Thanks for all your kind comments.

While you are in the act of kissing someone, all rationality flies outside the window. There comes a time when you have to stop, and suddenly you have to face reality. It is amazing how you can be so uninhibited one moment and then feel so awkward the next. For Bright and Hannah that inevitable moment came and the subsequent awkwardness ensued. Neither of them wanted to be the first to speak, to acknowledge that the nature of their relationship might have changed.

Hannah bit her lips, watching Bright. She could feel her heart pounding her chest. Part of her wanted to jump, to scream to laugh, to, in some way, express the joy she was experiencing at the moment. Yet the other part of her, the more rational analytic part, wished she could hide, to skip this awkward bit. She gave Bright a weak smile, not knowing what she could say to break the ice. She hated being this inexperienced, wondering if all the other girls Bright had been with, knew exactly what to say and do afterwards.

Bright could feel Hannah's eyes on him. There were few times when he had ever been rendered speechless, this moment was one of them. Usually he never had a problem with this part, mostly because usually he never planned on seeing the girl again. This was different, though, because he really liked her.

"I'll go get us drinks." Bright winced after making the comment, thinking how pathetic it sounded

Hannah did not know whether to feel disappointed or relieved by his temporary departure. Suspecting that perhaps Bright was giving her opportunity to sort her head out, she grabbed her diary, lay her head on the pillow and started writing furiously in it. She was interrupted by Bright re-entry, so unable to finish writing entry, she quickly threw her diary on her desk, hoping not to draw attention to it.

He passed her a drink and settled down next to her on the bed.

"So how was Minnesota?"

At first she found it difficult to find the words to articulate herself. It was easy enough when she was writing it in her diary, but she had problems trying to express herself aloud. However, the more she spoke, the easier the words flowed and the more relaxed she felt. She was still acutely aware that Bright was lying right next to her, her whole body feeling like it was on fire. Yet at the same time, she was starting to feel more comfortable with him being that close.

Bright watched her face as she talked enthusiastically about her family and smiled, playing with some stray strands of hair that seemed intent on covering her eyes. He watched her face change as she mentioned her father, her eyes welling up with tears. Instinctively, he pulled her into a hug, soothingly stroking her back as she sobbed quietly until he noticed that the tears had subsided and she had fallen asleep. For a moment, he watched her sleeping peacefully as if she hadn't a care in the world. As gently as he could, he disengaged himself, managing to avoid waking her up. He did not want to leave but knew that neither his parents nor Nina would be pleased if they discovered that he had spent the night in her bed, no matter how innocent it may have been. He scoured the room looking for a piece of paper. Upon finding some, he wrote a note to explain his absence. He noticed her diary, lying wide open on her desk. He knew that he should not read it but he managed to convince himself that he was only going to take a quick glance. As much as he wanted to believe that they were now on the same wavelength when it came to their relationship, a huge part of him could not help wondering if perhaps after getting to know him, Hannah might feel differently. He was relatively certain that she found him physically attractive, but he couldn't help wondering if like all the girls he knew, she thought he was undateable. So, despite knowing that it was an intrusion of privacy, he decided to read the last entries of her diary, which then inspired him to add a postscript to his note.

Hannah woke up the next morning, unsure whether she had dreamt the night before. She turned her head to see whether Bright was there and was disappointed to find him absent. Often, she had dreamed of Bright, of what it would be like. Yet last night had seemed so real. And then she spotted the note.

Dear Hannah

Had to go. Did not think it would be a good idea if Nina found me in your bed.

Bright

PS. I am thinking of catching a movie on Saturday night. Would you like to come with me (on a date)?