"Now, make sure you read through the rest of this chapter for Monday. It's only a few pages, so you should be able to work it into your Sunday brunch plans." The old man smiled, wrinkles appearing in the corners of his eyes. His white hair shone underneath the fluorescent lighting of the auditorium. "And please don't forget to turn in your journal entries tomorrow night before midnight. Don't get a zero on an easy assignment!" His voice echoed, louder than the noise of the students as they collected their belongings.
As I gathered my own things and stood up from my seat, following the majority of my class up the central walkway, a strange feeling filled my body. I felt as if were as if I were in a weird trance. Like… something was telling me I didn't know where I wanted to be. I didn't have any more classes for the rest of the day, but I didn't want to go home in case McKenzie and Tanner were hooking up. I wouldn't be able to get any studying done in my room. Not that I really felt like studying anyway.
As I pondered what to do with my free time, I wandered through Dylan Hall, the Medical Studies Building, and smiled as I saw the vending machine. I inserted a few dollars and bought a bag of cookies. The same kind I loved as a kid. I popped them open, snacking on them as I walked toward the exit. I dodged the hoard of students rushing through the halls to get to their next class on time. I decided to find a place to read outside and was suddenly grateful I had the foresight to bring a book with me this morning.
I stepped outside and into the cool afternoon breeze. The sun was beginning to set, casting cool shadows along the brick walkways. I popped another one of the dark-chocolate-mint cookies into my mouth and munched, I inhaled the scent of the freshly mowed grass and crossed the walkway into the garden behind the Natural Sciences Building. I usually used it as a shortcut to get from my classes to my dorm, but there were some benches in there that would be a good place to read. I finished my cookies before I reached the fountain.
To my shock, Nathan was sitting there. He looked up and smiled at me before waving me over.
Curious, I walked over to him, book in my hand. "Um... hey, Nathan."
"Elizabeth," he smiled, standing up to greet me. The way he said my name made me think he had been waiting for me. The thought made me smile. ”How was class?"
"Class was... good. Wait… how'd you know I was in class?" I asked, readjusting the strap of my bag and crossing my arms over my body.
He laughed, shrugging his shoulders as he opened a take out container, revealing the burgers he'd gotten from Reggie's, an 80s-themed burger joint just off-campus. "Kenz told me your schedule. I hope you don't mind.” He offered me one.
"Not when you're bringing me Reggie’s,” I said, touched by his thoughtfulness. I smiled up at him and had to fight the urge to hug him, too.
A warm smile spread across his face as he led me toward the trees trees just off the brick walkway. From there, we could see the entire plaza and the fountain as the sun set over campus, filling it with a deep, golden light. We settled in and set up the food between us. Nathan handed me a burger, and I bit into it with a grin, surprised by the crunch of an onion ring in the middle and the drop of grease that ran down my chin. The shock must've been evident on my face because he laughed.
After I swallowed and wiped my face, I smiled. "That's really good. Do you always get burgers with the sides in them?"
Nathan smiled as he finished chewing. "Only when it's Reggie's," he answered coyly "It sounded really good."
I nodded, resting my hand against the side of my knee. I looked over at Nathan and watched as he chewed precariously, trying not to split the scab that had formed over the cut on his lip. Now that I was looking at him more clearly, I realized there were some dark spots on the sides of his face. I smiled as I thought about the pictures from my last lecture. The idea of Nathan getting any type of cosmetic facial reconstruction seemed outlandish, but my eyes remained focused on the purple splotches marring his skin. They were healing, starting to yellow in uneven patches.
"Does it hurt with your lip?" I asked, taking a fry from the paper bag.
Nathan was quiet for a moment. His smile faded and he quietly swallowed. "A little," he answered, truthfully. He met my eyes. "But it's okay. I deserved it. I got in a few good shots too." He fiddled with his burger wrapper, trying to hide his discomfort.
"Can I be honest?" I asked, smiling at him when he dared to look up at me. "I think it looks... kind of good on you.”
His eyebrow his the sky and he started laughing. "Oh, really? Bruises look good on me?”
“Yeah," I admitted. "You look tough, like you could beat up all my enemies or something.” I mean, I wasn’t in the habit of promoting violence or encouraging anyone to act like that’s the best way to solve problems, but there was something incredibly hot about the fact that Nathan had come to my rescue, protected me, and gotten a little beat up in the process. In fact, it was kind of sexy.
I was so distracted, I didn’t see a pickle slip out of my burger and onto the ground.
"Oh, shoot.” I reached for a napkin and picked it up.
“Here.” Nate plucked a pickle from the middle of his burger and held it up in the air triumphantly.
For a moment, I wasn't sure if he wanted me to hold out my hand, my burger, or to lean my head back and let him feed it to me. But something about the glimmer in his eyes told me to open my mouth. He placed the pickle onto my tongue. We both laughed, but the moment felt oddly intimate. I realized that we were much closer than I thought we were. Our eyes met, and my chewing slowed. I swallowed.
"Thank you," I breathed.
He nodded. He was quiet as he scanned my face. "Can I be honest with you?"
My heart skipped a beat. There were so many different things he could say at that moment. It was probably going to be something totally innocent. But the fluttering in my chest told me to keep hoping it might not be.
"Of course," I said, trying to keep my cool. The words felt strange on my tongue and I worried about what Nathan was going to say.
"We have been spending a lot of time together. And… I want to do it more often," he started, a nervous smile appearing on his lips.
I was trying to play it off like this conversationwasn'tsending shockwaves of anxiety throughout my body. As I chewed on my lunch, I didn't actually taste it. I was failing at this nonchalance thing. Hard.
He inhaled slowly, his shoulders rising as he took in a deep breath. “I want to spend more time with you, Elizabeth.”
