Alarm!

Alex woke to the phone alarm going off loud on the nightstand. It kept buzzing. He reached across Mia to grab it. His arm brushed her bare skin. Warm. Soft. He hit the button and the time lit up.

8:52.

His stomach dropped. “Mia. Wake up. Psych exam is at ten.”

She sat up fast. The blanket fell away from her chest. Alex looked away quick but not quick enough. He saw her. Skin in the morning light. The curve of her breast. The marks his mouth had left last night. Heat rushed through him. He grabbed his shirt off the floor and yanked it on.

“Shit,” Mia said. She swung her legs out of bed. Naked for a second. Then she pulled on underwear and jeans in a rush. Her hoodie next. She moved fast but her eyes found his. “We overslept everything.”

Alex nodded. He pulled on his pants. His mind was spinning. Last night had been slow and deep and everything. The way she had come around him. The way she had said “I love you” like she could not hold it in. The way he had said it back. Now it was morning and they had to run like none of that mattered.

But it mattered. It mattered so much his chest hurt.

Mia came over while tying her shoe. She touched his arm. Just a quick squeeze. “We studied. We know most of it. We’re okay.”

He tried to breathe. But she stood close. Her hair was messy from his hands. Her lips looked soft. He wanted to kiss her. Right there. But there was no time. And a part of him was scared to. What if the rush made her pull back again?

She turned to the tiny kitchen. Put water in the kettle. “Coffee. Fast. Granola bars too.”

Alex found his shoes. He watched her move. The way her hoodie rode up when she reached for mugs. He looked down fast. His body was waking up again. To her. To the memory of her legs around him. He felt guilty. They needed to get to campus. Not this.

Mia handed him a mug. Hot coffee. Their fingers touched and stayed touching a second longer than they needed to. “Last night was… really good,” she said quiet. Her cheeks went pink.

Alex swallowed. “Yeah. It was.”

She smiled small. Then she leaned in and kissed his cheek. Fast. Warm. “We can talk after. Right now we go.”

They left the apartment together. Bags on their shoulders. The morning air felt cool on Alex’s face. Mia walked close. Her arm brushed his every few steps. On purpose, he thought. Or maybe he just wanted it to be.

On the bus they sat pressed together. Her knee against his. She leaned her head on his shoulder once. “You okay?” she asked.

He nodded. But he was not okay. The exam. The words they had said in the dark. The way she kept showing she wanted him close even when everything was rushing. It all mixed in his head until he could not think straight. He wanted to hold her hand on the bus. But people were around. So he just sat there. Feeling her warmth. Wanting more. Scared of what more looked like in daylight.

They got off near campus and walked fast. Mia touched his hand once before they went into the building. Quick squeeze. Nothing big. But it steadied him.

“Meet after?” she asked.

“Yeah,” he said. His voice came out rough.

She gave him that look. The one that made his stomach flip. Then she walked to her seat.

Alex sat down. Opened his notes. Tried to read the pages they had gone over together. But his mind kept going back. To her bed. To the way she had tangled with him after. To the “I love you” that had slipped out and changed everything.

The exam started. He picked up his pencil. His hand shook a little. He told himself to focus. But part of him was still in her apartment. Still tangled. Still hoping this rush did not make her regret saying the words out loud.

He glanced across the room once. Mia was already writing. Calm on the outside. But he knew her now. Knew the way her leg had hooked over his this morning. Knew the way she had kissed his neck like she did not want to let go.

Alex looked back at his paper. His chest felt tight and full at the same time.

They would finish the exam. They would talk after. And maybe, if he did not overthink it all to death, things would still feel this real when the stress was gone.