Where was he?
Maybe he wasn't coming.
But he said he was.
But something might have come up.
Would he have texted me to tell me he couldn't come?
No, of course not. It's not like we were close.
But he knows I like him, right?
I was in Miami for some stupid conference. I didn't even know what it was really about. But I did know Toby was supposed to come, and that was the only reason I was excited. I kept looking back at the entrance, hoping I would see him walk in, but each time I was disappointed. My heart was racing. All I wanted was to see his face. I wanted that high he gave me when he smiled. I wanted that near heart attack I had each time he touched me. I just wanted him to be here.
But he wasn't and I was standing with Shay, Ian and Anthony who were talking about nothing of importance to me. Until Ian reached over and put a hand on my shoulder, bringing me back to reality.
"Don't worry. He's gonna come," he said, reassuring me.
"What? Who are you even…? I don't know what you're talking about," I said, knowing I wasn't very convincing.
They all started laughing and Ian nudged me like a child, saying, "You like Toby."
"Oh my God, shut up. I do not."
"Justine and Toby sittin' in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G," Anthony sang.
I smiled a little, not able to control myself.
"You guys are children, you know that?" I said in my most serious voice.
"Okay, so you don't like him?" Shay spoke up.
"No," I responded.
"And if I told you he just walked in you wouldn't care?"
I quickly turned around, my heart jumping into my throat the second I saw him. I smiled uncontrollably, forgetting my surroundings and once again, he came in slow motion. He smiled and I got that strange feeling I got every time. It was like I felt each little particle in my body moving, crashing right into each other. I felt everything; I felt alive.
And then he was right by my side. He gave each guy a hug before me and it felt like I had to wait hours before finally, he wrapped his arms around me. He was firm. Strong. The kind of guy you'd want to hold you when you're sad, but also the kind you'd want to make out with against a wall.
"Okay, he's here now. Can we eat, please?" Ian asked. He'd been complaining that he was starving to death ever since I'd gotten there.
"Oh shit, I already ate," Toby said.
"What? So we've been waiting for you for like what, an hour, and you're saying we could've already been eating?"
Toby laughed.
His laugh.
"Sorry, dude," he apologized.
We ended up eating at the restaurant in the hotel anyway. Toby didn't eat, he just ordered a beer (well, a few beers) and I didn't even eat much because I just kept watching him. He was mesmerizing to me. Just the way he talked, the way he moved. I just liked to look at him. And I smiled whenever he smiled and laughed whenever he laughed because it was just contagious.
And his eyes. Hazel eyes had never caught my attention before, but I found myself getting hooked on his. Sometimes they looked more green, sometimes they looked more brown, but other times, just in certain light, they were this golden color and I thought they were absolutely perfect.
As I watched him, though, I just thought about how little I knew about him. He was practically a stranger. He, just like anyone else, had been through hard times, some which changed him completely and made him who he was. But I didn't know about any of that then. Then he was just this crazy beautiful person that I happened to have the pleasure of meeting.
But of course he wouldn't stay that way. They never do. Eventually you always got to know them a little too well and there was nothing left to wonder about.
But I hadn't gotten to that point yet, so it didn't matter. He was still a perfect mystery.
A/N: Pretty cheesy-cute part, but hey, that's how it is when you like a guy, right? All those butterflies. Then it goes away. And that's where the REAL story starts.
Thanks for reading :)