After a while, both of them found themselves on the mountain. They held their hands, smiled at each other, discussed trivial things that aren't relevant to all that had happened since he left. Their hands were tenderly interlocked and didn't seem to get released anytime soon. In their minds, both of them reminisced on the bear-hug they just had few minutes ago. It was awkward, yet, soothing to them both. They might not had conversed verbally to each other about their feelings, their body languages and gestures were already doing the talking. Nancy still couldn't decipher what her heart was saying. She was still sitting on the fence.
Dave, ever since the confession night, had been thinking how to explain his feelings to Nancy without getting devastated after being rejected. He knew Nancy has something for him, but he wasn't sure if it wasn't a one-time thing or it was.
On the mountain, both of them sat on the rough rock; they folded their legs and hung their arms on their knees. They faced the city, greenery scene and the sky before them. Both were heavy with words and none was ready to break the silence. Dave almost exploded when Tina told him she had explained everything to Nancy. His mood went from anger to rage. He was furious at her; questioning her why she'd do such. He wanted to tell her himself, so he could read her expression and gesture. Now, that opportunity had been ruined. He had to remember how Doc told him how to manage his anger. Sitting there beside her, he came to realize how much he missed her presence around him, how her presence added more beauty to the crimson sunset every time they watched it together. Dave knew what it was already. No one can stop a heart downpour. As their hearts were racing at the highest rate, they both remained silent as they watched nature. After several awkward minutes of silence, Dave spoke first,
"So, how has everything been?"
Nancy shrugged. "Well, nothing extraordinary. It's been normal but I haven't visited here in a while."
"Why?"
"I was mi...I mean I got busy at work."
It surprised her that a random guy she met some days ago had quite an enormous impact on her emotional life. In some days, her heart went from beating for no one to beating for Dave. She still couldn't find answer to her question: how can one un-love?
"That's different of you because I know you'd gladly avoid work to come enjoy nature."
She chuckled. She commended his observation gotten from the little time they've used together. "Actually, we all had deadlines and I hate exceeding deadlines without my submission."
Another silence. There were no birds in the sky, no random catapillar crawling. The atmosphere was silent, as if waiting for them to make their moves. Nancy's heart had calmed down a bit but sitting beside him made her hot. They were sitting under a tree's shade on the mountain, yet she felt she was directly under the sun. Dave, on his own part, couldn't endure the high rate at which his heart was racing.
"Nancy, can I tell you something?" He faced her. Nancy looked at him abruptly. Her heart skipped another beat. She wasn't ready to hear him profess his feelings nor was she ready to give him response now. She wiped the beads of sweat on her forehead while some trickled down the nape of her head.
"Yeah." She swallowed hard.
After a pause, Dave continued, "Alright, I'll save us the unnecessary beating around the bush and I'll hit the nail on the head. I've liked you since the first sunset I met you. I wished you would be mine on that day. When I realized you were my sister's neighbor, I knew I'd never be free of how hard my heart beat for you. As we became friends, the feeling became stronger and I realized I couldn't stand any seconds without you. I have a hunch that the feeling is mutual but...well... it's just a hunch. You might reject me, you mightn't, either way. But I want to get the words out of my heart so you'd know how hard my heart has been beating for you since the first sunset ."
Intense heat. Nancy was feeling intense heat from within herself. It felt like her heart stopped for a few minutes. How do you feel when your crush professes his feelings for you? She knew he liked her but hearing it directly from him created more butterflies than expected in her belly. She opened her mouth but couldn't speak. Words have failed her. Dave maintained a gentle eye contact with her; his eyeballs were as tranquil as the atmosphere.
"I...I...I..." She stammered a bit after a pause. She heaved heavily before starting. "Your hunch was absolutely right." Her voice was no longer clear. It felt like a whisper but Dave could hear clearly. "if you've liked me since the first sunset, that makes us even. I've always felt a tingle in my heart for you. I've never stopped loving you."
'why am I not saying this with excitement? Why does my heart feel heavy? Why am I not happy that we'd be together now? Why do I feel sad and sorry for him?' her heart and mind was on turmoil. She questioned the genuineness of her feelings for him. Have they changed to sympathy? She couldn't phantom anything.
Dave was grinning from ear to ear as he discovered that his hunch was right. His comfort would be his; he vowed in his heart never to let the gem before him slip away. But he also felt a heaviness in his heart. He knew something might go wrong—his hunches were mostly right
"But..."
The smile vanished on Dave's face. He knew it.
"...your sister told me some things about you." She fixed her gaze on his. "are they true?"
