Let Me Count the Ways I Fell in Love With You

They stared into each other’s eyes before roaring with laughter. Students everywhere looked at the twosome as they continued laughing.

“Good one!” Shane guffawed again and looked at Tania who was still smiling and laughing hysterically.

Suddenly, his breath caught as he looked at her.

A sentence came to him insistently: She’s smiling.
All Shane could think of was how beautiful she looked at that moment. Ever since their dinner that day, he has been yearning to see her smile again. That beautiful smile of hers.

Tania giggled when she saw Shane looking at her. “What?” She asked, still smiling.
His eyes narrowed. “I… You’re… You’re smiling…” He stuttered.
“So? Can’t I smile?” She grinned.
“No… I mean, yes… I don’t know. You look… So …” He hesitated. Then, whispered, “Beautiful.”

Her smile froze and she blinked a few times at him.

Shane’s left hand move unconsciously towards Tania’s cheek. They continued to stare into each other’s eyes. His thumb caressed her cheek and than her lower lip. Slowly, he moved forward.

Tania watched as he continued advancing forward. Her thinking had stopped instantly the moment he said ‘beautiful’. Then, he had caressed her cheek and her mind shut off. No one had said that about her. Tania stood unmoving. Then, she heard him whisper, “beautiful” again before touching her lips, lightly at first, then, he pressed their lips together.
Shane’s lips were soft and wet and she loved every bit of it. He kissed her for a few more seconds before slowly separating himself. He stayed close to her and stared into her beautiful grey eyes.

Shane had never seen such an amazing pair of eyes before. It was light-grey, the colour of the clouds after a rain, the colour of the calm sea water after a storm. He loved her eyes ever since the first day he looked into it.

Seeming that she was still frozen, he touched her other cheek and called out to her, “Tania… Tania, you okay?”

Snapping back to her senses, Tania jerked away from his touch and saw him flinching from her sudden movement. Seeing the mistake she had done, she muttered a soft sorry, took her bag and stood up.

“Sorry Shane… I have to… Go. I forgot I had something on today.” She mumbled before rushing off. She heard him calling her name but she was not about to make another mistake again.

Once she was well away from the school, she decided to risk turning around. He did not follow her. Tania could not put a finger to her feelings because when she found out that he did not follow her, the first thing she felt was disappointment. After a few seconds of reasoning and common sense slapped into her, she finally felt relieved. No. She would not, could not and should not fall in love with him. Or anyone for that matter.

“No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,” She chanted to herself along the way home. She hugged her bag as her eyes turned glassy with tears threatening to escape.

And for the first time since she fell sick, she questioned herself: ‘Why, me?’

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Shane rubbed his hands together as he climbed her porch steps. He took in a long breath, trying to steady himself. Still holding the breath, he rang the doorbell once. Minutes ticked by and he was about the ring the doorbell again when the door opened to a breathless Tania. Her wavy hair untied and it enhanced her beautiful eyes.

Tania took in a deep breath and opened her gate that separated them. She stared into his intense brown eyes and waited.

“Hey…” Shane cracked, a little bit too loud. He cleared his throat and started again, “Hey… You… Okay?”
Tania nodded vigorously.
“Uhh… About just now…” he trailed.
“It’s fine. Fine! It doesn’t matter. Really. I was just over-reacting. In fact, I think I should be the one to say sorry. I don’t know but, I think I might ha-”
“Tania! Why are you rambling ?!” He interrupted.
“Oh… I’m so-.”
“No. Never mind. I didn’t come here to hear your apology. And you’re so weird… Saying sorry for no apparent reason. What happened just now was clearly my fault so, I’m sorry. And…” He hesitated, “I’d-like-to-take-you-out-for-dinner-tomorrow,” He blurted.
Tania stared at him for a few seconds before realising what he had just said – or blurted. “Oh… Well… I can’t,” She paused.
His face fell. “It won’t be a date if you don’t want to. I mean, it could be as a compensation for what I did just now…”
Guilty, she panicked and said, “No! I mean, I… I can’t. Not tomorrow. I have… Something on. Not tomorrow. Besides, there’s school the day after tomorrow too. There’re probably lots of homework to do.”
“Oh. Right. Kay. Then, how bout Saturday?” He asked hopefully.
She gave him a smile – something she rarely did – , nodded and whispered, “That’ll do.”

Tania noticed his eyes twinkling and she loved the way he smiled at her; only at her. Dimples lined his cheeks and she could not stop thinking about how handsome he looked at that moment. She knew it was wrong but, she just wanted to relish that moment for a few minutes longer. She did not want it to disappear. Something was actually happening in her life. Is it really a sin to start hoping again?
She watched his back as he jogged his back to his house. Her lips quivered as she stared off into the dark distance. Sub-consciously, her tears dripped down her cheeks. One, two, three. Even when she wiped away at them, they came down insistently. Like a broken dam. What was she ever going to do?
She just did the one mistake she promised herself she would not do: She started hoping, She fell in love… with him.
With Shane Owen.
She wiped her cheeks one final time before going into the house and ran towards her room.