few guys try to write her a love note, but it was all childish stuff. Yet his words seemed to sink in, maybe because it was so sincere? She looked up in time to see him come back in the car holding a tiny bouquet of fake roses. She gasp as she covered her mouth with one hand while she took the bouquet that he held out for her.

It looked completely hand made. The material was made from styrofoam with pastel colors and a wire was tied to each end of the folded rose. “You made this didn’t you?”

He smiled proudly “Yup, every single night for the past two weeks. I locked myself in the room so no one would bother me.”

“Its very thoughtful of you and very beautiful. How many are there? 100?”

He chuckled nervously “It was suppose to be 100 but I messed up on the pink ones, so it turned out to be 88.”

She smiled kindly “Thanks.”

“Come on, lets take a walk.” He got out of the car and waited for her. They walked up the little hill side by side in silence. It wasn’t awkward for either of them, they were just thinking about their situation “What are you thinking of?” he glanced at her.

She shook her head “No, just wondering. Why me?” she was asking herself but it accidentally slipped out. There was a great guy in front of her but yet, she didn’t have any feelings for him. Sometimes she wished she could control her feelings. She was even blaming herself for not feeling anything towards him.

“Don’t blame yourself.” He was reading her mind “I didn’t write all that to make you feel guilty. Like you said, you have no control.” He couldn’t be more understanding at a more perfect timing.

She couldn’t hold it in any longer, her tears rushed out quickly. She covered her mouth from crying out loud. There were couples all around them as they cuddled with each other and walked together hand in hand. She wiped the tears away and smiled at the eyes that were looking at the two curiously. He didn’t realize she was crying until he stopped over a balcony like area where tiny telescopes were set up for them to look through. He looked at her with warm eyes “Don’t look at me.” She turned away embarrassed. She has never cried in front of a guy before.

He continued to gaze at her while she turned away again “Why are you crying?” He sighed and wrapped a strong arm around her shoulders “Silly girl.” He muttered loud enough for her to hear him.

She laughed through tears “I don’t know why Im crying. Maybe you are right, I am blaming myself.”

“Well, stop it! Don’t give yourself pressure like that.” He scolded teasingly.

She wiped the rest of the tears away as she took a deep breath “I know. I just can’t help it.” She looked at him in the eye “You’re the first guy to see my cry.”

He smiled “I guess I should feel very special then. I like it when you smile though.”

“I’ll try to more often.” She started off with a little grin.

They walked around the observatory and chatted for a while longer before returning to the car. The drive back was not awkward like how she imagined it would be. He was patient as he waited for her to break the ice. When he glanced at her, he noticed she was looking at him intently. He chuckled “What are you thinking of? You want to ask me something don’t you?”

She nodded “Yeah, but you’re not willing to tell me.” She turned back to the window and looked outside blankly.

“About my ex girlfriend?” he couldn’t even bring up her name.

She nodded. “I don’t want to pressure you into telling me anything. I don’t have the right to know, even if we were dating….” Her words drifted off when she caught herself.

He shrugged “I said before, the past should stay in the past. What are you so curious about?”

“I guess, I just wonder if you’re such a wonderful guy then she must have been a very decent girl for you to like her. I know I already asked this, but you didn’t really answer me. What made you two break up?”

He took a deep breath and let it out “There is a lot more to it then what I told you, I admit. But Im just not ready to talk about it. It still hurts a little, to think about her.”

“You still love her?” she was very curious when it came to love since she’s never loved anyone before. The feeling was very peculiar to Terrie, people described it as ‘indescribable’.

“I think I always will. We were good friends for two years until I made the move to ask her out. We were both sophomores then.”

“How do you know its love? I mean with me too?”

“Well, I guess its not easy to explain. But for me, I know Im in love when the other person means more to me then my life. Back then, she was my everything, I would easily give up my life for her. And now for you, I feel the same way. That’s how I know.”

She smiled and turned back to the window “I don’t know if I’ll ever know.” She knew herself more than anyone, she was very picky when it came to love and guys.

“Of course you will. You never know, it could be me one day.” He joked.

She giggled “Maybe. You never know what the future holds.” She felt at ease joking with him about the sensitive subject. “Would you wait for me?”

He looked thoughtful for a minute before answering her “You mean how long will I stick around?”

She nodded “Yeah, there was this guy that use to like me, but when I was honest with him, he never called back. My exact words were ‘I don’t want to tie you down, so if you can’t wait I don’t want to be in your way.’ Did that sound bad?”