He expected that. He waited for some minutes before he replied. "Unfortunately, yes."
The silence stretched between them. Dave expected her to ask, he was completely ready to face the truth. That was who he was, how Tina narrated to Nancy was who he was. He wasn't going to deny it. "I wanted to tell you myself. Tina was too forward. Whatever you heard about me is probably true."
Sympathy was written all over Nancy's face. She felt sorry for him, "it must have been difficult living with that kind of disorder and amnesia." She reached for his cheek left cheek. Dave was slightly taken aback because Tina didn't know about the amnesia. How Nancy got to know disturbed him. He wondered if she had been probing him. Nancy swallowed the tears in her throat. She already knew how the conversation would end.
"I love you, Dave." She continued to stroke his cheek tenderly. Dave took her free hand and caressed it. "I love you too, Nancy." His heart was still heavy. Could Nancy love him the way he was? Nancy stopped stroking his cheek and stood up. He followed suit. They stood, staring at each other at a very close range. So close that they could feel each other's breath. Their gazes moved from each other's lips to eyes and back to lips. Nancy's chest was moving hard. Her breath was getting hot. She knew what to say, the words were at the tip of her tongue, but the sight of the soft pink lips before her rendered her speechless. She stood up to think of how to tell Dave her mind, not to contemplate on devouring the lips before her. She swallowed hard. She hadn't had her first kiss, it shocked her that she was attracted to the sight before her.
Dave knew something wasn't right and he was expecting the worst to unfold. He had prepared himself for a rejection. When Nancy stood up, he thought she was leaving but when he stood after her and the got too close to each other, his heaviness vanished in the his heart. Perhaps there was nothing wrong, perhaps Nancy wasn't Dorcas who was scared, perhaps he was worried for nothing, perhaps their love was meant to be. He hadn't told her about the things Doc told him to do in order to curb his overwhelming emotions. He could control himself now. The sight of her small lips caused his heart to race hard. He longed to taste it.
"I'm sorry, Dave."
The heaviness filled his heart again. "Why are you sorry?" He asked through the tight closeness between them.
"I loved you before I heard from Tina. I felt sympathetic for you when I heard the story. Now, I don't know if what I feel now is love or sympathy. I can't say. I love you Dave, but I need to know which it is. I'm sorry, I can't be with you now." The tears found their way down her eyes now. She didn't know it'd hurt her that much. How deep was the love in her heart? She didn't know. Dave flicked the tiny ball of tear drop off her cheek with his thumb. He cupped her face in his palm, rested his forehead on hers.
"It's fine. I thought you'd be scared of me. I'm glad you didn't. I already prepared myself for a rejection, I'll be fine. Take your time, Nancy. Regardless of what your heart says, I'll always be here...for you."
Nancy nodded slightly and smiled in between her tears. "Can I kiss you?" She heard herself say. The lips were quite tempting for her to resist
.
"I wanted to ask that first." Dave whispered. Slowly, their lips met and parted for warmth of their mouth and tongue. They started at a snail's pace, but they couldn't have enough of each other, so they hastened the pace. Nancy literally moaned into his mouth. Her entire body shook as they responded to his warmth, they rushed through her body, tampered with her nerves. It was her first kiss. She had always fantasized about having her first kiss and she longed to experience it. Right now, her nerves were responding to it more than she could imagine. Being a woman felt good for her. She felt something cold between her thighs, she knew what it was. During her leisure time, she sometimes search for articles on women's gender life and stuffs like that.
Dave noticed the intense heat their friction and how she's struggling to breathe, he slowly reduced the pace of their movement of their mouth till they stopped. Nancy was breathing raggedly to his face. He held her close to himself, patted her back, urging her to calm down. It was the most intense kiss he had ever had
.
"Did I hurt you?" He asked gentlemanly while stroking her back as she buried her hardly breathing face into his chest. She shook her head.
"It was my first kiss. I never imagined it to be this... electrifying."
Dave blushed in his head. He made her first kiss memorable, although it might not be forever. He wondered how else her entire body would taste when her lips were that enticing. He quickly brushed the lewd thoughts off his head.
As if Nancy was jolted back to reality, she withdrew herself from him when she could breathe normally. She shouldn't be that close to him. She tried not to regret what just happened because she thought she shouldn't have requested for something like that. Her heart wished for more, but her brain wanted to have a talk with her. She couldn't decide anymore. At once, she bade him goodbye and raced down the mountain, leaving Dave dumbfounded, just like the first sunset they met.