Reed & Winifred (Completed)

Part 4

Winnie laid on her bed for hours; her head constantly running through her memories and thinking about the future. She couldn't get rid of the huge smile that crossed her face, even if she wanted to. She had never felt like this before; like nothing could stop her as long as he was in her life. Yet she truly knew nothing about him, and there was one thing in the back of her mind that made her curious and a little uneasy. How did he know where she lived?

The next day was just as before; she paid very little attention to her professors and rushed to meet Reed. Except this time when she broke through the crowd she found no one sitting on their bench. Her heart sunk a little. She walked over to the bench and sat down. After waiting a few minutes she decided to pull out her book and read while she waited for him to arrive. Before she knew it, she was a hundred pages into her book and it was starting to get late. She looked up and searched around the room, in hopes of spotting him coming her way. She knew it was time for her to go home but she didn't want to leave. As long as she was sitting there was still a chance of seeing him.

She put her book away, got up, and started home. While she walked, thousands of questions ran through her mind. Where was he? Why didn't he come see me? Was something wrong? Did he not like the kiss? Did he plan to see me ever again? How did he know where I lived? Did something come up? Would he stop by to explain? Should I go to meet him tomorrow? Why do I care? Why does it hurt so much? Why didn't he tell me yesterday he wouldn't be there? What if something bad happened to him? She tried to stop thinking about all of it but failed. When she finally got home she was close to tears. She felt alone, forgotten, and a fool.

"Winifred!"

She spun around so fast she almost got whiplash. She couldn't help but to smile, because there he was, leaning against a beautiful black mustang convertible, smiling back at her. She hurried back down the path but then stopped and pouted at him.

"Awww...what's that for?"

"Where have you been?"

She saw him clinch his jaw and knew she wasn't going to get a straight answer, if one at all.

"I'm sorry! I had hoped you didn't wait for me but now I see you have been waiting even longer than I'd imagined."

"Yes I sat there by myself...waiting."

His smile was gone now and he looked at the ground. Seeing how bad he truly felt, she now felt bad for teasing him.

"I did get some good reading time in."

She smiled and he laughed at this.

"Well I'm glad not all was lost."

"So why are you here now?"

"I wanted to apologize for not showing up earlier today."

"Where were you?"

Again she saw his jaw clinch.

"I had some family stuff. I'm really sorry I was unable to meet you. I did want to be there."

She studied his face as he said this and she could tell by the look in his eye this was true.

"It's ok, really! Hey, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, what's on your mind?"

"How did you know where I lived?"

"Because we were here last night."

"I know but how did you know yesterday?"

She could have sworn she saw a little blush cross his cheeks. She couldn't help but smile at this and decided to forget it. She was just happy he had come over. From where she was standing Winnie glanced around him and focused on the black mustang. Reed noticed her eyes scanning the car. When she looked back at him she saw him staring at her with his usual smirk on his face. They stared into each other's eyes like this for what seemed like forever. He slowly reached up and pushed the hair out of her face but left his hand there, resting on her cheek. She smiled, closed her eyes, and took in everything. She loved his touch; the touch that warmed her skin even though his fingers were oddly enough cold. She reached up and placed her hand over his, slowly turning her head, and kissed the palm of his hand.

When she looked at him again, she stared up into his beautiful eyes before he kissed her. She kissed him back effortlessly. Her heart picked up its pace dramatically, breathing became difficult, and her head began to spin. She was also conscious of his hand as it gently moved down to the small of her back. That's when she heard a knock on the window of the car. She had assumed he was alone. He was always alone. It didn't help that the windows were tinted so dark you couldn't see inside the car. He pulled away and gently kissed her on the cheek, then whispered in her ear.

"You have bewitched me, body and soul!"

She smiled at this, instantly recognizing it from Pride and Prejudice. Before she could reply or even say good bye, he was in the driver seat. The car pulled out and she just watched as the tail lights faded and turned the corner. She just stood there stunned and flustered.