"Stupid Ian." Sara muttered as she scrubbed the life out of the toilet seat. Her back ached and it screamed for revenge. Just two days ago, Ian had told her he liked her. Just this morning, he had told her he missed her. And right now, at this very moment, as Sara wielded a menacing scrubber in her hand and smelled like tooti-frutti ice cream X manure, she felt as though someone had turned her head into a top as it spun and threatened to pop. What was going on in that head of Ian's? One moment he melted her with his words and the next—well, he made her want to strangle his perfect neck.
"I guess this is what they call love..." The butterflies in Sara's heart flapped their wings and made her beating heart send warmth throughout her body. He made her... crazy. Well, she was a little crazy to begin with, as her two best friends and sisters would agree. In daydreaming like a little fool, Sara hugged the wet and smelly scrubber to her chest and sighed. "Eew." Sara chucked the scrubber and stood up like an Amazon princess in the middle of a battle. Today was a Wednesday and she finally realized it was Ian who was designated by the Boss himself to clean the creamery's bathroom every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. Sara smacked a sticky palm to her forehead and rubbed her face. She clenched her fists by her sides and stormed out of the bathroom.
Sara shot an accusing finger at Ian. "You were supposed to scrub the john to—" For the first time in Sara's life, she became speechless. On top of the counter in front of her usual spot in scooping ice cream for the customers was a single long-stemmed pink rose wrapped at the stem with a beautiful white ribbon.
"Ian..."
Sara knew her face was flushed and sweaty from scrubbing the toilet. She knew she smelled like bleach mixed with fruitiness mixed with crap—well not really crap, no one crapped in the creamery's toilet, though there was this one time when Sara couldn't help herself. The chili from the night before had destroyed her GI tract and gave her diarr—anyway... Sara was absolutely speechless. She swallowed air down her throat and felt metaphorical flames flickering before her face. She thought she knew how to handle the boy before her—he wasn't much of an enigma, he was just someone from another planet because guys like Ian Forest Collins would never like girls like Sara Biea Affen, Plain and Not Tall. Since she first met Ian, everything had felt like a dream, like a teenage soap opera where she was the lucky star—just like the bike ride, but so far there had been no bumps in the road and no falls, just clear and smooth sailing down a frictionless path, with her arms reaching the clouds. As her eyes drank in the sight of the beautiful pink rose, Sara's heart reminded her how real everything was. She was a dreamer but at the moment, she was not dreaming.
"Is that for me?" If he said no, she'd bury her face in a vat of ice cream. Or better yet, his face... Since meeting Ian, Sara found herself to be very violent! It was funny but violence solved nothing, kids.
Ian shrugged. His eyes could house storms, Sara thought. They were impossibly blue—baby blue to be exact—and the darkness of his lashes and his hair gave him an exotic look, not like Tarzan, but more like a gypsy boy, a boy with magic in his soul and wonders in his heart. His eyes did not look at her and he seemed nervous as he stared at his shoes and held his hands rigidly by his sides. Suddenly, he looked up and his eyes locked with hers and he began to move toward her and stopped when only a foot of distance stood between their bodies.
"I..."
The warmth in his gaze threatened to melt her into her classic puddle of pee—Sara! Now's not the time to make strange jokes and stuff! Focus! Focus!
His lips looked moist and he swallowed as his eyes traveled down to Sara's lips—Sara pouted them a little and she could swear they quivered.
He turned his eyes away from her face and rubbed the back of his neck with a hand. "I want you..." Ian laughed. Why were the words stuck in his mouth? Why did he feel so nervous? Would Sara laugh if she knew he had never confessed anything to another girl before? Would she explode into giggles if she knew she would be his first... everything? The confused look on Sara's face made his heart dance and he summoned his courage to finish the rest of his sentence.
"I want you to be my girlfriend."
Before she could even digest his words, Ian bent down and gave her forehead a soft kiss. Sara felt wonderful chills run down her spine and the back of her neck tingled.
"You taste funny." Sara frowned-- why did he always have to ruin moments too? Ian stuck out his tongue and laughed. Sara narrowed her eyes.
