“I was trying to get your attention.”
“As in, staring at me like you wanted me to die?” I laugh.
He doesn’t.
“I guess I approached it—you—wrong,” he admits.
“You still got me in the end though.” My smile is small.
He kisses it away.
“I could come inside and hang out with you in the common room,” he suggests, pressing his forehead to mine.
“I would love that, but I have a paper to finish.” My history essay is due tomorrow, plus we have an actual final. “Plus, I need to study.”
“You do not,” he teases, delivering another kiss to my lips.
“I do. The paper is only two-thirds finished and I barely remember what we learned in class this semester,” I explain. “I need to read over my notes.”
“I have that final tomorrow afternoon,” he says. “Maybe I should study with you.”
“We won’t get any studying done together and you know it.” I smile up at him, not wanting to hurt his feelings. “Once I get through tomorrow, the rest of the week is easy.”
“And then we’ll hang out.” He says this firmly, as if I can’t argue.
I won’t. I want to spend time with him. As much as I can before winter break starts.
“Yes. We’ll hang out.” He kisses me again before I can say anything else.
“I want to plan something for your birthday. Something special. Just for the two of us,” he says.
I don’t know how my father will feel about that, but I don’t mention that. “Okay.”
“Good luck with studying. And your paper.” Yet another kiss, this one long and filled with tongue. “Text me later.”
“Bye,” I whisper.
I watch him walk away before I finally turn and head into my dorm, waving at the RAs sitting behind the desk as I walk past. I’m in my room in minutes, changing out of my uniform and pulling on sweats. I crack open my laptop and settle in, opening the paper I’ve been working on for history.
This is the absolute last thing I want to do, but I remind myself once tomorrow is over, the rest of the week is fairly simple. I can handle this. A paper. Some studying. A final. Then it’s easy-peasy until we’re out of school for break.
I can’t wait. I want to spend time with Crew before we have to leave. And then I want to spend more time with him when we’re both home. Winter break can be so depressing for me sometimes, even though it’s my birthday and Christmas and all of those good times, where you’re supposed to be making memories and having a great time.
I’m usually just with my parents. We don’t have much extended family, and the last few years, Daddy never wanted to go on vacation over the holidays, claiming he had too much work to catch up on.
Now I’m actually excited for break. For all the possibilities that come with it.
Like spending ample time with Crew.
I’m going to have to tell Daddy about him sometime. Mom probably won’t care so much, but Daddy will. He has all of these expectations on me that I can no longer meet.
I can’t meet them. Not anymore.
Really don’t want to anymore either.
I’m staring at my laptop screen, trying to get up the energy to finish writing this history paper when my phone rings.
It’s Daddy.