Chris again thought about his answer carefully “No, it just sounds brutally honest.” He was teasing her “But seriously. I don’t know if I would stick around waiting for you. But I know that I won’t be able to get over you until you find yourself a boyfriend.”

“That’s very noble of you. But what if I never get a boyfriend?” she was testing his answer.

“Then I guess I’ll will never move on.” His answer was quick. Chris didn’t even have to think about it, he already knew the answer.

The drive seemed shorter on the way back as they both got out of the car. He waited for her to get in her car safely. She was waving goodbye when he motioned for her to roll down her windows. “Yes?” she asked.

“Promise me something.” She tilted her head thoughtfully and eventually nodded “Don’t make this change our relationship. I want more than anything for it to be the same.”

She smiled “I’ll try my best, but Im not gonna make a promise that I can’t keep.”

“I’ll take that.” He smiled and reached into the car and gave her a kiss on the cheek, surprising her “Now go home, its getting late. Call me when you get home.”

She felt herself blushing “Okay. Thanks, I had a very interesting time.”

“Good.” He nodded as he watched her sped away. Getting in his own car, he drove home thinking about her. He didn’t regret telling her the truth, he knew he would have eventually. Maybe Valentine’s day wasn’t the best to do it, yet it was too late to wonder that.




Chapter 14

Terrie walked into her apartment feeling a bit dazed. She didn’t notice that her friend greeted her until Keri got up and tapped her on the shoulder startling her. “Huh? Oh, you’re home.”

“So, how was dinner?” she knew Chris had taken Terrie out, obviously from Eric.

She looked like a zombie as she handed the card to her friend “Read this.” She walked over to the couch and plopped onto the cushion.

“Wow…” Keri knew her friend more than anyone else “Don’t feel bad.” She sat next to Terrie and pushed her head onto her shoulder. “I know your beating yourself up right now.”

“Why can’t I like him??!” she scolded herself.

“Weren't we just talking about this sometime last month? You said that feelings cannot be controlled? Then why are you so upset about?”

Terrie sat up to face her friend “Why?? Did you not read the card?? My gosh Keri, how many guys out there are like this??” she pointed to the card. “Look what he made me!!” she had the bouquet in her hand. “What is wrong with me?? I like guys that don’t like me and when someone like this comes along, I have no feelings…no feelings.” She felt tears brimming on the edge of her eyes again. “If I give him a chance, Im not being true to myself, I promised myself years ago that I would be honest with myself and with guys. I can’t break it, then I’d be a hypocrite to all those other good guys out there that use to like me and I didn’t give them a chance?”

“Sweetie, you already answered it. If you want to be honest to him, you have to stay firm with your decision. Don’t falter and mislead him. If you give him a chance, you are basically hurting him. I mean, what if you really don’t like him and he gets in too deep.”

Terrie snickered “Too deep? He already loves me..” she buried her face into the couch “What am I going to do??”

“What can you do? Just go on with your life, treat him the same and if you eventually like him, then just be honest.”

She looked dearingly at her friend “Thank you. I needed that.”

“Now, go to sleep will ya? You’re bothering me.” She gave her friend a tight hug. Terrie was about to walk down their little hallway when the phone rang, she glanced at her friend hoping that she’ll pick it up. “Don’t look at me, you know its for you.” She got up and returned to her room.

After the fifth ring, Terrie picked it up “Hello?”

“Hey there Princess.” It was Paul.

She let out a sigh of relief, she knew she couldn’t handle it if it was Chris. “What’s up?”

“You sound kinda down? What’s wrong?” his concern voice melted her worries.

She told him what happened that night “ I don’t know what to do. But I guess I’ll continue to be honest.”

“What more could anyone ask for? I mean, he can’t expect you to like him because he did so much for you? True feelings are always better than plain gratitude. Besides, if he really loves you, he will not use your big heart against you. I mean, if he was sneaky then he would take advantage of your sense of responsibility and use it against you. That just proves how much he really cares for you. Most people don’t know what they have until they lose it. Just don’t regret your decision.”

She felt a tear slide down her cheek “Thank you Paul. You always know what to say.”

“That’s why they call me God…” he laughed “Im teasing. Anyways, I’ve got some good news for you.”

“Great! I can use some.”

“Im coming to Hong Kong in May for a friend’s wedding.”

“Really?” her voice full of excitement as it squeaked in a high pitch sound “You mean I get to finally meet my Gor Gor?

“Yup, and I have a question to ask you. I don’t have a partner for the wedding, would you like to join me?”

