Beautiful Hearts

23

Emaline

In the morning I saw a message from Dec that he wanted to take me to school. I smiled happily that everything was in place and with a light step I prepared to go out. When I heard a car stop in front of the house, I glanced through the window and it was him. I quickly picked up my bag and went downstairs. I hurried through the kitchen to get my diet lunch, and after I kissed my father goodbye, I ran outside and quickly went into the car.

"Morning." I smiled at Dec and he smiled back.

My smile faded slightly when I realized I found him as attractive in the daylight as he was last night in front of the club. He was wearing a black sweatshirt again and sunglasses. I stared ahead at the traffic in front of us to distract myself.

I don't know what was going on. I admitted from the start how good he looked, but right now it was different. I was starting to feel nervous around him. Pleasantly nervous...

I laughed inwardly. I don't know how the nervousness could be pleasant, but that's how I felt. Anyway, maybe I just missed his company a lot.

"How were those two weeks?"

"Without you? Boring." I glanced at him and saw a happy smile on his mouth. "No, seriously, it was very hard to ignore you."

"Think about it the next time you decide to pretend to be a saint."

I frowned and punched him lightly on his shoulder. His very hard, strong shoulder... I quickly looked ahead again.

When Dec parked and we got off, I saw the frowning faces of his friends sitting around the main entrance.

"I was thinking about something. Austin wanted me to take him to the bowling alley. Why don't you come with us? We can do it right after tomorrow's lesson."

"Yeah, that would be nice. I promised myself that this school year I would go out more often and have fun, but so far, I'm failing."

He grinned.

"Why didn't you say that earlier? Now I'll make sure you're taking your promise seriously. Where do you want to go next?"

"Really? Hm..." We started walking to the entrance, completely ignoring his friends and when we got inside, we stopped, facing each other.

"You know, I'll take advantage of your willingness to help me, but I'd have to think about what we can do next"

"At your service!"

I grinned and waved. "See you later."

My schedule for the day was easy, and the best part was that I didn't have classes with anyone close to me and I could focus. During the break, I texted Tony to see what he was planning on doing tonight.

"Hang out after school?"

The dots appeared almost immediately and seconds later he texted.

"Definitely. See u."

When we met after school, Tony looked a little weird. As if thoughtful, worried, nervous. He hugged me over the shoulder as we walked to his house.

"You look nervous. Is it because of your father?" "What? No. It's fine. I'm fine." We kept going in silence and when we arrived and finally entered his room, I threw my bag on the chair and turned to him worriedly.

"Tony, what is it? You don't look fine."

He glanced at me silently and then spilled the beans.

"Did you start seeing Declan Moore again?" "Yes. Why?"

"Do you like him, Em? Honestly?"

At first, I didn't know what to say, because I was feeling strange, but recently I've wondered the same thing. If he had asked me two weeks ago, my answer would have been immediate and definite, but now? I felt strangely attracted to Dec. And I couldn't lie to Tony.

"Honestly? I'm not sure." I looked at him guiltily and my heart sank when I saw his tortured face.

If only I knew about his crush earlier…

But then what? I never felt anything for Tony. I always look at him as my brother or something. Would that have changed If I knew?

I don't think so.

But why. Why can't I feel something else when It comes to him. He was attractive, not in the macho way Dec was but still attractive. Was I that shallow? To fall over Dec's broad shoulders, strong but lean figure, sexy smile, and...I better stop now.

"What does it mean that you're not sure?"

"I...If you had asked me just two weeks ago, I would have told you again that I don't feel anything for him. But lately, I feel weird. I don't know if it has anything to do with me not seeing him and maybe just missing him, but…I have to find out. "

"Do you want something to happen?"

He asked me so quietly that I barely understood.

"He likes my cousin, Tony. I'm not aiming for anything. It'll be much easier if I realize I don't really like him. Plus I'm tutoring his brother. It's going to be messy If something happens. But now, please, If you don't mind, I'd rather change the subject."

He agreed but the evening was lost. We didn't know what to say. He looked absent-minded the whole time. When Mrs. Summers came to his room and gave us popcorn for our supposed movie night, we quickly chose one to watch. That gave us an excuse to not talk to each other.

I got home early and the moment I walked into my room I thought about my feelings for Dec. I had never had a boyfriend before, I haven't felt that way about anyone. Was it a good thing? I don't think so. Of all the boys out there I had to feel something right about Dec. There were so many reasons it was wrong and I couldn't even dream about it because I knew it couldn't happen.

Besides, I wasn't exactly his type, was I?

Stop, Emaline! You're gorgeous!

I moved to stand in front of the mirror and rolled my eyes.

It's ridiculous to even think about some development of my feelings. As much as I believed in myself, we are talking about the most liked boy at school, who had a crush on my cousin - perhaps the most beautiful girl there. I just had to quickly bury those feelings that had taken root in me and continue as before.