i'm yours
"Hey," Kessler grinned warmly, smiling at both me and Janelle. I felt my knees turn to jelly as I watched him hook his hands in his pockets, in that adorable way of his.
"Hey, Cliff." I choked out, my nerves fraying as a result of standing so close to Kessler, basically my lifelong crush. Then I addressed Kessler himself; "H-hey." I was scared to say his name, fearing it might sound funny coming from my mouth. I ran a hand through my long brunette hair, smoothing down any flyaway strands that I may have had.
Cliff smiled, seeming surprised.
"Oh, good! You guys know each other?" He looked towards me, expecting an answer of some sort. I froze. I could say yes, we know each other, and risk looking like a huge creep if Kessler didn't remember me from his fourth grade class; Or I could say no, I don't know him, which would be a lie. Not to mention, on the off chance that Kessler did actually remember me, that I might somehow offend him if I said no.
I was about to open my mouth to say, no, not really, when Kessler grinned at me somewhat playfully.
"Yeah, of course," he told Cliff. "Fifth grade, Mrs. Council's class. We go way back. Don't we, Harley?"
It was a wonder I even managed to comprehend what he said. I had the dizzying sensation that I was underwater and everything was blurry and dull, with the exception of Kessler Sorrell's face and his sweet, low voice. I felt my cheeks flush and my nervous system just about shut down when he said my name. I felt Janelle pinch the back of my arm discreetly. She knew exactly how much I liked Kessler, and for how long.
"I believe it was fourth grade," I managed to reply with what I hoped was an equally cute and playful grin, which was nearly impossible due to the way that Kessler was smiling at me. Forget speaking, I seemed to be having trouble breathing.
"Right, right," Kessler laughed. "Fourth grade. How could I forget?"
I laughed charmingly, though on the inside, my stomach was doing cartwheels. I brushed my hand on the back of my leg, feeling my palms perspiring. Cliff laughed too.
"Well, we already went through the line and got our lunch, our stuff's over there." Cliff pointed to the table where Janelle and our friends and I usually sat. I knit my eyebrows.
"How did you know we sit over there?" I asked curiously. Cliff shrugged.
"Kessler said that was it, so I mean... I figured he was right, it's not like I knew where else to sit. It's cool if we sit there, right?" Cliff confirmed. I nodded, dazed, not hearing anything beyond "Kessler said that was it." Kessler knew where I sat. So maybe it was possible that he noticed me regularly, the way I did him.
Don't be stupid, I told myself immediately. I almost wanted to laugh. The idea of Kessler Sorrell ever liking me as much as I liked him was almost humorous.
"Well, yeah, of course it's cool. We'll get our food and be there in a minute," I told Cliff, coming back to reality. I was still hyperaware of Kessler standing there less that a foot away, watching me as I talked to Cliff. The whole side of my body that was facing towards him tingled, as if he was electrically charging me. It stayed that way as they both turned and headed back to our table.
I waited until the guys were a safe distance away, out of earshot, before facing Janelle.
dreamawaaay