Our Corner of the Universe

three.

☾☆

Melanie

Why the hell did I say he could sit here with me? I was already making a fool out of myself, no need to make the situation worse. Hopefully he will come up here and just write his paper and let me read my book and we won't have to actually talk.

I was so lost in panic I almost didn't notice that he was back. He sat down at the table by where I was sitting and got out his laptop to work.

"So what is a pretty girl like you doing in the library on a Saturday night?" he asked crushing my hope that I wouldn't have to speak to him anymore.

Wait. Did he just call me pretty? I felt myself begin to blush at the compliment, I rarely got this kind of comments from anyone besides my mom.

"Um... well I like to read up here, I call it my little corner. I like that I can come here and not be bothered." I explained, looking down in embarrassment. I was preparing myself for the joke that was sure to come.

Rather than making fun of me, he said, "Oh cool. Yeah, I'm not too much of a reader, but I do understand wanting to get away from it all sometimes." He seemed genuine in his response which was surprising and caused me to look back up so I could see his smile. Oh that smile, it really got me. He was so cute and I couldn't help but stare.

I noticed on his laptop a sticker with a series of three Greek letters that I wasn't familiar with and internally groaned. He was one of those asshole frat guys that Alana was always getting caught up on.

"I see you're in a frat," I said, trying to sound as neutral as possible. I asked with the small hope that I was wrong and the greek symbols could have an alternative meaning.

He answered by asking me a question, "Do you not like frats?"

I see that my distaste for the Greek system was not as well masked as I had hoped, and considering I was probably never going to see him again I decided to be honest. "Not particularly. I think the only purpose of them is to party and to be honest, I don't like how they treat girls. A new girl every night with no regard for how it makes them feel. My roommate is always coming back from those parties torn up over a guy or how he treated her." After my small rant, Hunter's face remained neutral, giving me no indication of how he felt about my harsh response.

Instead of the mad reaction I was anticipating, a smile reappeared on his face, "Well then I guess it's a good thing I am not in one of those frats. I am in a professional fraternity, the pre-law one to be specific, totally different" he assured me.

For some reason the sentiment put me at ease, and for a moment I thought that maybe I could have a chance with him but I quickly laughed off that thought. Even though he isn't a popular frat guy, he is still attractive and I am nowhere near his level.

"What is your major?" he asked.

"I am in the school of education, I want to be a kindergarten teacher. I love kids and I really want to be able to make a difference in their lives." I explained

"That is amazing. You must have a lot of patience, I could never do something like that." He chuckled slightly.

His response made me feel a sense of warmth. I was growing more comfortable talking to him but after my previously revelation that I actually have no chance with him, I decided it was best to not get any more invested than I already was.

"Well thank you. I'm sorry I am distracting you from your paper and I should probably get back home so I should go." I said hastily as I stood up to gather my things in my bag.

"Wait, do you really have to go?" he asked placing his hand on my arm gently to stop me from grabbing the last of my things. I couldn't figure out why he seemed to not want me to go, but the look he was giving me told me that he wanted me to stay.

I knew staying any longer was a bad idea and would probably just lead to me getting hurt in the end, but I didn't want to say goodbye yet either so I offered an alternative, "I do have to go but maybe you could walk me back to my dorm?" I questioned, quickly adding, "Only if it wouldn't be too much of a bother."

He smiled again letting go of my arm and moving to put his laptop away, "Of course it's not a bother Mel, let me just put this away and then we can head out." The nickname made me want to melt, but I just smiled and nodded waiting for him to get his things together.

As we headed out, I remembered the paper he was supposed to be writing and instantly felt bad for pulling him away from it. "What about that huge paper you are supposed to be writing?" I questioned.

"Oh I will just finish that up tomorrow or something, it is really no big deal," he assured me as he opened the library door for me. I gave him a small smile and walked out on the dark campus. It was a Saturday night so the quad was filled with groups of drunk people walking to and from parties.

Hunter let me lead the way to my dorm, and as we walked I could feel the warmth from his body due to the proximity. The walk to my building was quick and before I knew it we were there and it was time to say goodbye. We came to a stop by the entrance of the building and I grew unsure of what to do, never really being in this situation before. I decided thank you was a good place to start, "Thank you for walking me back," I said as I looked up at him.

"It was my pleasure," he smiled. There was a pause, and as I was about to turn to go inside and avoid the awkward situation, his hand slowly came up to my face. He placed his hand on my cheek, lightly pulling my mouth up closer to his.

Holy shit. Was this really about to happen? Was this extremely sweet and attractive guy about to kiss me? I hadn't kissed anyone since I played spin the bottle my freshman year of high school and was forced to kiss Jeremy Stewart. What if I was bad?

I was pulled out of my state of panic when he whispered, "Is this okay?" Before I even knew what I was doing I nodded my head, unable to speak. The nod was all he needed as reassurance as he lightly brushed his lips against mine. The kiss was slow and sweet, and all too quickly he was pulling away.

I almost let out an audible whimper at the loss of contact, and opened my eyes to see his smiling face looking down at me. "Goodnight Mel," was all he said as he turned around and walked away.

I sighed as I watched him go, wishing I could have spent more time with him, but knowing that never seeing him again was for the best.