Sensation (h.s)

Chapter Forty Five

✺ K A T E ' S ✺ P O V ✺

On Monday morning when I walk into class, I'm prepared for the drop of my heart into my stomach when I see him. It doesn't come though. The initial shock doesn't hit me beings he isn't present in the classroom when all of the students begin to pile in. I try not to worry while knowing he's not always punctual. I probably wouldn't have even shown up to his lecture today if it weren't for my odd need to prove my strength. I want him to see I'm not torn up even though I have a feeling the second I see him I'll be second guessing that as well.

Nearly ten minutes into the lecture, the door bursts open and he comes flying inside. His cheeks are flushed pink and his clothes are slightly wrinkled. There's an undeniable difference about him and it has my heart tugging in my chest. His hair is cut by over half the length it was when I saw him last. The drastic change looks better than I ever expected and I'm now less worried about our breakup and more worried about how attractive he looks.

He hastily introduces himself and apologizes for his tardiness, then jumps into the lesson. He orders everyone to take out their notebooks and is up writing the journal prompt on the chalkboard before he's even taken off his coat. I'm too caught up in watching him to realize when everyone else has began writing in their notebooks and I'm the only one left staring at him. He notices my gaze and glances up at me as soon as he's seated at his desk and waiting for his laptop to turn on. Our eyes meet and my heart lurches in my chest the second I realize he's acknowledging me for the first time since last week and since our breakup.

Instead of looking away as I know I should, I stupidly raise my hand up to indicate his hair, followed by a thumbs up. He seems to understand the message and only gives me a slight nod before looking away at his computer. I try not to act disappointed and instead move on to writing my own journal entry.

The remainder of the week passes by as slowly as expected. By the time Wednesday rolls around I feel as though I'm going insane with loneliness after not having anybody to talk to. James and I have had a few texting conversations but I think he noticed my hesitation towards him after he left. I don't want him to think that I'm regretting whatever we did together because of him-- if the timing had been different I probably wouldn't be regretting it at all.

On Friday when my phone rings in the evening, I nearly trip over my own two feet trying to sprint to the bedroom to answer it. Brandon is on the other line and I melt with happiness when he asks me if I want to meet him for a drink somewhere downtown. I'm buzzing with excitement for the next two hours as I get ready; music is playing loudly through my apartment and I get far too distracted by dancing while trying to do my makeup and hair.

As soon as I arrive at the club he texted me the address of, I send him a text to let him know I've arrived. There was construction on one of the streets the cab driver tried to go down which led to me being nearly a half hour late. He doesn't respond immediately but I see that he reads my message only moments after I send it. I brush it off anyways and decide to order myself a drink, hoping it makes the moments go by faster until he gets here.

My patience doesn't last long and I resort to making a slow lap through the club to look around. There's a makeshift dance floor in the middle with dozens of drunk and hormonal people my age grinding on each other. I try to think distastefully of the dancing and feel the need to remind them that they are in public, but I know in the back of my mind I can't parent them over it. Hell, if I had the right person wanting to grind on me in the middle of a club after a few drinks, I'd probably be more than happy to do so.

I brush off the thoughts of my love life for the moment and instead find a deserted booth behind the dance floor. After sitting down and removing my phone from my purse once again, I'm disappointed to find it's almost been an hour past when Brandon and I were supposed to meet, and I still haven't heard a word from him. Granted I was late, but I assumed he would text to tell me if he was going to be late too-- especially this late.