At Her Place

Saturday came. Alex went to her building early. He stood outside for a minute and almost turned around. But he knocked.

Mia opened the door. She wore leggings and a big hoodie. Her hair was down and messy. She smiled when she saw him.

"Come in, "

Her place was small. There were books on every surface. She had already made tea. Two mugs sat on the table. Next to one was a note. Extra sugar. I remembered you like it sweet.

He looked at the note. She remembered that from some old talk. It made his chest feel warm.

They sat on the couch with their books. Their knees touched and stayed touching. She sat close. He could smell her shampoo. When she leaned over to look at his notes he saw the shape of her body under the hoodie. It made him hard. He moved a little to hide it. He felt guilty again. She was just trying to study. She did not know what was going on in his head.

They went over the class stuff for a while. Then they talked about other things. She laughed at one of his dumb jokes. He liked the sound. She bit her lip when she asked him questions sometimes. Like she was nervous too.

After a couple hours it got dark outside. She turned on a lamp. The light made everything feel softer.

She walked him to the door when he said he should go. They stood there for a second. Neither one moved to open it.

"Thanks for coming over, I had a really good time."

"Me too. " His throat felt tight.

She looked up at him. Her eyes went to his mouth for a second. Then she reached out and took his hand. She squeezed it.

"Text me when you get home okay? So I know you made it."

He nodded. He could not say much.

She let go slow. He left.

On the walk home his hand still felt her fingers. He thought about how close they sat. How she made the tea with the note. How she held his hand at the door like she did not want him to leave yet.

He wanted to kiss her so bad it hurt. He wanted to pull her close and see if she would kiss him back. But he was scared. What if she did not feel the same? What if she only saw him as the guy from the cafe who helped with homework?

That night he lay in bed again. His body was hard and he could not stop it. He felt frustrated with himself. He wanted her. Not just to study. He wanted to hold her. To hear her laugh right next to him. To know if she thought about him the way he thought about her.

He picked up his phone. He almost texted her something more. Something real. But he put it down.

Do not mess this up, he told himself. She is probably just being nice. If you say something you will ruin it.

Still he could not stop hoping. Just a little. The way she looked at him sometimes. The way she invited him over. The way she held his hand.

Maybe, just maybe, she felt it too.

He closed his eyes and tried to sleep. But all he saw was her.