Brave Enough To Love Again

Chapter 11

Eden

I like him. I really really like him. I thought.

Being with him was as easy as breathing.

"I think you and I could become very good friends." he interrupted my thoughts.

My heart skipped a beat.

Did I just get friend zoned?

Was I expecting something else?

Neither a serious relationship nor a short fling appealed to me. I came to that realization the last time I ran away from him to think in the park. My conclusion was to talk to him so we could figure the situation out together. And he just gave me the answer to the question I wasn't sure of how to answer.

So what was I expecting?

This was the perfect arrangement.

Well, not really perfect.

An excellent plan would also consider the physical attraction between us. But this one didn't. I wondered if he was suggesting that we just ignored those feelings. Unfortunately, I couldn't form the sentence to ask him that question, because I was a coward who hated any sort of confrontation.

"I think so too!" I smiled.

The best thing for me to do then, was to just go with the flow and see where it would lead the both of us. Since I was too much of a wimp to ask him about the almost tangible sexual tension that seemed to automatically arose whenever we were in close proximity to each other, I had to live with his decision.

"So, friend. Tell me about yourself." I said to lighten the mood.

He grinned. "That's what people get asked during a job interview. Am I applying for something here?" he said jokingly.

I smirked.

"Shall I ask random questions then? Whatever pops in my head?"

"Sounds good to me."

"Okay. But don't expect any profound questions about the meaning of life or something."

"Okay, I won't. Shoot."

I blurted out the first thing that came to my mind and that had been nagging me ever since we left the little house.

"How was it? Living in that cabin with your mother?"

I expected him to refuse to answer my question, because I was almost certain that she had passed away already. But he surprised me by replying without hesitation.

"She developed PPCM, peripartum cardiomyopathy months after giving birth to me. She had a weak heart. She always said that several family members had problems with the heart too. It runs in the family apparently. So, physical exertion was to be avoided as much as possible."

He paused and I just waited for him to continue since I was at a loss for words. We continued walking on the beach close to the water, waves washing our feet on and again with cold, salty ocean water. I looked around and into the horizon, the sun would be setting again soon. I had slept in most of the day.