| First Knight- concluded �It�s just not the way he is. But he�s really sweet to me, Michael. He doesn�t have to buy big presents or shout from the rooftops that he loves me. It's enough to see it in his eyes, and when he smiles. Besides, when he writes those poems for writing class and reads them out loud, every girl in the room is looking at me with envy, and he never even has to use my name.� She glowed. It would�ve been nicer to see if he hadn�t swallowed bitterness in the back of his throat. I saw her first, dammit. I knew her when she was a metal-mouthed freshman, all glasses and braces and frizzy hair. He just waltzes in her senior year, and he takes first place. She saw the look on his face. Her forehead creased. �Michael...� she bit her lip, and reached tentatively across the table, falling just short of his hands as if unsure of whether to touch him or not. �I know you worry about me. But you don�t have to. Because part of the reason I like Drew so much is because I feel so safe with him. One of the first things that drew me to him-� her mouth curved at the unintentional pun- �was that he was like you in that respect. I knew he would never, ever hurt me intentionally. So you don�t have to worry.� He forced a smile. �I�m not worried.� �Hey,� she added softly, her mouth quirking, �it�s nice for a girl to have a backup knight-in-shining armor, in case the first one falls through.� He couldn�t hold back his cry. �Oh, so now I�m just a backup knight?� She shook her head, still smiling gently. �No. He is.� |