Shyness doesn't become you

As they walked down the street towards the pizza parlor, Liz noticed Matt working on a sports car in front of the garage. As he looked up, she averted his gaze glancing down at her feet.

“Hey Matt, what’s up?” Mark called from beside Liz.

Surprised, she turned to Mark, her mouth opening slightly in shock. How did they know each other?

“Hey, bro, not much” Matt said, waving Mark over, “Ah, I’m working on a client’s car. Should be done by 11 or so” Matt said, not paying any attention to Mark but simply staring at Liz, noticing the way she looked. ‘Wow’ he thought, ‘she looks damn hot!’

Liz followed Mark as he approached Matt, wishing she would just disappear.

“Hi, mystery girl” Matt said, looking into Liz’s deep green eyes, “You look very beautiful this evening.”

Liz almost choked on air in response. All she could do was blush and avoid his gaze.

Clearing his throat Mark placed a possessive hand on Liz’s arm, “Oh, sorry, I don’t believe you’ve met my girlfriend, Elizabeth.” Mark said, glancing at Liz.

‘Girlfriend, whoa, when did that happen’ Liz thought, looking at Mark questioningly.

Matt caught the exchange between Liz and Mark but didn’t comment. ‘So her name is Elizabeth’ he thought, ‘and she’s dating Mark, oh perfect’. He couldn’t help but feel slightly disappointed by that little piece of information.

“Well it’s nice to meet you, Elizabeth.” Matt said politely, feeling his stomach quench when she peered up at him with her emerald eyes.

“It’s nice to meet you too” Liz said shyly, slightly hiding behind Mark.

‘She’s acting like a scared deer. I wonder what that’s all about’ Matt thought to himself.

“Well anyway, we were going for supper. I think we should get going” Mark said a little stiffly, grabbing Liz’s arm as he tugged her down the street. “It was good to see you again.”

Liz stumbled across the sidewalk a little shocked by what had just happened. She couldn’t believe Mark knew Matt. These things only happen to her! Wait a minute though, Mark had called her his girlfriend. What was that all about? Did he actually think she was his girlfriend now or was that just something he said because Matt was openly flirting with her? Did she want to be Mark’s girlfriend? Did it even matter anymore? Matt now thought she was Mark’s girlfriend, possibly making her off limits…exactly how good of friends were they anyway? And, how did they know each other?

“Umm, so about that, sorry if I made you a little uncomfortable” Mark said softly, as they crossed the corner to the restaurant.

“Ah, that’s okay.” Liz said shyly, really wanting to ask him why he told Matt she was his girlfriend! This was frustrating her, not only was that situation completely embarrassing for her, but now she couldn’t even speak to Mark. There was something very wrong with her when it came to dating. “I thought this was supposed to be simple.” She said, a little too loudly.

“You’re probably wondering why I called you my girlfriend” Mark said, a little embarrassed.

“Actually, yes, I am, kind of. Do you mind explaining to me what that was about?” Liz said gently, trying to keep her cool.

“It’s a little complicated” he said, a little bit more strongly this time, “but Matt’s not exactly a good guy. He kind of got his brother into trouble a few years ago; you might have remembered him, Johnny Anderson?”

The name ran a bell, but she couldn’t place a face with that name.

“Johnny was in your med class up until last year. He died last fall. He and his brother were street racers except Johnny was exceptionally good. Matt got into trouble with some people and he owed them a lot of money. Johnny agreed to help him out, so Matt set up this race for Johnny and if he would win it he would have had enough money to pay off his debt. Johnny really didn’t like the idea too much, he never raced for money, but he didn’t really have a choice. My brother was best friend’s with Johnny. We all went to see the race, It was pretty bad. His car flipped over a few times at a really rough curve and then caught fire. Matt freaked out. He almost ran right into the fire if it wasn’t for his friends keeping him back.”

Liz gasped after hearing that story. She couldn’t believe it. Matt lost his brother in a race he himself set up and then obviously blamed himself. Now she remembered hearing a story about one of the students in her class. She hadn’t caught many of the details thought since she didn’t really have any friends in class. She was always in the library studying or volunteering at the hospital and then starting her rounds in the later years. Although, now, she vaguely remembered a guy in her class with the same piercing blue eyes as Matt.

“It wouldn’t be a good idea to get involved with him, Liz. I figured if I told him you were my girlfriend, he wouldn’t try anything with you” Mark said causiously.

Angrily Liz thought, ‘and what if I wanted to start something with him?’ but she didn’t say anything. She just casually slid into her booth and nodded her head as if she understood his actions.

“I noticed the way he was looking at you. You probably remind him a lot of his ex-girlfriend. She left when Johnny died. She couldn’t deal with Matt. He was drunk most of the time and…well…he stooped pretty low. One day she just told him she couldn’t deal with him anymore and she left. You look a little like her. You have the same wild red hair.” Mark smiled at her and picked up his menu.

‘Maybe that’s the reason we kind of connect’ she thought, ‘cause I’m attracted to him and I simply remind him of his ex.’ She was disappointed after thinking that and felt her heart sink. She didn’t realize how much she had actually invested in this complete stranger and wanted to run over there and tell him…tell him….she didn’t know what she should say or do….ahh...this was just confusing.

“Um, Mark” she said, “I’ll be right back, I need to make a phone call.”


She looked so beautiful standing there, her long legs toned and lean, wearing the short minishirt. The more he thought about it, the more he realized she looked nothing like Layla. Layla was a flirt, period. She wasn’t shy nor innocent like Elizabeth. Although their hair was around the same color, even that was completely different. Layla’s hair was pin straight all the time. She kept blow drying it to perfection, until it gleamed. Elizabeth’s, on the other hand, had wild crazy hair. Her long curls framed her face and cascaded down her back in all directions. Every time he saw her, it looked like she had been walking outside on a really windy day. He loved that wind-blown looked. She was shy, and slightly afraid of him which only made him want to protect her. Mark wasn’t good enough for her. Neither was he for that matter.

‘Hmm, maybe I should just let this go,’ Matt thought, ‘she’s dating Mark and he's such a tight ass. If she's into someone like him, she would never be interested in me. I just hope she’s really happy with him.'

Mark was locking up the garage and getting ready to leave when he turned around and saw Liz standing on the sidewalk waiting for him. His heart stopped for just a second. ‘This girl has more power over me than she realizes’ he thought.

“Hey” he said, walking over to her, “Shouldn’t you be on your date with Mark.”

“He’s not my boyfriend,” Liz said rushed. Blushing, she lowered her head so she couldn’t see his face.

“Umm, alright…does Mark know that,” Matt said, a little taken aback, but pleased by her sudden announcement. ‘She obviously wanted me to know that’ he thought a little smugly.

“Yes, he does…now anyway. He was just a little confused about what I wanted and what was best for me.’ She said, still not looking at Matt.

“Shouldn’t you be making those decisions?” he asked, gently placing his hand against her cheek and lifting her face up so he could see her.

Taking a risk, she raised her head to look into his icing blue eyes. Cradling her face against his palm she said with a strong voice, “I am now.”

*****

Thanks to fire_eyez and aqumariel24 for reviewing!