our story [part 11]

Read Part 10 here or head over to the Love Story tab at the top to read the whole thing!

We drove over to Tempe Marketplace and walked into Mojo Yogurt.  Since I’d asked him to go to the extra credit lecture with me, I wasn’t quite sure how this would work.  Should I pay?  Would he pay?  Thankfully, he took the awkwardness right out of the situation by informing me that I could get whatever I wanted, which, I assumed, he wouldn’t tell me if he weren’t intending to pay.  I was right.

After he paid for our yogurt, we walked outside to one of the benches by the outdoor fireplace.  After some people-watching and some small-talk, he started telling me about the girl who’d ended up Dear-Johnning him while he was on his mission.  I wondered if he wanted to know more about my situation and was making it easier for us to talk about it.  When he was finished with his story, I told him about my situation and told him in no uncertain terms that I was no longer “waiting” for a missionary.

“I’m really glad to hear that,” he said with a relieved chuckle.

My heart started beating a little faster.  “You are?”

He looked at me intently.  “Well, now that means that I don’t have to worry about asking you out again.”

My face probably turned about forty shades of red with that comment, but thankfully, I was saved from any embarrassment by his phone vibrating.

“I’m so sorry, I wouldn’t normally check my phone, but my band is getting together to practice tonight for our show in a couple of nights.  I kinda need to be there.”

I prepared myself for him telling me that he needed to take me home.  Instead, he said, “Do you want to come?  If not, that’s totally fine – I can take you home if you want.”

“Sure,” I said, trying to control the blush that was more than likely seeping back into my cheeks.

Every time I looked at Tim during their practice, I thought about what he’d meant when he said that he was really glad he didn’t have to worry about asking me out again, and my heart would flutter a little.  He was really all I could focus on.  After they had finished practicing their set, the rest of the members kept playing various songs on their instruments. 

Tim, on the other hand, lifted his guitar strap over his head and set his guitar down gently.  He walked over to the couch where I was sitting, still joking around with his band members but keeping his eyes on me.  Sitting down, he put his arm around my shoulders casually, as if things had always been that way between us.  In the meantime, I began to wonder if my lungs were functioning properly.  We continued to joke with everyone in the room, but it was probably obvious to everyone present that something was different.   And it was.

As he walked me to my front door later that night, I thought for one wonderfully terrifying moment that he might try to kiss me.  Instead, he gave me a hug laced with more meaning than I’d ever thought possible with such a gesture, squeezed my hand, and told me goodnight.

I walked inside, heart still pounding, and wondered what tomorrow would bring.

Continue on to Part 12.