Me & Red

Chapter 27

Their eyes had met for but a second before heat flushed both of their faces and they found themselves looking away.
Rift felt like an animal. He couldn't believe that he had just attacked her like that. What could he say to her...?
He was embarrassed by his own lack of self control. Was she disgusted...? Did she not want to be friends anymore..?
The very idea of that made him feel sick to his stomach.
"Uh... R... Rift...?"
To his surprise, Red was the first to speak up. "I... er... are you... okay...?"
There was a short pause, silence hanging heavy in the air before Rift shyly raised his gaze and peered over at Red, his cheeks a soft pink.
"...I'm... fine.... are you...?"
Red, not wanting him to be uncomfortable, let a gentle smile touch her lips as she patted his shoulder reassuringly. "I'm alright, no worries."
In spite of her words, Rift awkwardly played with a strand of his hair and bashfully glanced down. "...I'm sorry..."
Red, recognizing the shame and discomfort in him, gently patted his head with a steady hand. "It's okay... I know you didn't mean for things to turn that way..."
Rift didn't respond.
Frankly, he wasn't sure if that was the truth or not. The reason he couldn't stop was that the more he kissed her, the greedier he got. It had all felt so wonderful he couldn't help himself... but that was what made it all the more embarrassing. It amazed him what Red turned him into...
In spite of the way things had gone, Rift thought back to the flutter in his heart that he could finally place and he smiled to himself.
That's right, he thought.
I'm in love with Eve.
The moment he thought about that again, his spirits lifted, all the discomfort melting away from him, and he leaned into Red's touch. The action startled her. That's so odd, she thought to herself. We used to touch all the time and it was no big deal...
But after what had just happened, Red couldn't erase his heat from her memory. Her body trembled, even, at the contact. He had really scared her... but why...? The fact that she couldn't understand her own feelings frustrated her.
Rift was on the opposite side of the bench. He knew exactly how he felt now. And knowing was the first step to acting on it.
"...Eve," he started, his voice urgent but not unkind.
"Yes...?" Red squeaked in response, trying hard not to sound as shaken as she so obviously was.
Rift raised his head and scooted closer to her face, looking her dead in the eyes. As Red looked back into them, seeing her own reflection in the surface, she saw how clear his gaze wasー she saw his resolve.
"I think I love you." Rift said it outright, never once breaking the eye contactー not even to blink.
"How do you feel... about me..?"
Red thought her heart might stop beating as she looked back at him, entranced by the sincerity in his clear green eyes. Rift wouldn't let her look away from him for even a secondー he held her gaze captive and waited patiently for her to say something, anything. His piercing gaze only pushed her farther from her words.
What could she say to him...?
She didn't even know what to say to herself...
That was all she had.
"... I don't know..."
Red's voice was scarcely above a whisper, yet her words hit Rift's chest with a thud.
How could he respond to that..?
It wasn't a no, and yet...
There was a long and painful silence. Red bit down on her lip. Had she hurt his feelings...? His confession had knocked the breath out of her...
Rift let out a slow breath and folded his arms up across her chest to rest his head against her and maintain the eye contact.
"That's okay..." he murmured. "Take your time. But tell me when you can... okay? I'd love to tell you that I'm a patient guy, but I'm really not."
Red laughed stiffly.
"Right..."
From the looks of it, she now had a lot of thinking to do.