Paparazzi Girl

11. Thanks for the Coffee

As Stella's shoulder bumped with someone, her black coffee flew, landing the liquid on her turquoise sweater, trickling down to her denim shorts. She felt two firm arms take her into their strong embrace, stopping her from falling any further.

Jesus, if the coffee was strong enough down her throat, it was definitely strong and hot against her skin. Her eyes were clamped shut, already putting her arms forward to avoid hurting herself. After a couple of seconds of not feeling herself move anymore, her eyelids popped open.

All she could think about was how coffee was warm and burning.

She glanced up. Unbelievable.

Xavier.

She blinked a couple of times, seeing if her eyes were tricking her or not. Realization hit her. It really was him, standing there in front of her, still holding her. A connection was bringing them together, their eyes never left each other, and she wasn't even sure if it was possible. He looked as stunned as she did.

She cleared her throat as the atmosphere became intense. His eyes looked away. She could feel herself slightly pout. His arms slithered away from her waist, bringing them back up, the coffee still molding their clothing together a bit.

"I'm so sorry," he apologized as he grabbed napkins and handed them to her. She couldn't help but notice the way his hands were shaking in anticipation. Why was he so nervous?

She gratefully took them, smiling at him warmly. She didn't want him to feel bad. After the longest two days of her life without seeing him, she would rather see him smile.

"It's alright. I'll just, um, I'll just buy a new one," she told him as she grabbed the plastic coffee cup that had contained her hot coffee.

He sighed and reached for his back pocket, taking a wallet out along with his hand. Her pupils followed his every movement. It's as if she didn't want to miss a single step he made.

"I'll buy you one," he said as he walked towards the cashier.

She gasped silently before grabbing his bare arm. As her hand felt electrified, her body stung, making her lose her grip on him. Like she wasn't warm enough.

He looked at her curiously, probably wondering why she had yanked at him.

"It's okay. You don't have to buy me one."

He shook his head, his hair waving along with the movement. The feeling she had to run her fingers through his hair became frequent, it was almost killing her.

"It's no problem," were the words he uttered before leaving her once again, heading to the cashier lady.

"What coffee did you order?" He asked as he took out his money.

After telling him the drink, he passed the four dollars to the young cashier. Her smile was huge, probably bigger than she had ever smiled before. Stella looked over at Xavier, watching him smile as well. Witnessing this made her stomach twirl into millions of directions. Her heart beat sped up slightly. She pinched herself, trying to tell herself to stop feeling this way.

"What's your name by the way?" He asked as he grabbed her new drink and a straw. He seemed curious, almost like he had been thinking about it for a while.

She couldn't think straight. Her tongue seemed to thicken in her mouth, making it impossible to talk. She swallowed hard, making the swollen feeling decrease just the slightest. What was her name again?

"Stella. Stella Campbell," she stated as she took the cup away from him. Her throat was stinging and she had no idea why.

A smile expanded on his lips. "Stella. Pretty name,"  he complimented her. The way he said her name made everything become a blur, the whole world seemed to be going upside down.