Afternoon With an Australian


I drove down the long gravel driveway and parked in front of the garage. The weather was nice today, and I was tempted to ask Nathen if he wanted to work on our biology project outside. We got out of the car, and I led him into my house, my brother following right behind. As we entered, I shouted out to see if anyone else was home. No reply. I grabbed a box of crackers and my laptop from the counter, and we headed to my bedroom.

"Excuse the messiness," I said, plopping my bag down next to my bed. "I'm not much of an organizer."

"It's fine," he chuckled. "It has lots of personality. I don't trust people with clean rooms."

"Me either," I laughed, "so, where should we start?" I pulled out my biology book and powered up my computer. I laid several papers out in front of me, trying to organize my thoughts enough to concentrate on the project and not the fact that I had a very attractive Australian boy sitting on my bed.

"I was thinking we should do something that has to do with forests, like how different plants affect different ecosystems and niches." He said.

"That sounds fine to me," I replied, flipping to the index to look up a helpful chapter in my textbook.

We had both taken several pages of notes when I heard my mother’s voice in the kitchen. I put my pencil down and looked at Nathen, who was adamantly scribbling down more notes. When he felt my gaze on his face, he set his pencil down. "What?" he questioned, with a small smile on his face.

"Nothing," I sighed. "Want to take a break? Go for a walk, or something?"

"Sure," He said, standing up and stretching his arms above his head. I struggled not to stare at his toned stomach poking out from underneath his shirt. We passed through the kitchen on our way out, and I introduced him to my mother. He shook her hand, and I could tell from the grin on her face that she liked him.

"We are going to go for a walk for a little bit," I told her, opening the door.

"Okay," she said. "Don't stay gone for too long."

We headed for the wooded area behind my house. There was a slightly worn path leftover from the many times I had taken this same walk with my older brother. I looked over at Nathen and smiled.

"What?" he questioned with a small grin on his face. "Why are you smiling at me like that?"

I let out a small chuckle. "You're the first person that I have let walk through here with me. The only other person I ever let come here with me is my older brother, Kurt."

"Really? What happened to him?" he asked, "or would you rather not discuss it?"

"Nothing happened to him. He's in the army. He's my best friend and I miss him all the time." I felt a wave of nostalgia as I spoke of him.

"Oh, well that's admirable. So why me? Why are you letting me come down here with you?"

"I don't know," I said, and I really didn't. "I think it's because I feel safe around you. Kurt always made me feel that way."

"Hmm..." he mumbled as he thought.

We walked the rest of the way in silence, though it felt like we'd had a whole conversation. There was a silent understanding between the two of us.

Finally, Nathen broke the silence. "This is kind of weird, but I feel safe with you too. I don't know how, because there's nothing for me to be scared of, but I trust you."

I got butterflies as he said this. Although we had only known each other for a short period of time, I became excited to see what the future would bring.