Literature, lust and love - Professor Romanoff

THREE

I groaned as my alarm clock shook me out of my sleep. Huffing, I rolled over and slammed my hand down on it so it would shut up before I groaned even more by looking at the time, 5:30 AM. Morning practice sucks. I was lucky that I got a single room this year but I still had to be quiet as to not wake up the whole floor as I jumped around my room getting into my gym clothes. I slipped into some black leggings before pulling over my Brown crewneck, as the temperature was starting to drop in the mornings. My blonde hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail and I grabbed a granola bar before heading across campus to the courts. The one thing I did love about morning practice was experiencing campus in a completely different environment, the mist floating through the buildings while the birds started chirping from their trees, without another soul to talk to. I saw a figure walking towards the gym but thought nothing of it until I got closer and saw their red hair.

"Shit," I whispered to myself but I was lucky enough that she walked away without seeing me.

I made it onto the basketball courts and greeted my teammates before we started on the drills. After 45 mins we were ready to play a game, and Coach gave us five minutes to grab a drink and rest before we started. I walked over to the bleachers where my bag was and started downing some water until a voice made me choke.

"I didn't know you played sports."

I turned around and was met with Natasha smirking at me, looking a bit dishevelled after her workout. Her chest was rising and falling rapidly and her cheeks were a slight red. I couldn't help but focus on her toned stomach, watching a drop of sweat trickle down until I snapped back into the conversation.

"I didn't know you liked to work out," I retaliated, seeing her face fall.

"How did you know that?"

I blushed slightly, "Why else would you be walking towards the gym at 5:45 in the morning."

"You saw me?"

"I did."

"Interesting," Natasha smirked at me before sitting down next to my bag.

I dropped down next to her. Our shoulders touched but neither one of us made any effort to move. Instead, the gentle pressure brought me comfort as we watched my teammates run across the courts. "What's interesting?"

"You didn't say hi."

"I didn't want to interrupt you, and to be honest I didn't know I could."

"Say hi?" She laughed at me, dissipating the butterflies in my stomach.

"Say hi to you at 5 in the morning."

She leaned closer to me, her low voice sending shivers through my bones, and her breath tickling my neck, "Desi, you can say hi to me at any hour in the day."

I nodded, swallowing the lump in my throat before replying. "Duly noted."

She laughed and it made my stomach flip. I could listen to this woman laugh for eternity, and I could watch her smile until I died. I let myself relax in her presence, forgetting about all the boundaries that separated us, letting her just be Natasha.

"Why basketball?" 

I smiled, pleased that she wanted me to talk about myself to her. "I love moving, I'm sure you understand, with the gym," she nodded, "and I grew up playing it with Alex, who is over there." I pointed at Alex, who was currently doing some sit-ups on the court floor. Natasha simply raised her eyebrow in response, and I giggled because I knew she was judging him. He did look like a ball of sweat trying to do some form of movement. "When I got to high school, I wanted to join the competing team but they told me that girls weren't allowed on the team, so I made my own. We actually won the championship, beating our boy's team. It was a pretty fun moment watching Alex's face as I scored the winning point against him." Natasha giggled and looked at me with a different look in her eye. I felt self-conscious as she continued appraising me.

"You surprise me Desi, you're not like what I thought you'd be. In a good, great, way, I mean." She added after seeing my confused face.

Coach's whistle saved me from having to reply to her as I rushed off the bleachers, waving apologetically at the woman who was still watching me, laughing slightly. She stayed until I scored, before winking at me and slipping away.

After practice, the whole team went to the dining hall to have breakfast together. I couldn't quite get used to the big open halls that we ate in, with the morning light streaming in, the experience felt surreal. I grabbed my favourite meal of cereal and toast before settling in next to my best friend Alex. We had come from California together and had known each other since 6th grade when he saved me from being cornered by a bunch of mean girls. He wants to be a mathematician, so he is very different from me but we both share our love of sports and our dream of going to Brown. Now that we were both here together, I felt like I could finally breathe. Senior year was nothing short of difficult, having to balance a job and college applications as well as trying to stay happy, but with Alex by my side, I managed to survive.

"Hey Desi, did you hear about the party tomorrow?"

I shook my head at him as I munched on my toast.

"Yeah, Sean is having a birthday bash at his frat house and invited the whole team. I'll go if you go?"

"I have Russian at 4 pm but if you pick me up from it, sure I'll come." I wasn't a huge fan of parties but I knew Alex wouldn't want to miss out, so I always went with him. Alex was very loyal and stuck by me, but sometimes he would sneak away somewhere and leave me on my own. Still, I always wanted to make him happy so always went with him.

He smiled and nodded like a puppy before turning back to Sean to let him know we could make it. Now I had two things to think about; Russian with Natasha and looking good for the party, and thus looking good for Natasha.