Beauty and the Dork

Fishing

"Wayne loves fishing – when I moved in with him, he wanted to take me so we would bond. I loved the outdoors part and the whole spending time with my uncle part – that's when we got the photo," I started. She leaned into me, and I closed my eyes, mortified by the next part of the story. "But I guess I didn't realize that the fish died if you took them out of the water, so when I finally caught one, and Wayne told me what was going to happen, I lost it. Like, lost it. I was sobbing, absolutely inconsolable until Wayne let the fish go. He made up a whole story about how the fish was going to get old and have a family so I would feel better, and I made him tell me that practically every night before bed. Then I never fished again."

It was silent for a beat, and I finally opened my eyes. She was looking up at me, her eyes wide and glistening. She set the photo back on the shelf and turned to me. I felt my face heat as she watched me.

"You are so cute," she said quietly. I furrowed my brows.

"Because I cried when I had to fish?" I asked. She shook her head and set her hands on my biceps, her touch setting me on fire.

"You're just...so different, Eddie," she said, not exactly answering my question. "I loved that story."

I smiled at her, and my heart started racing when she wrapped a hand around the base of my scalp, scratching my head and pulling me close.

"I still can't figure you out, Princess Andúnë," I admitted, melting under her touch. She grinned and leaned into me.

"That's what makes this fun, right?" she asked. I grinned and pressed my lips to hers, holding her tight to me. I over the moon – I was kissing my girlfriend. Margot Patterson was my girlfriend. I pulled back and brushed her hair out of her face.

"Ready to go to bed?" I asked, my voice cracking from my nerves. She smiled and nodded.

I held her hand as I walked her back to my room. I felt my face heat, wishing that I had spent hours cleaning for her. She looked around and I gestured around. She crossed to my stereo and looked at my different cassettes, making sure she was careful with them. She saw the shrine to my guitar and looked back at me, grinning at me.

"This is special," she said, crossing over to it. I scratched the back of my head and shrugged.

"Most important thing I own," I replied. She studied it for a bit and then came back to me, snaking her arms around my back and setting her chin on my chest. I wrapped my arms around her, grinning.

"Are you ready to get comfy?" she asked. I swallowed hard and nodded at her before kissing her forehead.

"My bathroom is right there, so you can get changed and ready," I offered, gesturing at my bathroom. She nodded and let me go to grab her bag. She closed the door behind her, and I felt my heart start to pound.

I fell back onto my bed and sighed, throwing my arms out. Was I really about to get into bed with Margot Patterson? My life over the last month and a half had been unbelievable. I got up and quickly got changed out of my jeans into a pair of sweatpants. I kept my t-shirt on, waiting for her to come out of the bathroom. The door opened and my heart caught.

She was in a soft, green nightgown that was shorter than the skirts she normally wore. She had her hair up in a scrunchie and she grinned when she saw that I changed. She bounded over to me and threw her arms around my neck. I kept my eyes trained on hers, making sure I didn't look down to gawk at her legs.

"I like your comfy clothes," she said, kissing me quickly. I flushed and nodded.

"I like yours!" I squeaked, too excited. She grinned and dropped her hold on me. I cleared my throat and started towards the bathroom. "I'm going to brush my teeth – want to get into bed?"