Fragments of you

PROLOGUE

I was walking down the street, going out to secure a spot at a café, order my coffee, and start working on my school project. A normal day—nothing of interest.
Not until I saw him.
I wasn't the kind of person who stared at people while they were walking. Neither was I interested in guys at the time. All I cared about were my studies because I wanted to move out as soon as I could.
But there was something about him that was extremely abnormal.
I don't even know how to describe what I felt.
I wouldn't say I had butterflies in my stomach, or that I was so delusional I imagined a whole future with him. No, I was more mature than that.
And yet... he was undeniably handsome.
Majestic in a way that couldn't quite be explained.
He looked as if he had just left the gym. A white T-shirt that was slightly see-through—probably from water—clung to him like he had just taken a shower. His cheeks were flushed the colour of deep cherries and raspberries.
The strong, lean muscles of his torso were almost visible through the fabric of his shirt. Until the wind lifted the hem slightly, revealing a long row of defined muscles.
Every inch of him looked perfect.
He was wearing grey sweatpants.
Grey sweatpants... I thought.
There was something about them that always made my mind wander somewhere it shouldn't.
Not that it was only that. Not even close.
The golden tan of his skin made it worse. I stared for a moment too long, my eyes lingering on places they shouldn't have been.
Heat crept up my face.
I had never been more grateful to cover my face than in that moment.
I was pretty sure I looked like a tomato.
And I hadn't even had the courage to look him in the eye yet.
I was terrified I would drown in them.
Still, I couldn't stop myself.
I tilted my head up.
He was tall. His hair was dripping wet, slightly long—dark brown curls falling onto his forehead and grazing the back of his neck.
And then—
His eyes.
If I thought I didn't have butterflies before...
I lied.
A big, fat, scandalous lie.
I didn't just look at them.
I drowned in them.
His eyes, I whispered to myself as I took him in.
Hazel eyes—my favourite colour—though there was more green than brown in his irises. A ring of amber and emerald and gold circled his pupil, as if someone had accidentally poured amber liquor into a sea of forest green.
He noticed me staring.
Of course he did, dumbass, I thought.
I shouldn't have looked at him that much.
And yet, I still couldn't look away.
Until—
He smirked.
He fucking smirked.
At me.
And just like that, I remembered I was standing in the middle of a sidewalk staring at a random stranger like a complete idiot.
I looked away as fast as I could, my cheeks burning with embarrassment. I tried to act nonchalant and walk away, as if I hadn't just been staring at every inch of him and blushing at my own thoughts seconds earlier.
But nope.
Because he stopped.
What do you mean he stopped?
He took one step.
Then another.
Until he was right in front of me.
"Hello, beautiful," he said, a smile spreading across his face, revealing a row of bright, milky-white teeth.
"Would you mind if we exchanged numbers?"