Knowing Me, Knowing You | (S/P)

Chapter 23

*Steamy chapter ahead! Ye be warned.

I hit the replay button and the first chords of You Make My Dreams by Daryl Hall resonate in the room once again. I'm an honest representation of Emma Stone singing Pocketful of Sunshine.

It's been one of those days when you feel the need to pamper yourself a little despite of all the adulting that you should be doing. By far, I've applied two different face masks, finished reading Jane Eyre while eating my favorite ice cream, cleaned up my desk and closet, and right now I'm in the middle of applying the second layer of beige nail polish on my toenails.

I'm considering binge-watching Friends (for what would be the umpteenth time now) when Danielle knocks on my door. I reluctantly get up the bed and walk to the door doing my best effort to avoid ruining my nails.

"There's a dude asking for you at the door." Without further ado, she disappears into the kitchen.

I'm not expecting anyone.

The first person that comes to mind is Andrew, but he's out of town. It probably is Josh, he always shows up with no particular reason and ends up eating half of my food.

It takes me longer than expected to get to our front door, although I'm sure the polish has already dried. I must point out that it's one of biggest euphemisms to say that I'm surprised, greatly and gladly, to see Nathaniel standing in the hallway.

"Hi." I try to hide my shock but smile nonetheless, closing the door a little bit in case Danielle is still lurking around.

"Hey." What the hell is he doing here?

"What are you doing here?" He looks younger than he normally does with a red flannel shirt paired with blue jeans and black sneakers. He looks dapper without even trying. Whereas I, Alexia from the Land of the Clumsy, am wearing yoga pants and an old loose t-shirt. Barefoot.

"I came to see you." It sounds more like a question.  

"Oh." I gathered that much, professor. "Great." My body is still pressed against the doorframe, keeping myself alert in case I hear someone walking into the hall. He shouldn't be here, what was he thinking?

"So, are you going to let me in, or...?" His tone is one of mischief as he looks at me with that half smile that he knows is my weak point...and I haven't seen him in a few days.

"Sure, come in."

Again, what was I supposed to say, no?

As soon as I close and lock the door, I clasp his hand with mine and make a beeline for my room, all nail polish forgotten, ignoring Danielle behind the countertop looking at me as if I'm dragging a corpse across the living room.

Once inside my small dorm, I feel safer. I sit on the front corner of my bed and watch Nathaniel taking in his surroundings.

"Sorry that I came unannounced, but I really wanted to see you."

"Don't worry, I wasn't doing anything in particular."

He takes a few steps towards my desk, leaning in to inspection my small literary collection. Oh, dear god.

This is worse than someone looking into my underwear drawer. Books can, and will always, say a lot about a person. Let's not talk about all the other decoration and personal items I have on the walls and the nightstands. At least I did some proper cleaning today.

"I can't read half of the books you have here!" He sounds amused, surely surprised by all the titles in Russian and Spanish.

"Good, some of those are personal." I force myself to stop overthinking about it as he wanders around the reduced space, his eyes traveling every corner.