"Once upon a time..."

(This is a story I'm working on, its not finished, but I thought I'd throw it out there :) enjoy!)


It was cold today, and my layers of shirts, a sweater, a jacket and a scarf were evidence to that. Despite the cool breeze I could feel penetrating my jeans, all I could think about was when I would get to see and talk to him.
Three days earlier we had talked on the phone, and he made mention to wanting to catch up on where each of our lives had ventured to since the last time we had talked, and I was more than looking forward to when that time would roll around. My heart raced when he mentioned this weekend.
I let my mind wander the possibilities of what this small encounter could entail! Maybe coffee? Or lunch? Oh, both sounded very nice! (For more reasons than food or a warm beverage.)
While my mind wandered I heard him mention church this weekend that he and several of my other friends would be attending. We would find some alone time in there to catch up.
I would be lying if I didn’t say that I was a little disappointed in the location that he chose, but nonetheless, he would be there. And he was looking forward to seeing me.
Fast forward three days, and we are back to the many layers of clothing attempting to protect me from the brutality of the freezing cold breeze whipping around my group of friends in the auditorium at church. I was in a slight rush since I was trying to escape the throngs of people all around in order to get back to my paying job upstairs.
I lollygagged to give him a chance to find me in the crowd. I did not think that it was working, and then I felt two arms wrap around my shoulders and give me a squeeze. When I turned my head I expected to see one of my girlfriends who I hadn’t yet talked to. So I’m sure that you can imagine my shock when I turned and saw his face.
My face didn’t really have time to cooperate with what was heart started to feel, and that is probably a good thing. When I looked into his eyes I felt giant butterflies well up inside of my stomach. I knew I had to play it cool or he would think I was a weirdo. His, more than obvious, sign of affection was not typical for his personality. He was, and still is, a high-five, awkward-side-hug-giving friend. Not a sneak-up-behind-you and give-you-a-warm-embrace kind of guy.
My mind began to swirl with questions. Did that really just happen? Does he like me? Is he just in a really good mood? What was he thinking when he did that?
And while the questions continued to fill my mind, I thought to myself, “Whatever it was, whatever it may mean to him, I know that in the aspect of friendship, he enjoys me, and maybe one day I will mean more to him than that.