Imagining Us

Ch.69- Could this be home?

Esi had finally given into him.

Porte Danvers.

More accurately, she'd given into her feelings for him.

He hadn't forced her, by any means. He was patient and caring and sweet. After the last few months, she couldn't deny the build up between them any longer. This man had somehow wormed his way inside her heart, despite her not looking for a relationship—despite her not looking for anything.

So, after the many secret kisses and touches, he'd finally asked her on a date. Which they didn't get around to immediately. The semester was busy for her. Plus, Porte was working on a new project which he'd had to travel for.

It had been two months since he managed to surprise her with a picnic at a privately sequestered park nearby his apartment. Porte reassured her that this was not the first date that he'd hoped to plan, but she understood with their busy schedules. She was just glad to be. To be there with him. To be in the moment with him. To know that he wanted to be there with her.

She could care less where he took her. They had cuddled under the late moonlight in the cool of spring eating soft baked pretzels and sipping hot chocolate. He was bummed that he hadn't gotten her chai latte, but that was the furthest thing on Esi's mind as she kissed those lips that were dusted with cinnamon and sugar.

Her only thought was: this is good.

This was enough.

Then he asked her a question.

She had been waiting for it—or maybe she would've asked him—but she knew that Porte was still a tad bit unsure about her feelings toward this next step in their friendship.

Esi could have made him sweat it out, but she decided to not use her nervousness or her fear as a shield. Even now, she could still remember the look of surprise and happiness on his usually controlled face as she said yes, and she thought that perhaps she was one of the few that would ever see him like that.

Porte Danvers was her boyfriend, and she was blissfully happy and hopeful.

They'd lay side by side on a blanket grinning at each other like idiots, talking about nothing and everything as they usually do.

Esi thought that was her favourite part of everything—they weren't starting anything new—not really. They were just continuing, and she hoped that they would for a long time.

Those thoughts were before she swore she saw something move in the bushes, and Porte proceeded to scare her which caused her to run out of the park with one shoe missing.

* * *

JULY

Gio kept stumbling over his words for some reason, and there was that nervous tap of his leg that kept throwing Esi off. Ever so often, Giovanni's gaze would flicker over her shoulder, and she hadn't wanted to turn around to make his discomfort obvious. Even Hana who was sitting next to him seemed obviously amused.

The three of them were in the fairly quiet bookstore cafe doing research and sharing notes on their final projects. Well, mostly, Esi and Gio–Hana, who was in her human rights class, still had two more semesters left before she graduated—, but Esi had advised her that it was better to have a headstart on her intended proposal. It was kind of them to make some time on their break for her. Gio would be heading back to Italy for a month, and Hana was going to be taking on another shift in the summer.

They'd been at the cafe for nearly two hours working and sometimes chatting aimlessly about future plans.

It was quieter than usual since there were fewer students on campus for summer sessions. Esi had managed to squeeze in two online elective courses because she wanted to be able to fully focus on her thesis in the upcoming term.