Wings of Butterflies

4. I'm Not the Sort of Person Who Falls in and Quickly out of Love

     “No, but you know how it works. A girl is always late.”

     His smile turned into a grin.

     “Normally that bugs me but with you, it was definitely worth the wait.”

     His eyes started to inspect me, from my face down to my feet which were trapped inside a pair of light brown fake-skin flats. They were the only pair I could wear for a longer period of time without going insane.

     “Isn’t that the same dress as you wore at the freshmen party?”

     My tiny smile weakened and I felt the rage boiling underneath my skin.

     “Yes, it is”, I said in a cold voice. “I’m not the sort of girl who spends every last penny on clothes.”

     “No, no I didn’t mean it like that at all!” 

     He took a step towards me and took my hand. Oh, the heat! The delicious blood running beneath his fragile skin. All I was capable of doing was to watch his oh so warm hand in mine.

     “What I wanted to say in my clumsy way was that I adore that dress and that you look absolutely amazing.”

     Carefully, I squeezed his hand before letting it go.

     “You also cleaned up well.”

     Even though I was remotely interested in his looks, I had to admit that he was not terrible to look at tonight. He had on a pair of well-worn light Levis jeans and to that a white t-shirt which made his eyes even more crystal clear than usual. I felt a stab in my chest but I was not going to make the mistake of revealing my true emotions tonight.

     “Was that supposed to be a compliment?”

     Ray had explained to me that the most common date was dinner and a movie, so I had prepared myself to endure the latest action blockbuster and with a plastic bag in my purse, I was ready for a human meal. But yet again, this human surprised me. When I had asked him where we were going, he had refused to give me any leads. As we reached our goal, I had no idea where we were. I had never been to this part of town before. Not even for hunting.

     “This is the only theatre in town that shows classical movies. I hope you like Hitchcock.”

     At his words, I was stunned, and it took me a while to respond.

     “How did you know?”

     “I'm sharper than you think. If you like someone, you find out what that person like and what you two have in common.”

     “In other words, you spoke to Ray.”

     Relief came over me when I discovered the reason for the human’s sudden insight in my hobbies. Ray was the only one who knew about my obsession with Hitchcock movies and I was furious with him for sharing such a personal matter with an outsider and above all: a mere mortal.

     “What? No, I have never talked to Ray. I wouldn't do that behind your back.”

     My stomach started to twitch and I got insecure again, which I never used to get before I met this human. I did not like the influence he had on me when the fact that he influenced me at all was terrible enough.

     “Then how did you know about Hitchcock?”

     “Do you really want to know?”

     “Yes!” I almost yelled out and I saw that the woman standing in front of us turned her head in our direction.

     “One time, during one of our French classes, I saw you scramble down quotes from a Hitchcock movie. Since I am also a huge Hitchcock fan, I knew exactly what movie you were referring to. And now you probably think that I’m even crazier than before when I was just the stalker guy.”