"You're kidding, right?"

"I swear, I've always been really bad with girls."

"But... but that's not possible!"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, look at you!" You gestured to your boyfriend's entire body, indicating that you thought he was a pretty good catch.

He chuckled softly and you had to duck your eyes as you sipped on your iced tea. It was embarrassing to let him know how much you ogled over him.

"I've always been awkward with girls I like, though."

At this, you snorted (and almost choked on your tea) because it was true. When you had first met him, it had been really hard to keep up a conversation. Getting him to talk was like pulling out teeth. It made you think he didn't want to talk to you since he was fine conversing with anybody else. But then, to you, he would suddenly spit out blunt compliments and suggestive ideas that made you blush uncomfortably. Your conversations often ended awkwardly.

"Don't laugh," he teased. "You know you liked it."

You nodded at the fact. "And the other girls didn't?"

"Don't know." He shrugged. "Don't care either."

You tapped your chin and wondered if your next question was appropriate. Eventually, you asked uncertainly, "How many girls have you really liked anyway?"

He didn't seem unnerved by this question. In fact, he looked amused. "You mean how many girls have I embarrassed myself in front of by making an attempt at being attractive?"

"Yeah, that," you said as you stifled a laugh.

He thought over it in his head as he slowly sipped his iced coffee.

And he thought... and thought.

"It is really that many?" You gulped nervously, wondering if you wanted to hear what he had to say.

"No, no. Other than you, there's only been one other girl but I don't know if this is the right time to talk about it."

Staring down at your drink, you stirred it as you bit back the fact that it had been nearly a year since you two had begun dating and it seemed like a fine time to learn a bit more about his past relationships. "Don't tell me it's my best friend or something." Anything but that. It would make you feel like a rebound girl.

"No, it was my friend's older sister that I had a crush on a few years back," he said as his eyes scanned over the café. "Problem is, she's here right now."

You resisted the urge to turn around as you asked, "Where?"

His voice got lower as he leaned in. "The waitress that took our order."

"The one who was hitting on you?" you blurted out before you could clap a hand over your mouth.

And right on time, said waitress appeared. You took a good look at her. She was pretty, extremely pretty. No wonder your boyfriend had a thing for her. You could imagine many men drooling at her feet. And with that thought, you sank back into your seat, suddenly overcome with self-consciousness and jealousy.

"Would either of you like a refill?" she asked in a light voice that you envied. When you and your boyfriend both said no, she hesitated before turning to your boyfriend. "Excuse me but do I know you from somewhere? You look very familiar."

And that's when their conversation began and you tuned them out. You scolded yourself for being jealous but you couldn't help it. You knew your boyfriend was handsome and you could see that the waitress was pretty. You kept telling yourself that your boyfriend had never shown any signs of cheating but this girl was one that he had liked before. What if she rekindled his feelings?

"I'm getting off work in a few minutes. Maybe we could hang out and catch up?" she suggested. You kept your face calm but in your head, you wondered furiously if she could even see you sitting right there. It didn't make you feel any better that your boyfriend could talk with her smoothly as if she was an old friend of his.

"Actually, I..." Your boyfriend glanced at you and you decided to answer for him.

"I should get going," you said as you stood up and grabbed your bag. "The library's closing soon and I still need to pick up some books for this weekend. Bye!" You strode out of the café with your drink in hand.

Your boyfriend had the right to talk to any girl he wanted to and you couldn't stop him. He was his own person and you trusted him enough not to cheat.

You groaned silently at the nagging voice in your head. You didn't like how the waitress had been pushing herself onto your boyfriend even though you were sitting across from him.

The worst part was... you wanted him to feel the same jealousy for you. Have another man hit on you and then have your boyfriend pull you away.

Wait a second.

Was that what you were supposed to do? Did he want you to pry the waitress off of him and act like the possessive girlfriend that you wanted to be?

You shook your head. This is ridiculous, you thought, sipping your drink. Jealousy was such a hideous emotion.

You heard quick footsteps coming close from behind and you moved to the edge of the sidewalk to let the person pass. But then you felt an arm land on your shoulders.

In your shock, you almost choked on your tea and you covered your mouth as you spun around in the midst of coughing. "What'd you do that for?" you asked incredulously.

Your boyfriend patted your back gently and smiled. "Didn't mean to scare you," he said and poked your cheek. "But you're very cute when you're scared."

It was hard not to blush as you turned back towards the library. "Why are you here?" you snapped. You didn't like how irritated you sounded but you still felt annoyed by what had happened in the café. Actually, you felt annoyed at how you reacted. Would you always act like this whenever he talked to another girl?

Your boyfriend sensed how tense you were and leaned in. "Why can't I be here?" he asked. "Is something wrong?"

"No," you answered much too quickly.

After a few minutes of scrutinizing your face, he asked hesitantly, "Were you jealous?"

"No." Your response was way too loud to sound calm and you bit down on your tongue as you glanced over at your boyfriend. He had a knowing smirk on his face.

"Good," he whispered as he kissed your temple. "You should know that the only woman I love more than you is my mother."

You laughed at his cheesy words. "Don't say things like that."

"Why not?" he asked innocently. "You like it, don't you?"

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grrrrrrrrrrrrr i hate it when boys say cheesy things it makes me want to slam into a speedboat at 10000mph (⊙_◎)