How to Date a Nerd

Chapter 17 - I Gambled With An Edible Dice

“And why was I running away from you, exactly?”

I looked at her, a bit distracted with her gray eyes catching light from the late afternoon sun. I held her gaze and leaned closer. “Take a guess,” I whispered.

She didn’t move, looking a bit scared. The wind blew warm air that carried her hair and made her cheeks a brighter hue of pink. Damn, she looked so beautiful and innocent and sweet. Sarah shivered even though it was so hot outside. I stared at her lips meaning to kiss her. God knew how much I wanted to. She closed her eyes. Was that a sign that she wanted me to kiss her too? Should I do it? I exhaled when I realized I was holding my breath.

Two inches. The gap between us was so little I could almost feel her heart beat. One inch. Then she opened her eyes and started hiccupping. She put a hand over her mouth.

“The b-bus is coming,” she mumbled looking down. “Hick!”

“Right,” I smiled wryly, withdrawing. “We should probably get you something to drink.”

“I’m—hick! Fine.”

As the bus halted in front of us, I rolled my eyes and snatched her hand. Her fingers were cold. I towed her to the seat and slid right next to her. It was the most awkward bus ride of my life. Sarah kept staring through the window. I looked the other way until my neck hurt. Hiccups got the better of me. How lame was that?

We got off the bus at Main Street, heading to a local supermarket that looked more like a house compared to those in the city. I looked around while Sarah fumbled with her shopping list. As we passed by the narrow parking lot, I spotted a familiar red Camaro. No doubt, it was Matt’s.

“Hey,” I grabbed Sarah’s arm to stop her. “I know another store not too far from here. We should probably go there instead.”

Straining her eyes through the glare, Sarah stared at me then to her arm. I let her go. I was being paranoid. So what if she saw Matt? It wasn’t like Sarah liked her before she got the amnesia. Relax, Leon. You got this.

“Don’t contribute to global warming more than you normally do,” Sarah muttered. “Can we go in now? My brain’s losing more electrolytes as we speak.”

“Okay,” I mumbled, catching up with her. I totally didn’t get everything she just said but I thought I’d just go with it. “I was thinking, maybe we could grab something to eat after this,” I said holding the door for her.

She just looked away, creasing her forehead. It seemed like she wasn’t used to kind gestures. I almost forgot that this was the Sarah two years ago. The hard core nerd. The doubting Thomas.

“Like… dinner?” she stuttered.

“Yeah. Something wrong with that?”

In panic, Sarah bumped on the stacks of shopping baskets. Good thing I caught them before they toppled over her. The middle aged woman behind the counter eyed on us suspiciously but I managed an it’s okay smile toward her.

“S-sorry,” she whispered, hurrying to get a shopping cart instead.

Before she caused another ruckus, I pulled the cart from her and started to the grocery aisles. “No biggie. It’s what best friends do. They look out for each other. Just… don’t hurt yourself, okay?” I looked at her with a relieved smile.

She just dropped her gaze and walked beside me. And I just watched silently as she picked up the stuff she needed. While she was busy debating the prizes and the contents of one brand against the other, I was free to look at her. It was hard being so close to her like this, but not being able to hold her. I missed her. I missed us. But if this was the only I could be near her, I’d gladly take the Best Friend of the Year Award any day.