I nod my head yes.
He looks vulnerable. "So you have to realize my heart is on the line here because after her I swore I would never put myself in such a vulnerable position again. I would never again allow myself to feel anything remotely linked with love." He looks away from me and down at his hands. He continues, almost in a whisper, "But, I think no matter what I do, how much I try to protect myself, I have no chance against you."
" Me?" I laugh softly. "I think it is more a situation of me having to protect myself from you, after the way you treated me. You cannot be all over me one day and then the next avoid me, it's mean."
" I know, and I'm sorry, but I know what I want now."
" Can I ask you a question?"
" Of course, anything." He looks back at me reflectively.
" I hear you have never been with another girl since Sarah, is it because you still love her?"
He turns on the bed, facing me. "Would I sit here and declare my love for you, give you my heart and ask you to please look after it with great care if I still loved Sarah?"
My heart jumps into my throat. My mind starts to roar and I know not long from now, it will be so loud I would not be able to hear myself think. Somehow, I manage to keep my expression serious. "But what if Sarah comes to her senses one day and decides you are the one she wants and then when you compare the two of us, you might suddenly realize being with me is a mistake."
" You, Elizabeth, make my heart beat so fast it makes it difficult for me to breathe. My heart races at the sight of you. I feel this deeper connection with you, even though I hardly know you."
My pulse is racing now, but still I ask uncertainly, "You can't be serious about giving me your heart though because as you said, you barely know me. We only met a few days ago."
He smiles as if he knows a secret. "I might not know the intricate details of you yet, but I became aware of you long ago. To be precise, that very first day you walked through the school gate. I thought going to rugby training camp would clear my mind of you, but all it did was make me think of you even more." He grins mischievously. "No sneak peeks at you are torture."
I look at him amazed. "You noticed me on my first day at school?"