While We're Young by Jhené Aiko
Thomas
"Where's my baby girl?" I sing as I step into Sara's room.
I walk over to Lily's playpen and leaning over, I spot her. "Hi, you." I reach down and scoop her up. I turn to face Sara, a big grin on her face, her cheeks pink. Warmth fills my chest when she smiles, God I love that smile. I walk over to her as she looks back down at her laptop.
"What are you up to?" I lean down and kiss her cheek. I hear her giggle before she leans back fully on her chair. Her eyes stay stuck on the computer screen. She sighs, gesturing to the screen like she's motioning to the stress it's causing.
"Another assignment." She bites her lip as she reads off the screen, another smile tugging at her lips. My eyes linger, from her bottom lip, full and pink, to her perfectly set chin, down to her neck, open and available for me. Her hair tied back into a messy bun, her bangs falling in front of her face, that I so badly want to move, so I can see her beautiful face. Her collar bones are exposed, prominent and perfectly defined. The tank top she's wearing rests low on her chest, and my eyes have a mind of their own when they continue their gaze, lower, lower... I think I need to put Lily down.
"What's it about?" I ask, remembering what we're talking about. I clear my throat, walking over to her bed and placing Lily down. I walk back over to Sara, leaning on the opposite end of her desk and looking down at her.
I nearly lose all my breath when she looks up into my eyes, and I get lost in the golden brown colour of them. "Making another dress. I swear, I spend more money on fabric than I do tuition." She gives a lazy smile, and I resist the urge to lean down and take her mouth in mine. We're not completely there yet and I need to take it slow, for both of us.
My nerves shoot up when I try and think of something to say. Jesus, I don't know how she makes me so nervous still. I can hardly form a sentence. "Don't you love making dresses?" I let out a breathy laugh as I say it.
She laughs the same, biting her goddamn lip again. "I do," she says, looking down at the screen again. I miss looking into her eyes already. "This professor is just an ass sometimes, makes it hard to do anything." She plays with her hands in her lap.
I can't help it. I reach forward and pull her chin up so I can look into her eyes again. "Whatever you do it'll be amazing. Your professor will love it. I know he will." Her eyes widen for a brief moment, scanning my face and landing on my lips. They hover there for a moment before finding my eyes again. It takes everything in me not to pick her up and pull her against me.
She giggles, turning her face away again in nervousness. I tilt my head, memorizing her laugh. "Thank you, Thomas."
I smile, staring at her and taking in her appearance. The messy bun, glasses, lazy tank top and baggy sweats outfit. So damn beautiful. "How long have you been working on this?" Knowing Sara, she's probably been brainstorming this assignment all night or since the moment she woke up today.
She slumps back in her desk chair, brushing loose strands of hair out of her eyes, missing a few. "Since 8 am." Her eyes close, almost as if she's replaying the entire day of work. I see the stress on her face. The furrowed brows, slight frown and tired under eyes.
My plan begins here. "You need a break then." I wait for her to look up at me, knowing she will. The adorable crazy eyes find mine, and before she protests, I reach forward and tuck the remaining loose strands of hair behind her ears. Sara's cheeks turn a light shade of pink and I lean further back on the desk to keep myself study. "And I have an idea. Come on."
"What-" I grab her hand, gently tugging her to stand, pulling her until we're front of her large mirror. She's so short standing in front of me. My large hands on her shoulders, I flip her around so were both looking at each other in the mirror. I see her swallow hard, and once again I shove my nerves down far enough that I can have these moments with her. I step closer behind her, almost touching, but instead, I take her hand in mine. A small gesture that has my body exploding. I know she feels it too by the way she looks down at our hands, almost like she needs to see it in front of her and not through the mirror, to make sure it's real. I do the same, looking over her shoulders at my hand over hers. My heart beats faster when she flips her hand around, her fingertips grazing my own, only to intertwine our fingers together. Our hands clasp, making my limbs go numb, the only feeling is her hand on mine.
