Mangos
He had never been so nervous in his entire life.
Not when he was entering high school as the shortest kid in his year; that was later redeemed when he ended up the tallest person in eighth grade, and most of the ninth and tenth. Not when he was anxiously waiting to see if he made the basketball team. That, unfortunately, was before his growth spurt. And finally, what he thought would be the most difficult thing in his life, asking out a girl named Lydia for the first time ever.
No, this was much worse.
Gray gently fingered the small package residing in his coat pocket. He had started out with a destination, but ended up sitting on a bench ten feet from where he started. Due to the annoying voices arguing inside his head. This is probably a lot easier than I'm making it out to be. He thought to himself irritably. I mean really, it's simple procedure You give her the gift, then leave.
But what if she rejects you?
A few memories of Lydia popped into his head; her nose wrinkled up as she frowned at him disgustedly. It really hadn't been a good look for her.
He shook his head as he returned from his painful flashback. Another force in his body seemed to be stopping his legs from rising off the bench. Eventually, after some firm instructions from his brain, Gray stood up confidently, and started down the cobblestone path.
He reached the gate at the entrance of a small farm, and pushed it open gingerly. But when his eyes fell upon the cottage in the corner he felt his confidence melt away like ice. Ignoring the debating voices in his head once more, he walked up to the front door, and raised his hand to knock.
"What are you doing?"
Gray's whole body seemed to jump at the sound of her voice; harsh swear words spilled out of his mouth as he spun around.
Claire looked almost as surprised as he did. "I'm so sorry! Did I scare you? I just saw you at the door, and had no idea you would be so startled…." She babbled on, a pink tinge rising to her face.
"You scared the hell out of me!" Gray said, but felt his manly pride kicking around his insides. "I mean, I didn't know you would be outside, it just kind of startled me a bit"
Both fell silent for a moment, then Gray swelled up his courage and said, "I actually…" he hesitated a moment, "came here to give you something."
Claire looked up from the ground and he saw that her look of embarrassment had changed to curiosity. "What is it?" she asked, a smile spreading across her face.
Gray pulled the small package from his coat, and handed it to her nervously. "I actually made this for you… I hope that you like jewelry, I wasn't sure, so I made this anyway…"
He managed a small smile though anxiety.
She looked slightly surprised again. Then a small crease appeared on her forehead.
Gray did not take this as good sign.
"What?" he asked tentatively, froze in the act of handing her his present. "What's wrong?"
Claire's blue eyes were diverted to the ground once more. "Aren't you still going out with Mary?"
A huge rock fell harshly down in to his stomach. Mary. I completely forgot about Mary.
She was staring at him expectantly now. After a split second decision, he found himself lying, whether that was the best decision or not.
"No. We… uh, just kind of fell apart."
It was half of the truth. If she had seen the way him and Mary had been acting around each other lately, then most would say they were over. He hadn't been to the library for a long time. But he had never officially ended it. But she doesn't have to know that…
The rock in his stomach grew heavier.
Claire relaxed slightly. "Oh. I'm sorry." She didn't sound very sincere. "So… What's the present?"
Gary hadn't even realized that his hand had fallen to his side. "Oh, right. Open it." He held out his home-made gift to her shyly.
She took it from him and un-wrapped it gently, revealing a dazzling sapphire brooch. Her hair had fallen in front of her face, so he couldn't see her expression.
Suddenly, he felt the wind get knocked out of him as Claire threw her arms around his neck and hug him. As he tried to regain his breath, he placed his hands around her waist, satisfied with the result of this visit.
"Thank you." She whispered in his ear. A sweet scent from coming from her neck, but he couldn't tell what it was.
"You're welcome."
When they parted unwillingly, she was smiling at him. "So, you made this yourself?" she asked, as she ran her fingers along the brooch tenderly.
"Yeah, it took me a while…." Something clicked in Gray's brain as he finished his sentence.
"You smell like mangos."
Claire's smile brightened even more. "Yeah, it's my perfume. I had with me before I came here, but I decided to bring it with me because I like the smell so much." He nodded slightly, taking in her words hazily had the fragrance filled his nose. "My lip gloss is mango, too."
Before he even had time to think about what he was saying, the words, "Does it taste like mangos too?" blurted out of his mouth.
She was closer now. He counted eight tiny freckled on the end of her nose. "Yeah, it does." Her hand snaked its way up his arm and around his shoulders.
The sweet perfume smell was growing overpowering. His arms found their way around her waist once again as she leaned in closer. He could feel her breathing in and out as his personal space was being invaded by blonde hair and sickeningly sweet lip gloss….
Mangos are officially my new favorite fruit.
A/N: So? How was it? I thought of this fluffy fic when I bought this super strong mango hand soap. It smells really good, though. This will be somewhat connected to my newer version of Dumped, which I haven't even written yet.