Knowing Me, Knowing You | (S/P)

Chapter 28

I once fell from a small tree during a camping trip with my family. I must have been around eight, and as soon as I discovered that there was a nest on the crown of an old hackberry, I didn't hesitate for a second to climb the unfortunate thing to see if there was a bird on it. 

Of course, my clumsiness isn't newly acquired, and I fell to the ground. 

I didn't get any major injuries, but it was enough to let me stunned on the ground for a few seconds; everything was in slow motion and the voices sounded distant. That's the best thing I can compare with to how I'm feeling right now.

I open my mouth to respond to Nathaniel's declaration, but I'm at a complete loss for words.

"You don't have to say it back. I just needed you to know." He closes in to swiftly peck me on the lips, but I am still unable to react. "Last night at the party, the minute I walked into the building and saw you standing there on your own, the first thing that crossed my mind was 'Damn, I love her', it caught myself off guard, but I knew it to be true. And I wanted so desperately to tell you, but I was afraid that you weren't going to remember anything this morning. I've been waiting all night for you to wake up so I can tell you."

"I don't know what to say." It's not very often when I found myself in a situation where I don't have an opinion to give, or a statement to make, but he just used the 'L' word and I am freaking out.

"As long as you don't call me a pussy again, it's alright."

"Sorry about that, again."

"It was nice for a change." He playfully arches an eyebrow and shows off that half smile that he has mastered over the years. It's an obvious attempt to take away what little tension has beginning to creep into the air. 

"How can you say that you...love me, after my behavior from last night?"

"The thing is, Alex, that I know you better than what you think."

When I reminisce of the time that I have spent with Nathaniel, it either feels like I have known him for years or like I just recently laid eyes on him for the very first time. I have acknowledged the fact of how he is one of the persons that I have struggled the least to let in, of how assured I feel whenever I share a new bit of information with him. 

That is one of the realizations that scared me the most last night; how he is bringing out this side of me and how much that eases me.

"I know that your favorite ice-cream flavor is chocolate chip mint. I know that you learned to read at age five, and that the first book that you read on your own was The Velveteen Rabbit. I know that you will wear socks to bed even if it's 95°F, and that for some reason you despise word 'purple'. How you take your black coffee with an insane amount of sugar, but how you like your latte plain. I know that you're afraid of lightings." His thumb brushes a lock of hair off my forehead, his touch lingering more than necessary. "And I know that when you are afraid, you push people away."

How can he artifice such beautiful things in the span of a moment? How can his eyes transmit so much sincerity and tranquility? How can he say he loves me?

My eyes are wet, and my stomach does this weird thing in which it somersaults and does cartwheels at the same time.

"There are also a lot of things that you don't know about me."

"And I'm willing to wait until you're ready to tell me about them." An irreverent tear escapes to run down my cheek, which Nathaniel hastily wipes off with his thumb. "I know that is what happened last night. You got scared. You got scared because you know how good we have it and how it can become something even better. "