“Wow…” she paused for a minute “I guess it wouldn’t hurt. Anyways, I think it would be fun to finally meet you. Thanks, that was good news.”

“Great, it’s a deal then!” he said firmly “Okay, I’ll let you go now, you’ve had a long night.”

She let out a relaxing sigh “Thank you very much. Bye.”

“Bye.” She placed the phone back on the receiver and went to sleep.

**********

The next few days were a blur to her, she didn’t talk to Chris since that Valentine’s day night. She guessed he needed time to think things over. After the fourth day, she decided to give him a call, afterall she promised that everything would be the same. His cell phone wasn’t answered so she tried his home. It rang almost five times before she heard a groggy voice come on “Hello?”

“Chris?”

“Yeah…” his voice sound so croaky. “Terrie?”

“Yeah, you okay? You sound horrible.” Her immediate reaction was concern.

He coughed a few times “I should, Im sick. Been sick for days.”

“Why didn’t you call me?” she immediately regretted the question as soon as she asked it. Wasn’t it obvious that he was sick that’s why he didn’t call?

“I couldn’t even get out of bed for the first two days, Im actually eating right now.”

“What are you eating?” her motherly instinct came.

“Cereal.” He sniffed and then gave out a cough.

“What? For dinner?? Are you crazy? You’re gonna get even worse. Don’t eat it, Im coming over right now.”

“No, I’ll get you sick. I’ll be fine, don’t worry.”

His words hit her, she did worry for him. Was it mere friendship or more than that? She’s been asking herself so many questions for the past few days that she wasn’t even sure of her own feelings now. “No, I want to see you. Im coming over.” She hung up the phone before he could decline.

He dropped the phone on the couch next to him. “She’s coming.”

“I told you it’ll work!!” Keri smiled and flipped her hair over the shoulder “Im good, aren’t I?” Eric, who was sitting next to her rolled his eyes. “You know it!” she gave him a little push.

“I don’t think its good to take advantage of her like that.” Chris said through his stuffy nose.

“Don’t be ridiculous. I know my friend very well, she’s very stubborn when it comes to love. We’re just simply giving her a little push in the right direction. I mean, you do love her don’t you?” she raised her eyebrows at Chris.

“Of course! Im not the type to say it and deny it afterwards because I was rejected.”

Eric nodded “Yeah, I mean if she doesn’t fall for him, she will never love any guy. She’s blind if she doesn’t see a good person who’s right in front of her.”

“Don’t exaggerate, Eric.”

“Im not!!” he demanded.

“Where’s your other girlfriend?” Keri asked the guys.

“Oh, he’s out with Wendi again.” Eric waved his hand nonchalantly.

His friend shook his head “No, he’s with Emily now.” Chris argued.

“Oh, that’s right, the girl with the…” the guys burst out laughing together when Eric made a circular gesture across his chest.

“Sickos.” Keri mumbled.

The guys continued to laugh until they heard the doorbell. Eric got up and opened it, he was trying to keep a serious face when he saw Terrie behind the metal door “Terrie, what are you doing here?”

“Oh…I..” she didn’t expect anyone else to be home “I came to see how Chris is doing.”

“You can let her in you know.” Chris said sarcastically when Eric still didn’t open the door. Eric threw him a dirty look before opening the door for Terrie.

“Thanks.” She mumbled. When she saw his face, her heart was crushed. His eyes were drooping and it was watering from the sneezing. Black circles under his eyes made him look like a panda bear. His hair looked like it hasn’t been combed for ages. “How are you feeling.” She dropped her purse on the couch next to him and knelt on the floor beside him.

“Im doing good, those two are keeping me company.” He nodded at Keri and Eric.

“Keri? I didn’t even see you.” She sounded surprise.

Keri giggled “Of course you didn’t, you’re so worried about your Chris.” She teased.

Terrie’s face turned bright red as she slowly got up and pushed the purse aside and sat next to him on the couch. “Don’t listen to her. She’s just teasing you. Im doing better, see?” he gave her an odd smile showing her that he was good.

She laughed “Eating cereal will not make it any better. Let me see what you guys have.” She got up and looked inside the fridge. “Three grown men and not even a head of lettuce in here, just Coke. Is that what you guys drink all day?” she asked loudly.

“And beer!!” Eric chimed in.

“Well, this is useless, Im gonna go to the store. You guys gonna behave while Im gone?”

“Yes, mommy.” Keri and Eric said simultaneously.

By the time Terrie got back, the other two were gone, leaving the sick Chris all by himself. “They left you?” she asked, shocked that his best friend would leave him at a time of need.

