Ted had just started dating Kathleen recently. Although the two had known each other for awhile, it was a whole new relationship that they had to get used to. Things had been weird for the first few days, they weren’t sure how to function with this new dynamic. Kathleen was often insecure over their relationship because Ted had been known to have had many girlfriends before her. She on the other hand, had no former experience with relationships.

This however did not stop them from being together. The way Ted saw it, Kathleen wasn’t like the other girls he’d been with before. Their relationship meant something to him and he wished he could find a way to make her understand that. But, being the teenage boy that he was, that notion was often put on the back burner.

Still, the two stayed together.

On a sunny day, rare in the frigidness of December, the two took this opportunity to go outside. There was a park in Ted’s neighborhood, a special park, that he’d been meaning to show to Kathleen.

To most people, it was just a regular park. To Ted, it’s where he’d learn to ride a bike, it’s where he hung out with his friends, it’s where he grew up. It seemed like a normal task to take her there, but he was nervous. He had been planning to kiss her there.

What Kathleen didn’t know is that even though she was often confused and nervous around him, it was nothing compared to how nervous she made him.

Whenever they held hands and their palms got sweaty, she always thought that was her sweat, but it was Ted’s. Every time they made direct eye contact, his face would blush.

These were signs that Kathleen wasn’t picking up on.

The two had only been dating four days, but to them it seemed like four years. That’s how long they’d known each other. It was a different connection with Kathleen. They had so much in common.

They both liked nachos with extra cheese with no olives, every other girl liked olives. The connection was real. He didn’t want to screw it up. So as he pulled her aside to sit down in the grass, he took a deep breath.

“Kathleen, I really like you,” he mumbled hesitantly. Awkwardly, he put his arm around her pulling her close.

“Oh,” she replied. Then she was taken aback. “I mean, yeah, I like you too!”

“Cool,” Ted said, looking away at the trees. His inner man told him to do it, he could feel it in his gut. This feeling was rising now.

Do it Ted, do it Ted.

It was a heaving, a certain feeling Ted started to think wasn’t his inner man.

    “Oh no,” Ted whispered, his face becoming pale. Then, before he could stop it, he hurled all over the ground in front of them. Initially the feeling he got was embarrassment, and shame. Then disappointment. She definitely wouldn’t kiss him now. For all he knew, she might break up with him.

    “Oh. . .” she gasped. “Oh my God!” Jerking away from him, she stood up as fast as she could to get away from the muck. “What is wrong with you? That’s so gross!”

    Ted didn’t know what to say, his face was completely red. He’d ruined something good, he felt like.

    Seeing the utter despair on his face, Kathleen sighed.

    “Ted, I like you but,” she started trying to find a way to fix this. “But, that was gross.”

    He looked down, his face only growing brighter red. “It’s just, I wanted you to know that I really like you and I just wanted our first kiss to be special, but I was nervous. You make me nervous.”

    “Oh, well yeah,” she said in reply. “It’s okay.”

    Ted looked around, what an understanding girl she was. Usually the park was filled with an abundance of flowers, but in December there were only torn up dandelions.

    He pulled one up from the ground beside him and cautiously handed it to her.

    “Here,” he said. “Even if there are no pretty things to be found, for you I’ll always find something.”

    Kathleen giggled, “you’re sweet.”

    A week later after they had broken up, Ted went back to the park to reminisce on their time together. He found another flower, he looked at it closely in his hand.

    “There’ll be other flowers,” he told himself.