Is this seat taken?

Library?

The hour passed rather quickly. The entire time, Tom was trying to get me to laugh. He succeeded more often than not. I would look over at him and he would make a stupid face, or nudge me with his knee under the table, or reach over and try to tickle me. We tried not to make too much noise, but the students in our section looked at us with a mixture of smiles and scowls.

Once we were released, I started to place my things back into my bag. I was attempting to ignore Tom, who was doing a hilariously accurate imitation of the professor. Of course I failed miserably, and ended up laughing so hard there were tears in my eyes.

Once we are outside, he turned to me. "Do you have any more classes today?"

"Nope!" I said, "This is it. I think I'll go for another walk around campus. I still haven't seen as much of this place as I would like. Why?"

"Well, I was just wondering if you wanted to hang out. We could walk around together."

"Sure! Where do you want to go?" I was hoping he would have wanted to accompany me.

"It's really up to you," he said, "I've seen most of campus already."

Suddenly, I recalled something that I had read about back home before coming here: Cambridge had a working gondola service running the perimeter of the property. "Let's go to the canal." I prompted.

Tom agreed readily, saying that taking the boat ride was something that he had yet to do. We made our way toward the southern end of the grounds and at length reached the landing where the boats were docked.

There was a gondola tied at the dock when we reached it, and the man in it looked up as we approached. "Hello!" he said with a grin, "would you like a ride?"

We nodded, and quickly got in. Tom found it hysterical how careful I was not to let the boat tip even the slightest degree. Once we were settled in, the gondolier began slowly pushing the boat down the canal.

The view was breathtaking as we glided along the surface of the water. It felt like a fairy tale. Tom was constantly cracking jokes and acting stupid, which made me laugh so hard I couldn't breath.

We were about 2/3 of the way through the ride, when the gondolier piped up. "You two make a lovely couple."

We both blushed and laughed, but before I could say that we weren't together, Tom said a quiet "thank you, sir." I guessed he just hadn't wanted to contradict him.

The rest of the way, we continued talking. Somehow we had gotten on the subject of funny childhood memories. When we pulled up to the dock again, Tom alighted from the gondola with ease. My exit was less graceful. I couldn't seem to get my footing right. Seeing my struggle, Tom reached down to help me.

When we were both on solid ground again, both of us reached into our pockets at the same time, each intending to pay the £4 fee. Tom argued that I was the guest, so he should pay, while I persisted that the boat ride had been my idea to begin with. Eventually, we agreed that if he paid for the outing, I would cook him dinner that night.

We headed back toward the inner portion of campus, still laughing at some of the stories told on the boat.

"What else do you want to see?" asked Tom.

It took me almost no time at all to decide where I wanted to go. "The library!" I exclaimed, "Unless you think that's boring..."

"Not at all, I have been meaning to go the library anyway. You'll love it!" Tom held out his arm like a proper English gentleman, and I took it, laughing, as he led me toward the great library.

The book-filled building was a dream. Four stories of literature all housed in a gorgeous stone interior. We found a small study room in the back, and closed the blinds.

On our way back, we had each grabbed as many Shakespeare plays as our arms could manage. Tom suggested that we act them out together. It sounded fun to me, so I agreed.

We spent hours in that little room going through scene after scene of absolute idiocy.

Tom picked Romeo and Juliet first. Most of the time, we would intentionally make the lines sound funny, but occasionally we would stick to the serious nature the scene was meant to have. I'd never seen anyone act the way Tom did. He threw himself into it. We would reach angry lines, and rage would pour out of him as he yelled the words at me, tears welling up in his eyes. I tried my hardest to compete (even mustering some tears), but my acting skill had nothing on Tom's.

At the end of the play, as Romeo wept over Juliet's body, I found myself tearing up a bit at his performance, my emotions brought out by the look of raw pain on Tom's face. I tried my hardest to lie still in his arms as he finished the scene.

When he was done, he switched back into normal Tom. All of the pain was gone from his face, and the only reminder of the emotional portrayal were the tears on his cheeks. He looked at me and we both started laughing. It seemed laughing was all we'd done since we'd met. I don't think I had ever laughed harder than when I was with Tom.

"Why were you crying?" he asked, still giggling, "You were dead!"

"That was so beautiful. I usually hate Romeo, but when I looked at your face, it was like I could see where he was coming from."

"Well, your acting wasn't too bad either," he complimented me. I mumbled a quiet and shy 'thanks' before reaching up to wipe the tears from my cheeks.

We completed Othello, Coriolanus, and almost finished Hamlet before we noticed the time. I was the one to first realize that it had long since gotten dark outside, and when I checked my watch, it donned on me just how long we had been at the library. "10:30?!" I said, "We've been here for 7 hours?"

Tom just laughed in response and suggested we leave, before someone had to come back and ask us to go.

On the way back to my dorm, we talked about our favorite things: movies, plays, colors, places, everything. Tom's favorite color was blue, and his favorite place was home. It seemed like everything he revealed about himself only completed the perfect picture. He was sweet, chivalrous, smart, funny, and....happy. I had never met a happier person than Tom; he was always smiling and making jokes.

We reached my door in no time, and I pulled out my key to unlock the knob.
"So, how about that meal I promised you?"