"Hey, stranger."
I faced the source of the voice and found Alessandra standing behind me. The second our eyes met, I felt my heart skip a beat. My day brightened up instantly. I stood up from my table, ignoring the smug looks on my friends' faces.
"Oh, hey!" Fuck. Did that sound too desperate? Too excited? "You need help with that?" I asked when I saw her arms carrying a bunch of papers.
She shook her head no, and handed me a familiar blue sweater. "You left this with me at the library last night. I just wanted to return it. Thanks for letting me borrow them."
I took it from her, and our fingers lightly brushed against each other and I swear my hands and knees started shaking. "Oh. Y—yeah. Thank you."
I felt someone nudge my elbow. "You fucked at the library? That's some freaky shit, dude," I heard my friend Alex tell me.
I elbowed him lightly and muttered a 'no'. I faced Alessandra. "Don't—don't mind these—uhh—them," I stuttered. What the fuck? I'm actually nervous. "They're—they're morons. They don't know shit."
Alessandra just laughed, and my heart warmed up at the sight of her dimples and genuine smile. "See you around, Lauren," she told me with a nod.
She started to turn around, so I left our table and followed her. "Wait up—" I started, but I tripped on my own feet on the way to her. Thankfully, I recovered and saved myself from falling on my face in front of this goddess who has me whipped. But unfortunately, she faced me at the right moment and saw the whole thing. She laughed, and I wouldn't even be surprised if someone told me about how red my face was.
Ignoring my friends' comments on 'the Lauren Rubio getting nervous and tripping because of a girl', I stood up straight and tried to calm my rapidly beating heart. "Do you, umm, where—where are you headed?" I asked.
She looks at me in amusement. "I'm submitting these to my prof," she lightly brings up her stack of papers, "then I'm getting lunch. Why?"
Should I ask her out to lunch even if I'm literally already in the middle of having lunch? Would I seem too eager? "Would you, uhh, do you—wait umm—do you want to have lunch? Like, with me? Today? I can go with you to your professor then we can eat out," my eyes widened at my words and I took them back immediately. "Shit, I meant eat outside okay like maybe at a restaurant around here, not like, eat out like in bed—"
"Okay," she said with the cutest chuckle. She stepped closer to me, and my knees literally buckled and breathing suddenly became a challenge. "You're cute when you're nervous."
I tried to straighten my posture. "I—I'm not nervous."
She traced my jawline, leaving a trail of heat on my jaw, and my breath caught in my throat. Then she winked, and my entire body felt like it caught on fire. "Sure," she said with a smirk. She turned around and walked outside the café, motioning for me to follow. I quickly grabbed my wallet from my friends' table, and followed this walking piece of art.
AN: Do you guys want to see snippets of their early relationship once in a while or are they interfering? Votes, comments, and constructive criticism are very much appreciated. ily all. ❤️