Drowning in Roses

Coffee

The air was thick with the smell of black coffee as we sat in the back of the small café. It was the Saturday after final exams and he and I were exhausted and sleep-deprived. I was curled up next to him in the booth with my herbal tea warming my numb fingers as he looked down at me with his tired green eyes which still managed to smile. “You look exhausted.” He said as-a-matter-of-factly.

I smiled up at him, “yeah. I could fall asleep right here if I wanted to.” I curled closer to him, burying my face in his cotton tee for emphasis. He smelled faintly of roses and I briefly daydreamed of why that would be. His hand was wrapped around my waist, his thumb rubbing against the small of my back.

“Well, at least senior year is finally over. We can do whatever we want now. We could get married and have kids and—” He tried to continue, but I quickly cut him off by shooting up straight.

My eyebrows scrunched together, “kids?”

He laughed at my expression. “What? You don’t want any kids?” I gave him an exasperated expression and shook my head. He let out a laugh again. “I mean, I was speaking hypothetically, but I don’t know, I think I’ve always wanted a child, you know? It just whenever I picture myself in a few years, I picture myself married with a baby boy.” I smiled at him. “What?” he said to my reaction, snapping out of his daydream.

“It’s just that I think that’s pretty cool. You know, you wanting kids and all.” I said, trying my best to find words. He sighed and smiled widely at me before his arms wrapped around my waist again, pulling my to his side where I curled up into his cotton tee again, breathing in the faint scent of roses, imagining him with a rose and a baby boy cradled in his arms. I grinned at the crazy thought.