In My Dreams

Chapter 5

He was right.
The melon that man had picked at the store was by far the juiciest fruit I've had yet.

Sarah and I dug into halves of the melon with spoons while watching The Bachelor on her laptop. Rain pittled against the curtain covered windows, reminding me that night was closing in.
"I swear, the women in this show" she took a much too big bite of melon "have rocksh for brainsh" she sloshed her spoon around in her melon bowl.
"Agreed" I briefly flipped my phone over to check the time.

6:45

I slid off Sarah's bed and put the remainder of my watermelon into our mini fridge, wiping my hands off on my pants. "You picked up those textbooks right? I had them shipped to that one library on Lincoln"
She fell silent, eyes trained on the bickering actors on her laptop. I could tell that she heard me when her head turned my direction but her eyes didn't. "Would you hate me if I said I didn't?"

"Yes"

"For how long?" She finally looked at me, eyes wide with innocence.
I was already going for my jacket, feeling a tick start to form on the front of my head. The library closes at 7, so I had a good fifteen minutes to haul ass to the next street over and get the books.
"Sorry! I forgot, you didn't remind me today"

"You're 23, Sarah, you don't need reminding" I snatched my phone off my desk and Sarah fell quiet.
Normally, I would've just taken a rain check, but the Lincoln Library has a strict three day policy for shipments, so people can't just horde books. If you don't pick them up on time, they get shipped back, then I'll have to wait another week to place another order on books I need tomorrow.
I sped out of the dorm room and down the hall, skipping my way down flights of stairs instead of taking the elevator that was notorious for holding students hostage with its terrible engineering.
It's ironic actually, Delwan had one of the best engineering courses and they can't even get an elevator to work right.

I was soaked within minutes of stepping out into the rain, my jacket heavy and damp as I crossed a street before the little red man turned green.
Cars sped past on my right, water spraying from their tires and soaking the pavement, and me.
Pulling my jacket tighter around my body, I turned onto Lincoln after about ten minutes of consistent jogging, a tall chapel building coming into view. The overgrown building was squished between a quaint flower shop and a laundromat.
Stepping out into the street to cross, I failed to see the sudden beams of light to my left. Instinctively, I stumbled to the side, tripping over my own feet and hitting the puddle covered pavement.
The car screeched to a halt, the mouth of the car taking up my view when I opened my eyes. My breathing erratic.

"Are you okay?" I voice yelled over the rain, followed by the slam of a car door.
It took me a few moments to realize that I hadn't been squashed.

A pair of hands settled on my shoulders and my gaze focused.

No fucking way.

It was that man again, his intense eyes were impossible to miss, even in the settling darkness of the sky.

"I need to get to the library" his eyes shined in recognition when I met his gaze, I then stood up, completely soggy.

"Wait- are you hurt?" I could feel his presence behind me as I raced across the rest of the road and took the stairs two at a time. Pulling my phone out of my pocket as I pushed inside, the receptionist looking up in surprise before glancing at the clock, then at something behind me.

6:58

"Pickup for Neiva J." The receptionist gaped, stuttering for a moment before shuffling for something beneath her desk.
I looked down at the trail of water on the gray carpet, then up at the man who's sharp eyes snapped to mine. I looked away as if his gaze had surprised me, signing a piece of paper the woman held out to me before sliding a stack of books over the counter, I sighed at the sight.

"At least let me drive you to a hospital, or.." his deep baritone of a voice trailed off as he looked at the books in my hand, his brows furrowing in confusion.
"Books"

"Expensive books" I held the books a good distance away from my soaked clothing, my breath catching in my throat when he leaned down to get a good look of the top cover, a charming little grin on his face.
"Delwan, right?"

Nodding "Junior"
His nearly black irises flickered over my face before he leaned away, combing his once neat black curls away from his forehead.
Even when wet it looked perfectly styled. The slight shimmer of a ring on his finger made me feel an emotion that I couldn't quite place.
Jealousy? No way.
I barely know this man, let alone his name.

"Excuse me"

The receptionist piped up, flashing a practiced smile in his direction before looking at me and my dripping attire. "We're closing"

We took that as our cue to leave, the rain having simmered to a soft drizzle. His car was still on in the middle of the road, luckily untouched.

"Let me give you a ride? I'm going towards Delwan anyways" he spoke up quickly when he saw me start to turn a different direction.
"I'm soaked" motioning down to my clothes.

"I have leather seats"

I bit the corner of my lower lip and glanced at his car in the middle of the street, then at a passerby car that awkwardly swerved to avoid it.
Without saying a word, he rounded the hood of his sleek Royce and opened the passenger door, his eyes meeting mine expectantly from where I stood on the sidewalk.
If almost getting hit by a car wasn't bad enough, now I was trusting a stranger to give me a ride home.
I wondered how I would explain this to Sarah.

Slowly, I stepped off of the curb and rounded the car as he held the door open before tentatively lowering myself inside. He shut the door and circled back to the drivers side with a few long strides, sliding into his seat with ease.
He pressed on the gas and the car rolled to a start, freeing up the street.

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