Until I See You

Bridget's hands were sweating because she was so nervous.

It's almost 10 PM right now, her friends left two hours ago and she has been standing on the balcony for the past half an hour trying to gain enough courage to go talk and apologize to Teddy's owner who is quietly sitting alone in his gazebo in the backyard with Teddy sleeping on her thighs while reading a book.

Bridget would probably die to see this guy without shades and doing anything other than quietly and calmly living.

"Fuck it, I'm going, the worst thing he can do is call the police on me for barging into his property," uttered Bridget when she felt some courage spreading all over her body as she looked at herself in the mirror as she spoke with a wide smile on her face. "Yeah, calling the police on me isn't that bad after all."

She completely ignored the entire dark side of the cup and rushed to her backyard so that she could jump over the fence and storm inside her neighbor's property.

It seems like Teddy's owner heard the sound of her footsteps coming closer, which is why he stopped reading and glanced in her direction… but not at her.

"Hi!" This is the most awkward 'Hi' Bridget has ever said in her entire life.

Teddy's owner slowly turned his attention back to the book in his hand. "Hello!"

Bridget felt so embarrassed and frustrated at this moment, especially when she could see that the calm guy hated her for what she had done earlier and also did not even want to talk to her or hear her voice.

Nonetheless, Bridget awkwardly took a seat right next to Teddy's owner, who although he was wearing sunglasses, Bridget could feel how he rolled his eyes at her and ignored her presence.

"Hey,…" Bridget wanted to address her neighbor by his name but she still doesn't know what it is, which is why she stupidly decided to address him with one of the very few things she knows about the calm guy. "Hey, Teddy's dad, I don't know what your name is and you are not planning on telling me. However, I came here for a reason. I want to apologize."

The second Bridget sat in her neighbor's gazebo, she did not move her eyes away from the part of Teddy's owner's face that was visible to her.

Teddy's owner has the fluffiest chocolate brown hair; it fits his cozy style perfectly.

Bridget noticed how the calm male suddenly stopped whatever he was doing and slightly gave her attention in her direction when he heard that Bridget was here to apologize.

"I was scared, okay? I thought I was going to fail to save your life; that's why I burst out at you. I didn't mean to yell at you when you were already terrified to death. I'm sorry, Teddy's dad." sincerely apologized Bridget, then she gazed intensely at the calm guy and impatiently waited for a reply so that she could sleep because the guilt would keep her awake forever.

She didn't say a word for some long seconds, which kind of made Bridget lose her hope of being forgiven by him, but all that changed in a matter of a second when Teddy's owner suddenly spoke. "It's Matthew."

"Huh?" In confusion hummed Bridget, questioning what the other male meant by that.

Teddy's owner again put all his attention on reading the book in his hand while caressing the dog that was peacefully sleeping on his thighs. "My name. It's Matthew."

"Matthew. I'm Bridget." Bridget excitedly lifted her hand so that she could shake hands with the calm guy, but the latter just smiled in her direction and ignored her hand, which made Bridget's jaw hang low in disbelief.

'Why did he smile at me when he still hates me? This is so embarrassing.' Internally uttered Bridget as she quietly pushed her hand back inside her pocket after she thanked God that nobody had seen her getting ignored like this.

She was about to get up when she received Matthew's indirect message of how he did not want to talk to her, but again her mind changed when the latter talked, sending shivers down her spine with his deep smooth voice. "Thank you for saving my life. Also, I understand what happened there, so you don't need to apologize, Bridget."

'Say my name again, I'm begging you.' She wanted to scream that, but she gained some dignity at the last minute before she could speak.

Call her desperate or even weird, but damn, this guy's voice hits differently.

"You know, a lot of people say I'm very pretty. Why don't you look at me and see for yourself?" Pridefully uttered Bridget; she was so desperate to hold eye contact with the calm man that makes her so curious for no clear reason.

What she said made Matthew chuckle before speaking. "I'm sure you are pretty, but I'm blind."