"Babe, I’m back!" You hear James call out.
You don’t reply since you’re too busy studying, so he searches for you. When you hear his footsteps get closer to your shared bedroom, you pray that he’ll just kiss the top of your head as a greeting and leave you to your work.
Of course, your prayers are ignored as he walks in and sits on your bed. He rubs your leg, but you keep your eyes on your books and notes.
"Flower played a prank on Sunshine today. He-"
"Babe, I would love to hear your story, but I really need to study right now," you interrupt, looking away from the paper in your hands.
"C’mon, it will only be a couple of minutes," he whines jokingly.
"James!" you snap. It surprises the both of you, and you immediately start to apologize. "James, I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to snap like that. I’m just really stressed right now."
"Why don’t you take a break and tell me about it? I’ll give you a massage while you do so," he suggests.
You ponder it and nod. He has you scoot forward on the bed and sits behind you before gently massaging your shoulders.
"I have a couple of exams coming up, but other professors want me to write papers. I told them that I had to study, but they’re still due tomorrow because professors don’t care about other classes. My boss keeps piling on work, and I know that being in this internship is supposed to show me what the real world is like and teach me how to work with a small deadline, but I have at least ten projects to do by the end of the week. It’s just so much work, and I’m honestly ready to just drop everything and tell my boss that I can’t do it anymore," you rant, and you start to cry.
"Hey," James says, and he pulls you back into his chest, "don’t cry. You can do this. You’ve taken care of me while I was injured, but you also studied and wrote papers and all that jazz. Just take a deep breath and tell me what I can do to help."
He kisses your shoulder lightly, and you smile. You turn around and kiss his lips, not holding back at all. He pulls back and looks at you.
"You told me to take a little break. Isn’t this considered one?" you ask him.
"Well, yes, but-"
You cut him off by kissing him again. He pushes you back, and you hear the papers crinkle under you. That certainly doesn’t stop you. By the end of the night, you’re studying with him in his shirt.
-Emily
