adore you ( 𝚑𝚘𝚕𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚍 )

v. part five

( adore you. — part five! )

☽ ☾

AYDEN NEVER UNDERSTOOD WHY SHE made hasty decisions. she always ended up regretting them when the moment came to go through with it all. and that's what she was doing right now. she was regretting sending that stupid text to tom. regretting telling laura about it. regretting letting her ask zendaya if she thought that this was a date or not. because now she was sitting in the coffee shop that she told tom to meet her at and she was overthinking everything that could possibly happen on this— whatever this meetup was. ayden wanted nothing more than to know exactly what tom was thinking right now. hell, she wanted to know what SHE was thinking right now. there were so many words in her head that she couldn't pinpoint anything in particular. it was like someone had just grabbed her and shaken her around like she was a firefly in a jar.

her nerves were ricocheting off of each other and the fact that she'd already downed two coffees didn't help either. she'd told tom to meet her at 11 and it was 5 to. she knew that it was stupid to worry that he'd be late considering she got here half an hour ago, but she couldn't help the anxiety that kept flooding through her body. the bell above the door jingled and ayden looked up, her eyes locking with the curly haired brunette that stood in the doorway. tom smiled at her and then made his way over as ayden began to fiddle with the hem of her t-shirt. she smiled back at him as he took the seat in front of her, the nerves easing slightly at the calm demeanour that tom radiated. "hey" he said, the smile still present on his face as he spoke. "hi" ayden spoke, easing back into her chair as she watched him pluck the croissant of her plate and take a bite. she giggled at the fact that he seemed so comfortable.

"how are you?" ayden asked and tom shrugged. "kinda nervous. very happy you wanted to see me though. i thought about asking you to meet up but i didn't know if it'd be weird because we only met once? glad one of us has guts though." ayden laughed. "yes, well. all of those guts tied themselves in knots the moment i woke up this morning" she said and tom grinned at her, flaky bits of croissant falling from him lips. maybe this wouldn't be so regrettable after all.

⚛

THE SUN WAS SETTING WHEN AYDEN AND TOM decided it was time to leave the cafe. tom turned to look at her, a shy look in his eyes as he moved a little closer to the older woman. "would it be bold if i asked you to dinner?" he said and ayden shook her head, the threatens of a smile twitching at the corners of her mouth. "we could go back to mine and get chinese or something if you want?" tom asked again and ayden quirked an eyebrow. "oh so now you're trying to get me back to your apartment. i see" she teased and tom flushed red. "no that's― that's not what i meant i swear!" "tom i'm joking. chinese at yours sounds fantastic" she said and watched at his body eased a little. they hailed a cab and climbed in the back, the ride back to toms filled with brushing knees and finger tips grazing against the others skin. they were both blushing as they spoke. the slight touches causing heat to flood through their veins.

they made it to tom's quicker than they thought and the younger man payed the driver as ayden stepped out onto the sidewalk. they thanked the grey haired man and he gave them a curt smile. tom turned to ayden and walked up the small flight of steps to the front door, holding it open for her. she giggled and walked inside, giving him a mock curtsey as she walked past which made him laugh. he followed her inside and they walked to the elevator together in silence. it wasn't awkward. it was comfortable. ayden felt all of her nerves from the beginning of teh day, disappear as she stood next to tom in the elevator.

⚛

AYDEN SHOULDN'T HAVE POURED THE LAST glass of wine. she knew that it was a dumb idea the moment she started doing it, but she didn't stop herself. she was already quite drunk and it wasn't all from the alcohol. she was drunk on tom as well. the way that he smiled. the sound of his laugh. the way her name sounded with his accent. she liked him, quite a bit, and that kind of scared her. she knew that if she threw herself into a relationship with a guy she barely knew then she'd end up hurting herself. no matter how well they got along. no matter how thick the tension was. no matter how much she wanted to. she really wanted to focus on her career at the moment. focus on the auditions she had coming up. and she knew that if she started anything with tom she'd be distracted 24/7. she wasn't ready.

she also wasn't ready for tom to lean across the kitchen counter and kiss her. their lips fit together so well and he tasted like the chocolate ice-cream they'd just ate. she was hooked and she hated it. hated how much she liked it. tom's hands moved to the sides of her face and he pulled away for a moment. "sorry. i should have asked i just—" ayden kissed him again, wrapping one hand around the back of his head and pulling him painfully close. she wanted the counter to disappear. needed it to. she wanted to feel his hands all over her. wanted to know what every part of his body felt like under her palms. she tugged on the hair at the base of his neck and he moaned out loud. ayden slipped her tongue into his mouth, wrapping it around his.

the younger man pulled away again, panting heavily. ayden bit her lip and looked over at him. his face was bright red and her cheeks were so hot that she knew her's was as well. "do you uhm— do you want to uh" tom stuttered, their faces only inches apart as he looked everywhere but in her eyes. "yes" she said and pulled her hand away from his neck before taking one of his and pulling him away from the kitchen. he smiled at her, pupils blown and lips red. "lead the way" she said and tom tugged her hand as he walked down the hallway.

author's note!
uhm. woah