Sincerely Yours

Føūr

It was 12:32, the guy was just over thirty minutes late and I had been standing outside of the cafe two blocks away from campus for about forty minutes, considering I was early. At this point, I was seriously considering leaving. What if he was just being a jerk and trying to embarrass me somehow by being a no-show?

The breeze picked up, and pulled the hood of my black hoodie to cover my head more. I thought about texting him, but for some reason I doubted he'd reply. I just sighed and decided to give him ten more minutes, I was in a mildly good mood today. My stomach growled, I hadn't had breakfast, but I didn't want to go in and order without him. Just in case he wanted to pay for our food.

The ten minutes was almost up, and I got impatient. If he really needed a tutor, if he was really close to failing algebra and being kicked out, he'd be here. I huffed and started toward the crosswalk. I took a few steps out, seeing no cars, but just then a loud engine roared and an arm hooked around my waist and I was yanked backward, a split second before a man on a motorcycle sped past me, well over the speed limit. Scaring the life out of me like I had actually been hit.

"Hey! Watch where the fuck you're going!" I heard Aiden's voice shout, and the chest of the person behind me vibrated against my back with the pissed off words. Oh no.

I looked down and my eyes met those icy blue ones. A wide smile was etched across Aiden's dimply physical perfection of a face, and I felt my ribcage consistently jerk against his hand as I struggled to breathe in shock. "Hey, you're okay, you're fine. Breathe, Nate." He murmured in my ear, about on his toes, his voice at quite a soothing octave in my ear but his close proximity made my face flush red. It didn't help that I was practically wrapped in his arms, holding onto him for fear life due to the near death experience.

As soon as I had gotten out of that shock, I pushed him away and looked sternly at him, luckily he was shorter so now I was twice as intimidating I was sure, but his smile never left. "I think you owe me a thank you and a favor, I just saved your life."

He actually did, and I did owe him more than tutoring now, but I still didn't like him. "Gee, thanks." I walked past him into the cafe and gathered my nerves in one place again. The small bell door rang again when he walked in trailing after me. I could feel his body heat on my back as he walked kinda close behind me to a booth. A waitress followed us to immediately get our order, and she asked once we sat down across from each other.

She smiled, a little too bubbly for me. "Hi! Welcome to Annie's, I'm Daisy, what can I get you to drink and-or eat?"

Aiden took a quick glance at the menus laid out on the small table between us and said, "barbecue sandwich and large Cajun fries, with a Pepsi." And that honestly sounded really good, but I chose a burger instead, with everything else the same. When she left, there was silence. A silence I tried really hard not to be awkward in, so I occupied myself with taking in my surroundings. I had only been to this diner once before, and I enjoyed its smell, like fresh cookies and a mouthwatering savoriness. It was a cute diner too, its main colors a classic red, pink, and white with a baby blue accent. The waiters and waitresses wore either red pants or red skater skirts, with white button downs and black bowties.

My eyes drifted back to Aiden in front of me, I noticed that he had been watching me this whole time, which made my ears grow warmer. He wasn't saying anything, so I spoke because I couldn't take the awkwardness bubbling in me. "So what's hard about algebra to you?" I placed a newly bought cheap planner on the table and opened it, along with a pen. He looked surprised that I was actually going to be committed to tutoring him and tutoring him well. If I was going to help him, I might as well put in effort.