“You wanted them to stay?” Chris asked.

“No.” she said honestly.

“Well, there you go.” He laughed. “What are you gonna make?”

“Rice porridge. Some cabbage and ginger soup. You cannot eat cold stuff, you hear me?” she wagged her finger at him.

“Yes, mam!!” he saluted her while she shook her head, a smile undeniably on her face.

When she was done cooking, she set the coffee table for him to eat. She handed him a bowl of soup and he quickly tasted the sweet flavor. The ginger cleared his sinus a bit. “This is good.” He pointed to the soup.

She smiled shyly “Thanks, my mom’s specialty. Its my first time cooking for someone else.”

“Wow, Im just on a roll aren’t I? Taking everything that’s a first from you huh?”

Terrie laughed “I guess.” She stayed for another hour before leaving him so he could rest. On the drive home, she asked herself one more time if she liked him. The answer? It was unknown now, she obviously cares for him a great deal, but there was still something missing. She remembered from the first guy that she liked, every time she saw him around campus, her heart would flutter and her stomach would be full of butterflies. But it wasn’t like that with Chris, it was genuine concern for a friend. Or was it?




Chapter 15

That after two days, came the weekend Chris was feeling much better and he was able to move around. He had a little shopping date with Terrie, he was on his way to her apartment. When he got there, he was about to get out but found her standing outside the building waiting for him. He quickly unlocked the door for her and she let herself in “Next time, wait for me to come pick you up.”

She wrinkled her forehead at him “Why?”

“The streets are still dangerous, there are crazy people everywhere, I mean what if something would have happened to you?”

She smiled “Well, nothing did, so stop worrying. So where to?”

“The mall. Im sure we could find your mother a birthday gift somewhere in there.”

She nodded and said shortly “True.”

Along the way, she rested her arm on the cushion that was between his seat and hers. She was looking out the window at the scenery and admiring the blue blue sky. It was hard for him to concentrate on driving since he kept glancing at her once in a while. He tried to fight the urge to hold her hand, it was so close but yet he didn’t dare touch it. What if she slapped him? What if she pulled away? His heart was thumping so loud that he thought she might hear it. He took an internal breath and reached over slowly and place his warm hand over her hand.

She didn’t think anything of it at first and let him hold her hand. His grip became a little tighter and she eventually turned around and looked at their entwined hands. “What are you doing?” her question was a mere whisper. He couldn’t detect whether or not she was mad or if she didn’t mind.

“Im holding your hand.” It was a stupid response but he just didn’t know what else to say.

She gave him a warm smile before returning back to her scenery outside. Her heart gave a little flutter and her stomach turned in response when his hand flipped her palm over and his fingers interlapped with hers. She closed her eyes and warned herself to stay calm. She tried to reason with herself about why she had a sudden change of heart ‘He’s the first guy that held your hand, of course you’re nervous. Pull away before you mislead him..’ her conscience was nagging at her. But she didn’t pull away, she let him hold her hand, she wanted to make sure that it wasn’t because he was the first guy that dared hold her hand but because she had true feelings for him.

When he found a parking space in the structure, he turned off the engine and quickly let go of her hand as he got out of the car. As soon as he let go, she felt a pang of emptiness. It almost felt strange that she wasn’t holding his hand. But she remained cool and collect as they walked side by side into the mall. “Where should we go first?” he asked casually.

“Hmmm, my mom likes keeping memoirs.”

His face quickly brightened up “I know. The Remembrance Store, it has everything! You can even engrave words onto frames and clocks and pens. Come on.” He reached for her hand without thinking and pulled her along.

Her heart fluttered again and this time butterflies were in her stomach. She came into step with him as he led her to the store. They walked in and once again, he let go and she felt odd all over again. That was the second time she felt that way. She knew it couldn’t have been a coincident that it could happen again. Yet she stayed calm and told herself ‘Third time’s a charm.’

They decided on a little silver photo album and had it engraved to say “Happy Birthday Mommy”. The gift was thoughtful and Terrie knew her mother would love it.

“Got anything else you want to buy?” he asked, he didn’t want to leave yet.

“Lets go look at some clothes.” She pointed to a store on the bottom level that she normally shops at. He followed her down the escalator. He was staring at her smiling face when suddenly she turned to him, making him face red from being caught. “Isn’t she adorable?” she pointed to a five year old girl standing in front of them. “Where’s her parents?” she asked with concern when she noticed the girl was by herself. She also appeared to be crying and calling for her daddy. Terrie looked down and found her father waving to her telling her to hold on.

