She had often been told she felt too much. Nobody knew exactly 'how' much, and that one night in London had proved to her just how right they were.
It was a warm, overcast night. He had come to visit her, and was staying in one of the hotels on the outskirts of London. They had planned a night out, as it was his first time in the UK.
Just knowing that he was now on English soil had filled her with an apprehension that she had tried to suppress. It was the kind that always hit her right before she fell head over heels in love, and it took its time. It was a stage; sometimes it lasted 2 days, at others, a few weeks. It was a feeling she knew very well, along with all the sensations that came with it; the fluttering in her chest and in her stomach that happened whenever this person was around. The confusion that overrode every sensible thought in her head. The tendency to stay quiet for fear of appearing the fool, and the nervous laughter that usually indicated nothing other than how much stress she would be under to not do anything remotely stupid.
Although this time was almost a repetition of the last two times she had fallen in love, there were two major differences; the first was how long it took for her to come to terms with what she had been feeling. While usually it took her a few weeks to acknowledge her feelings after feebly trying to deny them, this process was much longer and much more strenuous. It had spanned over the course of a year. The second difference was that she knew from the very first time she laid eyes on him that she would end up where she was now. She knew from the way he made her laugh constantly that she would grow a soft spot for him, because if there was one thing she valued in a man, it was his sense of humour. And no matter how down she had been before seeing him, she would always go home elated, cheeks flushed and eyes sparkling, simply because she had spent the better part of the day laughing.
So when she had gone to meet him on that warm summer evening, she knew she would have to be careful. At this point, it would take very little to tip her over the edge, and once she fell, she knew there was no going back. Their friendship would be as good as dead. The floodgates holding back her emotions had taken a fair amount of battering, but she would do everything within her power to keep them closed.
The time had come to leave her apartment and head on her way to his hotel. She took one last look in the mirror. Her dark brown eyes betrayed her anxiety. She hoped today would go as planned. She hoped that by the time she had gone to bed, he would still be oblivious to the storm that had been brewing inside her for the past few months. It had been a while since they had last met. They had kept in touch, but face to face interaction gave away so much more than the occasional text message. If he was anywhere near as smart as she knew he was, he would surely pick up on it.
With a sigh, she checked her reflection one last time, picked up her car keys, and left the room.
* * *
It was a warm, overcast night. He had come to visit her, and was staying in one of the hotels on the outskirts of London. They had planned a night out, as it was his first time in the UK.
Just knowing that he was now on English soil had filled her with an apprehension that she had tried to suppress. It was the kind that always hit her right before she fell head over heels in love, and it took its time. It was a stage; sometimes it lasted 2 days, at others, a few weeks. It was a feeling she knew very well, along with all the sensations that came with it; the fluttering in her chest and in her stomach that happened whenever this person was around. The confusion that overrode every sensible thought in her head. The tendency to stay quiet for fear of appearing the fool, and the nervous laughter that usually indicated nothing other than how much stress she would be under to not do anything remotely stupid.
Although this time was almost a repetition of the last two times she had fallen in love, there were two major differences; the first was how long it took for her to come to terms with what she had been feeling. While usually it took her a few weeks to acknowledge her feelings after feebly trying to deny them, this process was much longer and much more strenuous. It had spanned over the course of a year. The second difference was that she knew from the very first time she laid eyes on him that she would end up where she was now. She knew from the way he made her laugh constantly that she would grow a soft spot for him, because if there was one thing she valued in a man, it was his sense of humour. And no matter how down she had been before seeing him, she would always go home elated, cheeks flushed and eyes sparkling, simply because she had spent the better part of the day laughing.
So when she had gone to meet him on that warm summer evening, she knew she would have to be careful. At this point, it would take very little to tip her over the edge, and once she fell, she knew there was no going back. Their friendship would be as good as dead. The floodgates holding back her emotions had taken a fair amount of battering, but she would do everything within her power to keep them closed.
The time had come to leave her apartment and head on her way to his hotel. She took one last look in the mirror. Her dark brown eyes betrayed her anxiety. She hoped today would go as planned. She hoped that by the time she had gone to bed, he would still be oblivious to the storm that had been brewing inside her for the past few months. It had been a while since they had last met. They had kept in touch, but face to face interaction gave away so much more than the occasional text message. If he was anywhere near as smart as she knew he was, he would surely pick up on it.
With a sigh, she checked her reflection one last time, picked up her car keys, and left the room.
* * *
