"This is what she had become."
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Cleopatra Banks' last week in the small town of New Chelsea is nothing like she would have imagined it, but nothing could have prepared her for the stinging betrayal she's faced with and suddenly the prospect of...
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The end of day could not have arrived any sooner. Cleopatra walked side by side with Maxwell at the end of their Chemistry period. She hadn't been paying much attention to her teacher, all she remembered was that he kept going on and on and on about Van der Waals forces.
The afternoon heat was making concentrating nearly impossible and she had barely gotten enough sleep because Alexis couldn't keep her mouth shut the night before.
She had to face the repercussions alone while Alexis got a few extra hours of sleep.
How unfair.
Maxwell however, did keep her entertained and was the sole reason why she hadn't completely drifted off to sleep. He had been slipping notes with little jokes and puns on them throughout the period. She thought it was cute. Again she couldn't begin to fathom why a guy like Maxwell would shower her with so much attention. They were just lab partners.
"You ready?" Maxwell asked as he placed an arm around Cleopatra with his hand coming to rest on her shoulder. The lesson was long over, the students having hurried out of the class after a stern reminder from Mr. O'Brien about their presentation the following day. Cleopatra couldn't stop the butterflies that were forming in her stomach the minute Maxwell had placed an arm around her. "Ready for what?" She asked, trying to eliminate the nervousness in her voice and avoided making eye contact to suppress the red blush creeping into her cheeks.
The one day separation hadn't made things easier and the urge to kiss him had returned full force.
"My mom's cooking of course, she hasn't stopped talking about you ever since the other day, she's completely smitten," Maxwell chuckled. Cleopatra bit her lip "I can't wait actually," she gave him her honest reply.
Maxwell smiled at the sound of that. "Well great then, now let's get going and tackle the last bit of this project and give them a killer presentation tomorrow," he told her, pulling her even closer to himself as they walked on to his home. Cleopatra looked up at him while he focused on the road ahead. She was of average height but Maxwell was considerably taller and boy did she appreciate his height.
She took a moment just observing him. He was attentive, funny, smart, tall, good looking and best of all he smelt great. Was she one lucky girl or what? Pity she'd never get to enjoy his scent ever again when moving day arrived.
Maxwell let go of her the minute they reached his doorstep and proceeded to open the door. Cleopatra felt a sense of loss at the lack of contact yet again and berated herself for being so clingy. But was it really a bad thing that she enjoyed his touch?
Probably.
"After you my lady," he waved towards the door once he had opened it. She had to keep herself from swooning. "Why thank you good sir," she curtsied, playing along. They shared a brief laugh before entering through the now opened door, the smell of cinnamon and potpourri welcoming them in. "Okay, let's do this." Maxwell announced, placing his backpack on the dining table.
