Happy Valentine's Day

         I stared at the words written on the small piece of pink-coloured paper that had fallen out of the mailbox when I collected the mail earlier. It was addressed to me, on Valentine’s Day, anonymously. This person had clearly known that I was on mail duty this month. No one would have been that dumb to slip something like this into my mailbox for my parents to find, so this person had somehow found out from somewhere that I was tasked to collect mail for a month.

         Reading and rereading the words on the paper, I had this weird fluttery feeling in my stomach. This was really an unexpected surprise. I was the last person on Earth who would expect to get something like this on Valentine’s Day. I wasn’t attractive, that was a fact. I was that kind of girl who guys never gave a second glance to, so this was a really unpredictable gift.

         I glanced at the clock on the wall and realised that I was running late. I folded the note carefully and slipped it into my pocket before grabbing my bag and making my way to school.

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         Throughout the seven torturous hours at school, those words replayed in my head over and over again. I was so distracted to the point where I wasn’t even bothered by all the girls who had received gifts from guys, or the lovey-dovey couples making out like the end of the world was an hour away. I wasn’t even bothered that there were no gifts, no flowers, no chocolates for me. Nope, this year, my attention was solely focused on the note that was burning a hole in the pocket of my jeans.

         When I finally escaped from The Official Building of Useless Stuff, the jittery, fluttery, tingling feeling in my stomach had intensified. I slowly made my way to the rendezvous point, a spot under a tree by the lake that was situated by the park.

         I was ten minutes early, so I busied myself by trying (and successfully failing) to skip stones on the surface of the lake. I was so fully absorbed in what I was doing that I had the fright of my life when someone tapped me on my shoulder from behind. I spun around and saw him standing there, a box of chocolates in his hands.

         My brain exploded and my heart failed to function.

         “Hey,” he smiled that perfect smile of his that I had admired countless times. Like the idiot I was, I just continued to stand there mutely and stare at him.

         Connor Dale had been my crush for three years. He used to be a senior at our school three years ago, until he graduated and was currently studying in a local college. I had met him on the first day I joined our school’s Music Club, and he was such a cute and funny guy, that I fell for him after a few weeks. He was very good-looking, and therefore, very popular. Watching him date other girls from a distance was a painful experience, but I always buried those feelings and pretended that everything was fine.

         “Uh... Sophie? Can you say something? You’re making me nervous here,” his voice brought me back to reality and I couldn’t help but marvel at how amazing he looked at the moment, even though he was standing there awkwardly with his face flushed red.

         I dropped my gaze and my hand reached up to rub my neck nervously, my cheeks heating up in embarrassment. “Um... Hi,” I said softly, my eyes not meeting his.

         He chuckled. “Damn Sophie, you’re so cute.” My face reddened a few more shades as I continued to stare at the grass. “Shall we, uh, sit? This might take some time,” he continued to say, a hint of nervousness creeping into his voice as he proceeded to sit and I followed suit, both of us leaning against the wide tree trunk.

         There was a moment of silence before he began. “So... Well, I guess you got my note. I had, uh, feelings for you for quite some time, coz from the time that we met, you just looked so... awkward and innocent and so, so cute, and well, I guess I just, fell for you. And I guess I just couldn’t bear not telling you anymore. But I didn’t have the guts to just come up to you and say it straight, so I sent you that note to see if you’d come, and you did, and I’m so nervous right now coz I don’t actually know how you feel about this and... and...” He ran a hand through his hair, flustered. “God, I can’t even talk properly now.”

         I smiled at his antics. He was adorable. I spoke up to save him from his misery. “I guess the feeling’s mutual then.”

         His face lit up and he opened his mouth to say something, but I continued to say, “It’s just, I’d made a decision to not date until I graduated from high school, but I really, really like you, so uh...” I trailed off awkwardly, my face flaming red.

         He reached forward to push a strand of hair behind my ear, and the butterflies in my stomach fluttered around in a frenzy. “Hey, it’s alright. I’ll wait.”

         “But before that, just... one kiss,” he muttered softly into my ear before placing his lips gently on mine.

         Sitting beneath this tree, with the most gorgeous boy ever on Valentine’s Day, it was the most wonderful feeling I’ve ever experienced.