Chapter 5 - Naledi

# Chapter 5: Naledi

I'VE BEEN awake for hours. Of course I have. Because Mandla Zwane had the audacity to tell me the eggnog-induced kiss wasn't a mistake right before he dropped into a damn coma. Every follow-up question I've had since he uttered those words has been racing through my mind for the better part of three hours. What the hell am I supposed to do with that confession?

I want to be mad at him, but how can I be? Isn't this what I've always wanted? For the cute boy I had a ridiculously large crush on since I was fifteen to see me as more than just his little sister's best friend?

But did he mean it? Or was he just exhausted and unaware of what he said?

I'm frustrated, but I can't hang onto that emotion long enough to truly be upset. Every time I try, I just picture Mandla sitting at the kitchen table, looking as though he'd been whipped around in a tornado right before he got run over by a bus. I've always viewed him as heroic for being a firefighter, but I never really thought about what he went through after the fire was extinguished.

Is it stupid that I want to be the one he comes home to after a long, hard day? The one who takes care of him the same way he took care of me after that disaster date from hell? I could learn to cook more than spaghetti. And, if not, well, at least I'd have a professional firefighter on standby to keep me from burning down the kitchen.