Before Terrie could help the girl, Chris quickly picked her up and the little girl immediately stopped crying. He walked down the steps of the escalator and returned the girl safely to her dad. Terrie smiled at the sweet gesture he did, he turned around and gave her a little shrug that said ‘No big deal.’

She returned the smile “That was very sweet.” She felt the butterflies coming back and this time he wasn’t even holding her hand. From that moment, she knew it was more than mere friendship. She liked him. Terrie was giddy the rest of the day, when they finished shopping and then returned to her apartment to wait for the others. They were all going to dinner together that same night. Terrie was waiting for the right moment to tell Chris but she was constantly interrupted by either: Keri, Eric or Richard. She shrugged it off, knowing that there would be another time to tell him.

After dinner, they went back to the guy’s home to relaxed. Richard got an immediate phone call from his new girl Emily, she wanted to see him and so he left. Keri was still a little hungry from the light dinner she had “I feel like some desert.” She said out loud.

Eric groaned “You just ate!!”

“Not that much.” She argued back. “Come on, lets go get something to drink.”

“No, Im full guys. You guys go ahead.” He looked at Terrie, but she looked motionless.

“Im good.” She said finally.

“Fine. Come on, piggy.” She said to Eric, it was a nickname that they came up with. It was actually his friend’s fault. For some reason, one of his friend back in high school gave him a little piggy bank for his birthday. Soon words traveled around that he loves pigs, therefore everyone got him pig frames, pig cushions, stuffed pigs. Then Chris started to call him that and it spread quickly. Although he hasn’t called him that for years. As a matter of fact, Eric was the one that warned him to never call him that nickname ever again. So he was a little confused that Keri knew and she called him that, yet he didn’t seem bothered by it.

After the two left, Chris went into his room and turned on his computer. Terrie followed him as she sat on his bed quietly wondering how she could tell him. She thought about emailing him the ‘good news’. “Do you check your email often?” her question was out of the blue.

“Not really, I get so many junk mail that I tend to delete everything.” He began to play a little connecting game called marbles that he had on his desktop.

“How about the one that I write to you?” she said slowly.

He instantly stopped and turned to her “You wrote me one?”

She shook her head “I said if I did.”

“Well, of course I would read it.” He wrinkled his eyebrow “What did you want to tell me that you can’t say in person?” he didn’t think anything could be that secretive after all, he already confessed his feelings.

“Uh…Im too embarrassed to say it in person.” Her face was red as can be.

“Is it a good thing?” he asked, wondering what it could be. She nodded shyly. “Well then tell me now.” He pressed.

Her eyes darted around as she debated on telling him. It would be the first time she would dare say it. She was always so passive with guys. “I like you.” She said it in a whisper.

He got up and sat next to her on the bed “What did you say?” he thought he was daydreaming.

She squirmed in her seat as she looked uncomfortable “You’re gonna make me say it again?” his eyes were so earnest that she knew she had to “I said, I like you.”

His face lit up in the dim room “Really??” he knew exactly what she was trying to say. “Oh my gosh.” He whispered to himself. It was almost unbelievable that she would ever like him. But here she was saying the beautiful words to him.

“Don’t tell Keri or Eric yet, I want to tell them myself. Just for a few more days.”

He smiled and nodded in agreement “Sure.” The smile got wider as he thought about it. He returned to his desk when he heard their front door open up. Terrie tried to stay calm as she sat on the bed, trying to look relaxed. She turned her head to look at Chris, the smile was growing by the second, he couldn’t help it.

“Stop smiling!!” she whispered loudly, a smile was on her own face as she looked at him.

He pushed his cheeks together to keep from smiling “Im trying.” He whispered back.

She eventually got up and went outside because his giddy attitude was too contagious. “You guys back already?” she asked casually.

“Yeah, hey you want to go up to the mountains again? Tomorrow’s Sunday and Monday is a holiday. I miss that place.” Keri said.

“Sure, let me ask Chris.”

“Of course he’ll say yes. Wherever you go he’ll go.” Eric retorted.

Keri shoved an elbow in his stomach “Don’t tease her like that.” She threatened.

“Why not? You do it all the time.” He rubbed his stomach in pain.

“Well, we go back a long way. I can do anything I want.” She snorted.

“You guys arguing again?” Chris appeared at the doorway with Terrie behind him. “You guys act like an old married couple.”

“What? Who would want to marry him” she snickered. “So you up for tomorrow?”

“Sure.” Chris replied quickly. “Well, go home and rest, I take it I’ll be driving again tomorrow.” Eric nodded while the girls




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