“I think it’s both.” She chuckles, and I join her.
“So, when are you visiting your boyfriend in Crystal Mill?” Katherine asks, grinning from ear to ear.
“Oh my! Katherineee,” I whine, hitting her arm playfully. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. He’s not my boyfriend yet.” I blush.
“But you like him?”
“So much.”
“And he likes you?”
“Yeah, maybe?” I crease my forehead, smilingly.
“Oh, come off it. Gary likes you. I know he does, so we don’t have to keep acting like he does not,” Katherine waves my opinion off.
“But he hasn’t said anything to me. So…” I shrug.
“Gary is reserved and polite. You know him. Honestly, I’ll suggest you make the first move.”
“Oh, no way, no fucking way, please, I’m not doing that; I don’t want to jeopardize our friendship. What if he does not see me that way? I know I can be quite loud, but I’m not irrational, please,” I shake my head from left to right, disagreeing with Katherine’s opinion.
“Exactly; that’s probably how Gary feels too, and that’s why he has not said anything yet. So, it’s either you make the first wild move or stay friends with him for ten years. Since—”
“Katherine,” one of her employees calls her, gesturing towards our direction. She walks to meet him, and I stand there, hanging on to the ghosts of her words.
Could she be right about that? Should I make the first move?
…
The drive to Crystal Mill was long and tedious, but I’m glad I’m finally here.
I look around slowly as I step down from my car. Wow, this place is beautiful. Pulling out my iPhone from my back pocket, I scroll to the camera and take some nice shots of the beautiful scenery.
“She is always with her camera,” Gary’s voice interrupts me, and I turn around.
“Hey,” a smile breaks on my face.
“Hi,” he walks to pull me into a small hug. “This way,” he leads the way, and I follow.
His cabin is neat and unique, less sophisticated, but beautiful. It’s big, but not like the big houses in the cities. I don’t know what it is, but there’s something homely about this place that makes me want to live here forever.
“Wow, I love love this place. The light is fantastic. Oh my God! Such a great place to make videos; we are not even going to need a ring light!” I exclaim.
“Yeah, this was what I tried to explain the other day when we made the prank video. Like the lighting here is—” he continues speaking, gesturing with his hand. I’m gazing at him with admiration in my eyes, thinking over what Katherine said again. I can’t. I can’t be ‘just friends’ with him for anything longer than this moment. I like him, I like him so much.
“Gary,” I call him, cutting him mid-sentence.
“Yep?” he turns to face me.
“Lean forward a bit; I want to tell you a secret,” I say before smiling.
“What? Haha,” he chokes a small laugh. “A secret? I mean, it’s just the two of us here, so no one is listening. You can just say it and—”
. “No, lean forward; I want to whisper it in your ear,” I insist.
“Haha, okay then…” He leans forward slowly; moving, his ear to my height.
“I love you,” I whisper in his left ear.
