Fall For You

(26)

"Hey Alex," I say as he walks out of his Law elective. The surprise on his face when he sees me is priceless. He didn't tell me when and where his classes are, so he wasn't expecting me to show up out of nowhere. "What are you doing now?"

"How did you even know where I was?" Alex asks. "Did you follow me?"

"You don't sound very excited to see me," I tease. "Maybe I should just go and leave you to it."

"No, it's not that," Alex quickly defends. "I'm just... surprised, I guess."

"Well, I went to the dorm looking for you and ran into Harley instead, who, by the way, is a very good detective and can actually read a timetable," I add with a grin.

"Oh," Alex's cheeks tinge pink. "Why were you looking for me?"

It's been a few days since I saw Alex and I needed to see him again. "I wanted to see you. I told you I would see you soon. Now is soon." I shrug. "Also, you didn't answer my question."

"I'm supposed to study for a quiz," Alex finally admits.

"A couple of hours won't hurt," I tease. "I want to show you something."

"What do you want to show me? Can you show me now?" Alex asks.

 "It's a place, not a thing. I can't show you here."

Alex bites his lip. "I really should study for this quiz," he says, nervously, his eyes on mine, gauging my reaction.

"I can help you," I offer. "I can show you this place and we can come back here and study. Please. I haven't seen you in a while. I want to spend time with you." Never have I ever sounded so desperate before but I'm running out of time. I need to up my game.

Alex shifts his books in his arms, doing that silent thinking thing. He finally exhales. "Okay," he says softly. "But we need to stop at the dormitories first. I want to drop these off."

"Sure," I say. "And you might wanna change your clothes too," I say, taking note of his short sleeve plaid button-up and jeans.

Alex looks down at his outfit, trying to find a fault in it. "What's wrong with what I'm wearing?"

"Usually? Nothing. Today? It doesn't really fit the vibe of where we're going."

"Uh-oh," Alex teases. "Now I'm a little worried about coming"

"You need to stress less," I say, rolling my eyes. "Come on. Let's go."

We walk through campus from one building all the way across to Building C, where his room is.'

Alex pulls his keychain from his pocket, and I notice the small Bumblebee key chain dangling from it. I smile to myself as he unlocks the door. He sets his books down on the desk, then turns back to me.

"So, Miss Fashion," he says, "what exactly should I wear for this outing?"

"Hmm," I say, tapping my chin. "Shorts and a t-shirt. Just something comfortable," I say, hoping that he doesn't ask too many questions. I don't want to spoil the surprise before we even get there.

I really hope Alex likes what I have in mind. All day I have been turning over ideas in my head, and this, well it's the best I could come up with without going too rom-com cliche. 

Alex opens his closet doors and goes through all the clothes in there, carefully. 

"It's not a fashion show," I tell him. "It doesn't have to be perfect." 

If we don't go soon, we'll lose valuable time for some cheesy romance shit, and I cannot let that happen.

"Okay," Alex says. "I've got it. Do you mind turning around?"

"Seriously?" I ask.

"Seriously. Privacy."

He gives me a small smile that makes my heart flip and uses his finger to gesture for me to turn around.

What the fuck is this bullshit? This never happens to me. But with Alex... he makes me feel things, and I hate it. Honestly.

Still, I turn around to give him his precious privacy while he changes into the outfit he's picked out.

Fabric rustles behind me, soft and quick, and something hits the floor. It's only a few moments before Alex clears his throat.

"So, does this work?" Alex asks.

I spin around, and what I see isn't what I was expecting at all.

He's wearing a short-sleeve, loose white t-shirt paired with a pair of faded blue jean shorts. I try to ignore the way my heart speeds up. He looks good. Better than good. Kinda... gorgeous.

 "Yeah," I manage, barely getting the word out. "It works."

Alex notices my inability to speak and teases, "Careful, Gem, don't drool."

"Shut up," I scoff, sliding off the bed. "We're burning daylight."