and kiss her right here and now.
“Thanks,” I stammer awkwardly. “I really mean it. Thank you so much.”
Her smile is warm and intimate, and for a brief second, I’m nervous as I wonder what she’s thinking.
“You’re welcome, but it’s really no problem at all. I’m looking forward to it.”
The door closes and she’s gone.
Saturday, March 2 – 7:00 PM
Maria
The sky is black and the air freezing cold by the time I get out of lab and start the long journey from the far eastern edge of campus to my apartment back across the west bridge. It’s a forty-minute walk at its easiest, and the ice on the dark sidewalk isn’t doing me any favors tonight. My hands and toes are numb within fifteen minutes, and I haven’t even made it to the steep hill down to west campus yet.
Freezing cold or not, I’m excited about tonight. I’m going to Owen’s apartment tonight to help him grade homework! It might not sound very exciting—Tina certainly didn’t think it was—but it’s safe and relaxing. I’ll be comfortable and be able to talk to him without getting too nervous. ‘Safe’ is exactly what I need right now.
I take tiny, precarious steps down the slick sheet of ice coating the west campus hill and then trudge back up the opposite side to the bridge. The thick pines give way to the gorge, and the wind howls through the open air, chilling me to the bone. By the time I make it across, my nose feels as brittle as an icicle.
I can’t wait to see Owen. I imagine the warmth of his apartment as I trudge down the steep slope to our apartment complex, getting out of these soaking wet shoes, and taking off this uncomfortable, scratchy hat. Maybe he’ll make cocoa.
Maybe I’ll be brave enough to touch him again.
The porch light is on when I get to his apartment, and I hardly have to wait at all for Owen to open the door after I ring the bell. I really like that he was waiting for me.
“Hi Maria!” he gushes happily as he invites me in. “Thanks so much for helping me grade all this crap.”
“Hey, no problem,” I answer, a wide smile spreading across my face as I take off my shoes and coat.
Owen plops down on the couch in the living room and stares at the impressive stack of homework assignments looming before him. Even with two of us, it’s going to be a long night.
My eyes light up when I see the two steaming cups of cocoa, and I hop onto the sofa and sit cross-legged to his left. I’ll put up with an awful lot for a cup of cocoa on a cold night like tonight, even grading statistics homework.
“Let me know if you see anything wrong, okay?” I tell Owen, and I grab a red pen and get to work.
Page after page flies by in silence, and the questions are so easy that I don’t even need Owen’s help for any of them.
“What is this? Stats 101? Algebra?” I ask, scribbling away with my red pen. “I can grade most of this stuff on my own and I’m a biologist!”
“Yeah, it’s a basic stats course for people who just need a course to graduate,” he answers, and he points at an incorrect answer for me to mark. “It’s a stupid course, but at least it’s easy to grade. I think the professor put all the tougher courses on the bottom of the pile.”
I feel warm and content as I sit next to him, but if I moved even an inch closer, our shoulders would touch. Three weeks ago, I’d have been a nervous wreck to sit so close to a guy and now I’m really enjoying being with him. I wonder what changed inside me.
“Jeez, how many of these do you have to grade each week?” I ask as I flip through the enormous pile of papers. I can’t imagine having to do this regularly and still having time to make it to class.
“I have a lot of late nights,” he replies, not quite answering my question. “The stipend pays my bills, at least.”
Four more papers flit by and the silence is interrupted only by the turning of pages and Owen occasionally pointing out a wrong answer. My wrist is cramping up from writing already, and I’ve barely scratched the surface of the daunting pile.
“Need a break?” he asks as I toss aside the finished assignment and stretch out