Page 37 of Catch and Cradle
We go silent again, but it still feels like we’re speaking, like there’s a constant exchange between us even when we can’t find the words to say. One kiss shouldn’t make me feel so connected to her, but there’s nothing else to describe it as except a connection.
“So, um, I know we haven’t exactly come up with a game plan here, but this bench is making my ass go numb.” I shift around on the metal slats to illustrate my point while I work up the courage to say what I want to say next. “What if we went and got a coffee or something?”
“Hope...”
“Just to talk,” I clarify. “Just to figure this out. I...”
I just want to keep being near you.
“I could use the caffeine boost,” I finish.
She fiddles with the edge of her shorts. I have to look away from her thighs and remind myself we really are just going to talk.
“Okay.” She pushes herself to her feet in one swift motion and turns to face me. “If you’re okay with giving up on your workout, that is.”
“Huh?”
She nods at my outfit. “You were going to work out, right?”
“Oh. Yeah, right.” The entire day thus far was completely wiped from my memory as soon as I saw her walking out of the gym. “No problem. I wanted to do something to wake me up, so coffee works too.”
She laughs then—a real laugh, not a nervous chuckle or quiet huff of air. The full, throaty sound feels like the sun on my face, warm and bold and unafraid of anything.
She only remembers she needs to change once we’ve already left the locker room. I wait outside while she goes back in to throw some fresh clothes on. I was planning on walking home in my gym outfit, so I just take my headband off and smooth down my hair while I stand there.
She comes back out in some jean shorts and a loose, dark green t-shirt. The colour makes her hair look extra fiery.
Just talking. Just talking and coffee. That’s all.
“Where do you want to go?” I ask as we head down the hall, our shoes making the polished floor squeak.
“I don’t get coffee on campus very often,” she answers. “Do you have any favourite places?”
“Oh, I’m the queen of the all-night study session.” We reach the lobby, and I pull one of the front doors open and hold it for her. “I think all the campus baristas know me by name.”
“That doesn’t surprise me,” she says after thanking me for holding the door.
I don’t know who I’m kidding here; even holding the door for this girl makes my stomach flip.
“Which part?” I ask, doing my best to ignore the gymnastics class happening inside my digestive system. “My last minute cramming, or my caffeine dependency?”
She laughs and shakes her head. “No, I meant the fact that they all know you. You’re very...easy to want to know.”
“Oh.” I walk along the path beside her as I try to work out how I should take that, or how much I should let it mean. “Or maybe I just tip really well.”
She laughs again, and I can’t get enough of the sound. It’s like I’m drinking it up drop by drop, always thirsty for more.
The campus is much busier than it’s been all week. A few groups are spread out on picnic blankets on the lawns, and most of the benches and tables we pass are filled with students. A guy darts in front of us to grab a Frisbee flying through the air and then runs back to join the other guys playing the game. The air smells like grass and flowers and the last of summer’s long days.
“I can’t believe the term starts tomorrow,” I say. “The summer felt like it was taking soooo long, but now it seems like I’ve barely had a break since exams last year.”
“Yeah,” Becca answers. “It seems like they go by faster and faster.”
I nod and then burst out laughing a second later. “Wow, we sound like such grandmas, talking about the years flying by. I really need this coffee to restore my youth and vitality.”
“I’m curious to see where you get coffee that restores your youth. You’re setting some high expectations here, Hastings.”
I like when she calls me by my last name. I always have.