Mine To Kiss (Southern Wedding 0.50)

"I come with gifts." She holds up a cup of coffee in her hand, and I laugh. My roommates were quick to realize that any conversation with me would be minimal until I had my morning coffee.

"Thank you." I reach out to grab the cup, putting my hand on the hot mug and taking a deep inhale. "It’s almost orgasmic, don’t you think?" I take a sip, and it’s like heaven on my tongue.

Rachel laughs and sits on the edge of the bed with her own cup of coffee in her hand. "I don’t think you are having sex the right way if you think coffee is in the same category as having an orgasm."

I almost choke on my next sip as I start coughing and laughing at the same time. "I’ll give you that," I say, putting the cup of coffee on my nightstand until I quit coughing.

"Anyway, I’m inviting you to a study session," she says, looking at me. "It’s going to be the four of us. You remember those guys from last night?" The four of us decided to spend our Saturday low-key at a hole-in-the-wall bar. When we walked in, Lydia spotted a guy she knew from class, and we hung with him. A couple of his friends joined, and we all got to talking, but I took off after an hour, exhausted from the first week of school.

"Yeah," I say, grabbing the cup again to take another sip.

"Well, he and his roommates are hitting up the square coffee shop this afternoon, and I figured you would want to come." She takes a sip of her coffee. "One of his roommates, I think, is in the same program as you, so it might be worth it."

"Sure, what time?"

"I’m waiting for him to let me know." She gets up from the bed. "I’ll go check in with Lydia and Victoria."

"Sounds good," I say as she turns and walks toward the door. "Thank you for the coffee." I hold up the cup.

It takes her an hour to come back and tell us that we are leaving at four. I nod at her and make notes on what I need to do. I grab my phone and scroll through Instagram, seeing the picture that my cousins took at the Sunday lunch. Out of everything I miss about home, Sunday lunch is at the top of the list. It was the day we all got together and just caught up with everyone. It’s something I can’t wait to share with my own family. I write a couple of comments before shutting it down, my heart aching just a touch, and I send out a text to my cousin group chat.

Me: Missing you guys.

I put the phone down and walk to the bathroom for a quick shower. Slipping on a pair of purple yoga pants and then a white sports bra, I turn back to the bathroom to comb my hair and braid it on the side before grabbing a white long-sleeved sweater that falls to the waist of the yoga pants. I take one more look at myself before I choose the white Adidas runners and pack my bag with the textbook and my computer. "Guys," I say, walking out of my room and looking to see if anyone is in the living room. I see no one there and then hear footsteps coming down the hall from one of the bedrooms.

Victoria comes out wearing joggers and a sweater, her hair piled on her head. "Ugh, I hate you," she moans. "How do you always look like you just stepped out of a fashion magazine?" I shake my head and laugh at her. "You don’t even look tired." She walks into the kitchen and grabs a water bottle. "Like, how?”

"Well, I got home at midnight." I point at myself, then back at her. "You got home at six o’clock." She just smirks. "And from the looks of it, it doesn’t look like you slept on someone’s couch."

"I mean, I was on the couch." She takes a sip of water, hiding her smile. "But we definitely didn’t sleep." I can’t help but laugh at her. In the week we’ve lived together, she seems to be the one with no expectations from anyone, while also making sure you know not to expect anything from her. She also has the softest heart of everyone around.

Lydia and Rachel join us a couple of minutes later, and the four of us head out. The sun is going down, and the wind is picking up. "It’s about that time," Rachel says, and I look over at her as we walk down the sidewalk.

"What time is that?" I ask, confused.

"Change of season." Rachel takes a deep breath. "Soon, when you walk out, it’ll be crispy."

"She loves to say crispy," Victoria says when she stops walking, and I look at the black door of the coffee shop. Rachel steps up to the door and pulls it open, stepping into the shop. I’m the last one in, and I look around, the smell of coffee hitting my nose right away.