Love, Eliot

Hot Blooded

The overcast sky matched my mood as I marched to the university cafe. After storming up the stone steps, I swung open the glass door; another student with neon green hair scowled at me from the other side.

I forced an apologetic smile for almost hitting him with the door then, pushed past the crowd of coeds waiting for their daily caffeine fix.

I contemplated standing in line but thought better of it. I'll be waiting all day.

Before anyone else could snag it, I claimed the last vacant table and waited. My legs shook to the sped-up beat of my heart while I scanned my surroundings.

An auburn-haired girl in the opposite corner of the room glared at me from her stuffy booth next to the window. She probably figured I was on something; which wasn't altogether untrue.

Eliot had been making my life both a living heaven and hell for months. Ever since meeting online, we hadn't been able to stop talking or sexting. Listening to his instructions was much more entertaining than doing geometry homework, after all.

I glanced down at my phone; there was no hope of receiving a new, merciful command but convincing myself of that was out of the question. So I sat there, yanking the long sleeves of my sweater over my fists and shaking my leg so hard that China could have felt the tremors.

My gaze wandered until suddenly everything went dark. Someone's hands cupped my eyes and the light laughter behind me gave away the culprit.

"Jesus, Drew," I pulled his hands off of me and laughed. "You almost got me."

"Almost?" He took the seat in front of me. "I felt you jump."

I rolled my eyes while Drew shed his first damp layer of clothing. His hoodie came off with a slight struggle and gave way to his favorite ACDC shirt.

He sighed and glanced at me. "I thought it was supposed to be cold up here."

"It is cold, you're just hot-blooded."

He opened his mouth, and I knew the next thing to follow would be his failed impersonation of a classic. I held up my hand to silence him. "Not Foreigner, you know I love Foreigner."

He scoffed and lifted his chin toward my legs. "Hyper much?"

"Just a bit on edge today."

The irony wasn't lost on me.

"You sure you want to add coffee to that equation?"

My expression twisted. "I'm going to need it to get through the day."

Drew gave me a knowing grin. "Vanilla latte with a double shot and extra foam?"

"You so get me." I batted my eyelashes at him as he joined the line of students at the front counter. The smile he put on my face didn't fade until I saw him leaning into his conversation with the barista. Classic.

Getting coffee together every Monday and Wednesday morning had become a ritual; one I hoped continued beyond my first semester. After a few weeks, we had committed each other's orders to memory just in case either of us was running late.

Then we'd walk and catch up the whole way to class.

By the time he returned, my nerves, and uneasiness had dissipated. I pushed Eliot to the farthest corners of my mind, so I didn't accidentally confess my dalliance to the closest person in my life.

I had hidden my "relationship" with Eliot for over a year and had no intention of coming clean soon.

Even he had clarified that our flirtation began and ended in cyberspace; no real names, phone numbers, or obvious details about our identities were allowed.