Finding You

Chapter 21

I throw a plain black Nike hoodie over my head and lace up a pair of classic Vans before gathering my purse and phone in my hand, making my way down to the kitchen once again. I set my things down onto the island before rummaging in the fridge for an apple as a way to wake me up a little bit.

My thoughts run wild in anticipation of what's to come while I munch on my apple. His impromptu coffee invitation at midnight sparks many questions in my head. Does he have something to talk about with me or does he just enjoy my company? Would our most recent one-on-one moment make this more awkward? Does he do this kind of stuff with Remy? Why does the thought of Remy and James stealing kisses at Starbucks in the middle of the night make my head hurt a little?

A sharp ring from my phone sounds on the island and I quickly move my hand to grab it.

"Hello?" I swallow the remaining apple in my mouth before speaking.

"I'm outside. I hope you're ready." The familiar, deep voice alone makes the butterflies in my stomach flutter.

"Ready? Why would I need to be ready?" I joke, though trying to sound genuinely serious.

"I'll come up and drag you out, I swear to God."

"You must be eager for my company, huh?" I ask before the line goes dead.

I laugh, throwing the core into the bin before gathering my purse and phone in my hand and quickly make my way out the door to the elevator.

Pushing the doors of the building open, I notice James' car parked right in front, probably to limit my overexposure to the cold which I'm thankful for. I quickly hop into the front seat, immediately met with a smiling James. I'm happy to see that our encounter after my performance didn't seem to make him uncomfortable now because of it.

"You're insane," I say, buckling my seatbelt over my body.

"You agreed to it."

"You know I won't turn down a good Starbucks coffee."

James chuckles and turns the ignition on again, wasting no time to speed out of the parking lot onto the main road.

"So, why the sudden urge for coffee at midnight, Mr K?"

"I do this when I need to clear my head sometimes. You told me you weren't feeling so great so I thought we could ponder over our stresses together," he shrugs before flashing me a smile, though it doesn't seem too genuine.

"Wanna talk about it?"

James simply hangs his head and sighs before running a hand through his hair. "It's school, football, my job. I'm just under a lot of pressure right now."

It shocks me a little that I didn't even have to pry it out of him. In the few months that I've known James, I've gathered that he's a very private person. He never speaks much about his personal life or anything of the sort, so it makes me smile at the thought of him actually becoming comfortable with me.

It sometimes slips my mind that James has a job on top of everything else he does. When we see each other, he still acts very young and carefree that I forget that he has an actual well-paying, secure career. He told me that he's a lawyer at a firm and that he takes time out of his day to juggle his Master's, but it's never occurred to me how busy and restless his day must be. How he can accommodate a social life and a girlfriend into his schedule as well is beyond me.

"How do you have time to do it all?"

"I have classes whenever. When I'm not in class, I'm at work. Luckily for me, the firm I work at is close to campus so it's not a far trek. Every 2nd day, I have football late afternoon and once I'm finished, I come home and continue some work before I head to bed."