Pretending to Be Andersen

All Things Hot Chocolate

"You couldn't have finished your homework before I came home?" Vincent sighed as he lay on my bed, unknowingly being the biggest distraction in the history of ever.

     I laughed, forbidding myself from looking back at him. One glance at that brown shirt that hugged his shoulders in just the right way or those green eyes that could not be more excited to see me and I was done for.

     "I have been slowly working on it. Not everything can be finished right away," I explained.

     That wouldn't do for him. I could hear Vincent get up from the bed and make his way over to me. He put one arm on the back of the chair and the other rested on the desk.

     "What are you even working on?" he questioned, leaning in to get a better look.

     I could feel the warmth his body radiated. I could smell the soap he used this morning in the shower. He was too close for me to concentrate.

     "Jasmine?" he said.

     I looked up at him--breaking my one, self-made rule--to see the smirk that played on his lips.

     His lips....

     Without another word, Vincent closed the distance between us.

     "Getting distracted?" he mumbled.

     Our lips met again. And again. And again.

     Is this what it was like to have a boyfriend? They distract you with kisses and keep you from homework? I was okay with that.

     Vincent wrapped one arm around my waist and the other went to hold the back of my neck and he pulled me to a standing position.

     My green-eyed boyfriend pulled away, resting his forehead on mine. And, oh my, was he smiling.

     It was contagious.

     "I love you, Jasmine," he breathed.

     That's when I took a step back and sat back down at my desk. Fixing myself to get back to my homework.

     "I know," I told him, smiling over my shoulder for a moment.

     Vincent just stood there for a second. Maybe he wanted me to say something more. Maybe he just enjoyed watching me. But after his 'I love you' and my response, the silence felt a little heavy. There was a weight on my tongue that I didn't know what to do with.

     "I'm going to go see what Lucas is up to. Maybe we can all go out later." He kissed my cheek and walked down the hall since the Library was now off limits.

     When Vincent was gone, I sat back in my chair and closed my notebook.

     Why was it so hard for me to understand my own emotions? Why couldn't I just love him? He made it seem so easy!

     I cared for Vincent. That much was true. But wasn't so sure just how deep those affections ran. How does someone know when they were in love?

                    *                         *                             *

Over the last week, the snow had gathered on the ground enough to go halfway up my calf as I carried a tray of hot chocolate to the guys in the backyard.

     Lilly had the boys rummaging aroung in the sheds to find the air mattresses so some of the cousins didn't have to sleep on the ground. They had been in the shed for hours with no word aside from the request for the liquidy chocolate goodness by Zach.