"'Want to hold hands,'" Charlie mimicked with a giggle. "I feel like I'm in third grade again, when the common method of courtship was to pass a folded note asking to check next to the box describing whether you want to be friends or someone's girlfriend. Come on, goof ball, let's go home." And, firmly quenching the urge to squeal, she grabbed Royce's free hand and twined her fingers with his as they made their way together down the street.
And for the entire walk back across town, Charlie was quiet, content with her simple time spent together with Royce, and above all, blissfully happy. If there ever was a time in her life, either in her old one or this new one, that she felt as warm and satisfied and cared for as this, she couldn't remember it.
This last week was a first for her- first time being a girlfriend. First time having a boyfriend. First time checking the little box on the note next to the word "Yes". She had been nervous, petrified, embarrassed, and overwhelmed. And Royce... he was just Royce. Funny, thoughtful, sweet. He laughed more, and this pleased her more than she had expected, that she could be a good thing for someone else. His smile was a rare thing, slow and cautious to emerge, but when it did, it was breathtakingly beautiful. Although if she were being honest, his eyes were her favorite part of his face. His eyes would warm from a deep blue to a clear cerulean when he was happy, and seeing them would always send a shower of warm tingles all over her.
How in the world did this beautiful, wonderful person become hers?
Her hand squeezed his, earning her a quick smile with those eyes that she loved, and she tilted her head to rest against his arm, for the moment satisfied with her own small little world.