Counting Down The Days To Go

“Thank you and please come again,” The waiter at the door said as Mike and I walked out of the restaurant and into the night.

“Do you want to go for a walk on the beach?” Mike asked.

“Sure. I would love too! I was just about to ask you the same thing,” I giggled. I came out onto the beach every time I ate at this area which wasn’t too often due to my parents’ busy schedule.

As we stepped onto the patches of grass that would seen lead down onto sand and nothing else, I realized that I probably should take off my heels.

“Hold on for a second. I need to take off my heels or I wouldn’t be able to walk properly,” I said.

I grabbed onto Mike’s shoulder and undid the straps of my heels.

“Ready to go,” I said, picking up my heels from the grass.

“I hope for your sake that there aren’t any shards of broken glass around here,” Mike said.

“I hope so too. If I do hurt myself, you’d carry me right?”

“Of course,” Mike said.

“But I’d be kinda heavy,” I said.

“No. I’m sure you’d be as light as a feather.”

"You're just saying it!"

We walked down onto the actual part of the beach where the waves met the sand and walked along it. I occasionally dipped my toes into the water while Mike remained on the dry sand as he was wearing his shoes. The stars twinkled merrily above us and the crescent of a moon was could be seen clearly against the dark, cloudless sky. This definitely felt like a romantic stroll. Too bad Mike and I weren’t holding hands and we weren't even a couple for that matter.

“Crystal, if I ask you something, would you answer me honestly?” Mike asked, breaking the silence that had settled between us.

“Sure.”

“Well, I was…well the other day….I was just, you know, wondering how do you feel towards me?” Mike said it rather nervously.

“You mean…?”

“I mean, do you see me as just a friend or something more?” Mike asked, looking deep into my eyes as we continued walking side by side.

“Well…,” I began but I got stuck. What do I say? Do I just confess my 2 months long crush to him or not?

“I think you’re cool. And sometimes, I might hope that…we were more than friends?” I said. That was the only way I could phrase the words. I mean, what if he didn’t feel that way about me at all? Wouldn't I have just made a fool out of myself and jeopardized our friendship?

“Well, I’ve been thinking about it for too long and it has already been a couple of months since we’ve known each other. At first, I was just taking my time and wondering if I was sure about this. But recently, I think I’m really sure about this so I just wanted to know how you feel cos’ I don’t really want to look like a complete goon or anything,” Mike rambled.

What he said didn’t really make sense, but it sort of did at the same time.

Suddenly, Mike stopped walking. I stopped as well and stood beside him, wondering what the hell was going on. Mike took a deep breath and turned to face me.

“Ever since the day I walked into my classroom, you just sort of stood out to me. The first thought that ran through my head was ‘Damn, you’re pretty’ but a guy like me couldn’t get a girl like you. You just looked so posh and graceful. We sort of couldn’t match, I guess. But you were so friendly and nice while girls like you back home didn’t even know I existed. Believe it or not, I was shy around you the first few days. I just didn’t know how to interact with you and impress you. After a while, I warmed up to you and I just couldn’t stop thinking of you, you know? Then all the shit with Amanda happened and I almost told her that I was infatuated with you,” Mike paused for some air though he never broke eye contact with me.

He continued, “But I thought you would just reject me so I didn’t want to confess to you just yet. I kept trying to hang out with you these past few weeks and you are a genuinely nice girl. Then the other day I almost kissed you because you just looked so cute but we got interrupted. And I really thought that you just saw me as a friend. I really hope you don’t though, because I really really like you and everyday I wish you weren't just my friend.”

I was speechless from all the stuff that that Mike had just said. If only I had known about how he felt towards me all this time!

“I know what I’m doing might be a little lame. But…” Mike paused to take a small black box out of his pocket. Come to think of it, he had been fingering his pocket alot during the whole dinner.

Slowly, Mike opened the box to reveal a familiar ring. It was silver with a pink stone set in the center. It was the exact same piece I had fallen in love with at the mall the other day!

“Would you be my girlfriend?” Mike asked, his smooth, silky voice floated into the salty air. I never thought I would hear him utter that question. His green eyes were fixed onto my dull brown ones and he nervously bit his lips. He didn’t know how long I’ve wanted this to happen!

“Y-yes! Yes,” I said, barely able to pronounce that word.

“I saw you looking at this the other day and you seemed to really like it a lot. So I bought it as a ring to sort of symbolize us.” Mike said, taking the ring out.

Us.

Us.

Mike and I were finally a we now.

My heart was pounding with a mixture of emotions and I couldn’t help but smile at how thoughtful Mike was. He was going to be the best boyfriend ever.

Mike slowly picked up my hand and slid on the ring.

“It feels like we’re getting married now,” Mike said with a chuckle. “The moon and the stars can be our witness and we can elope into the land of forever.”

He engulfed me into the sweetest hug before resting his forehead on mine for a few seconds.

“I’m just so happy that we’re finally together,” Mike said.

“Me too,” I said.

Just then, Mike slowly closed up the gap between us. He leant in and I closed my eyes out of instinct. Isn’t that what the girl always does in the movies? After a few seconds, I felt the softest, sweetest pair of lips gently sucking on mine. For a moment, I didn’t know what to do. My knees felt like jelly but luckily Mike’s strong arms were there to support me. In the nick of time, I responded. We were engaged in the sweetest kiss for what seemed like eternity. I didn’t want to part but we finally did for some air.

Mike smiled down at me and I returned his smile.

After so much yearning and doubts, we were finally together. (: