Page 92 of What If I Knew You

“But then I…wait…” I cock my head to the side. “What?”

He shakes his head with a confused chuckle. “Why are we still out here in this downpour?”

“Because…” I tilt my head slowly in the opposite direction, studying his face. “Because you said?—”

“I’m falling for you?”

I nod silently.

He smiles. “Yeah. But I could be saying all this in the warmth of my apartment. I’m sorry I’m such a dick. I should’ve swooped you up and carried you inside and?—”

“You’re falling for me?”

He stands and reaches for my hand, helping me up off the bench. “Not really falling, I suppose,” he mumbles. Our faces mere centimeters apart, he smooths back my wet hair hanging against my cheeks. “More like…fallen.”

Fallen.

He’s fallen for me.

He said that, right?

It wasn’t the rain or some random wind?

He said he’s fallen for me.

“But you barely know me Bodhi.”

“Bullshit,” he answers. “I know more about you than you think I do.”

I shake my head in disbelief. “You’re just…I don’t know…infatuated. Because I’m the first girl you’ve?—”

“The first girl I’ve ever wanted to get to know even more than I know her right now,” he answers me with a piercing stare. “The first girl I’ve ever thought about for more than two minutes at a time. The first girl to make me feel things physically and emotionally that I’ve never felt before. Corrigan, if infatuation is the word you want to use, then okay, let’s use it.” He lifts his arms as he shrugs. “I’m infatuated with you.”

“But—”

“You’re a gorgeous woman Corri,” he scoffs. “Way out of my league if I’m being honest, but yet you gave me a damn minute when I least expected it. You didn’t pass me off like some sort of creep and you didn’t laugh in my face when I was most vulnerable.”

“But…” I shake my head. “We can’t be together, Bodhi.”

“The fuck we can’t. Is this about that guy? The one who asked you out? Because fuck him! No, wait, wait…I don’t mean fuck him-fuck him butfuckhim.” I pat my own chest and plead, “I’m right here Corrigan. Pick me. Date me.”

“But my dad…”

He grabs my hands. “Your dad’s not here, babe, and I don’t care what he thinks. This isn’t between you, me, and your dad. This is between you and me. That’s it. Nobody else.”

But how can this work realistically without my dad knowing about it?

When I don’t respond, he continues. “The night we first met…you knew who I was. True or false?”

I nod slowly, a tear escaping down my cheek even though there’s no way he can tell with this much rain falling on us. “True.”

“So, you knew who I was and you didn’t turn me away or make fun of me. You didn’t scream at me and threaten some sort of lawsuit. You didn’t fangirl and treat me like some sort of sex symbol. You didn’t accuse me of lying. You continued to be who you are. The girl I started to fall for via text message.” He smiles. “You were sweet and kind and funny and compassionate and most of all confident. You were everything I didn’t know I needed but so fucking greatly appreciated and please don’t go out with that guy, Corrigan. Let me take you out. Be with me. I can make you happy. Please let me try.”

I don’t even know what to say.

For the first time ever, I’m completely speechless.

My mouth hangs open and his gaze falls to my lips.

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