How to Date a Nerd

Chapter 12 - The Ferguson Brothers Won Acting Awards

When the words take days,

You can rewrite and erase anything

You know my heart so tell me honestly

Did you ever really want this?                       The Last Thing That Meant Anything, Mayday Parade

Chapter 12 – The Ferguson Brothers Won Acting Awards

 

We stopped in front of EMC Park—the same spot where my eyes first landed on Sarah. Now that I thought about it, could it be that as soon as I saw that little hesitant smile of hers, I was a goner?

“Go ahead and wait for us,” I told Ricky. “We’ll walk from here.”

Becky didn’t seem all excited. “Well, I’m not walking.”

“It’s cool,” I replied, grudgingly getting out of the shotgun seat before opening the door for Sarah, flashing a smile that said “I’m boring and harmless.”

Becky could at least pretend to be eager about it, back me up if possible. I couldn’t imagine whatever happened to her that’d explain the radical change.

Hesitantly, Sarah got out of the truck, securing her old pair of glasses on the bridge of her nose with questions evident in her eyes. Silently, she looked around, then away from me. The garish rumble of Ricky’s Isuzu faded after several torturing moments. Then I was sure we were on our own. None of us talked. Most awkward twelve seconds of my life.

Drawing a deep breath, I stepped away until I reached a familiar spot about five yards from where Sarah stood. “This,” I started, “…is where I first saw you.”

I gazed into her gray eyes which somehow had a green hue today. She just looked confused, in deep thought, bleary-eyed like she was about to cry. Shaking my head, I raised a finger and pointed a finger at the little blue flower—which I set up ahead of time—down her feet. She stooped down to pick it up.

“W-what are you trying to do?” she stammered accusingly.

Scratching the tip of my brow, I let out a laid-back chuckle. “Since you can’t remember things, I was thinking, maybe we could do a replay.”

No joy on that. She seemed to distrust me more, looking at me like I was some kind of pervert.

“What d-do you want from me? Why… why are you doing this?” she demanded in panic but succeeded on desperately trying to sound in control.

That was just so her. Pushing people away. So pessimistic. So sceptical of everything.

With a sigh, I stared on the ground. “Because, Sarah. I can’t stand not being part of your life.”

Something wrung inside my chest but I tried to not let it show. I was good at that—hiding beneath a million dollar smile. Casually, I pocketed my hands and looked away with a sniff. When I risked looking up at Sarah, her lips were already pulled up a bit, her eyes melting in a stunned slipup while seeming to examine the blue flower on her hand.

“I’m not asking you to remember everything right now. I just want you to know,” I said, stepping to her, keeping my distance. Easy, I thought. Nice and slow. “Now let’s have a walk.”

With a hesitant nod from her, we moved along the sidewalk quietly, taking our time. As soon as the sun sunk into the horizon, crickets began humming. A slight breeze carried Sarah’s long hair as we strolled under the shades of the trees lining the park. It was a little strange walking with her like this without having to take her hand. At times, I had to restrain myself from involuntarily holding hers. When I realized that she’d no plan to speak to me, I set off the small talk.