The Hardest Fall

“You have a thing for old movies, huh?”

“Old-ish movies. They’re not that old. So, which one do you want to watch?”

“I might not be able to make it to the end, but let’s go with Speed tonight. We’ll do Eagle Eye next time?”

That smile again. “Sounds good. Okay, you sit down.” She came to my side and pushed me around and down on the couch. “I’ll go get your cheeseburger and fries.”

“What did I do to deserve the fries on top of the cheeseburger?”

She headed toward the kitchen but looked over her shoulder when she spoke. “Who would buy a cheeseburger and not get fries? One isn’t complete without the other. I also hope you don’t mind sharing because I’m not gonna be able to stay away from the fries. I’m bound to steal a few, but the burger and soda are all yours.”

Coming back with a tray, she handed it to me then leaned over her laptop to start the movie.

Giving me a look, she sighed. “You don’t have to do this, you know that, right? I don’t want to keep you up. I can see you’re tired, Dylan.”

“I’m fine, Flash. Relax. If I fall asleep, I fall asleep. It’s okay. As long as you don’t draw a penis on my face, we should be safe.”

She laughed. “Promise. Did your teammates do that?”

I patted the seat next to me and she took it without hesitation. “Not to me specifically, but I’ve seen it done.” Pressing play, she started the movie and settled back. I grabbed the cheeseburger, took a big bite, and groaned. “I didn’t even realize I was starving, thank you.” When she didn’t reach for a fry, I offered one to her myself.

She took it from me with the tips of her fingers. “Thank you.”

“You can have the Coke, too. I don’t do soft drinks.”

She took a bite and scrunched up her nose. “I don’t do soft drinks, either. That’s the only healthy choice I make in my life, I think. I don’t care for the taste anyway.”

A few minutes into the movie, my food was polished off and Zoe had only stolen a few of my fries. Each time she did, she gave me a shy smile and quickly focused back on the movie playing in front of us.

Fifteen minutes in, I was already fading. When I chanced a look at Zoe, I realized we’d ended up with an empty seat between us. Might as well have been an entire football field. She was curled up into herself, both her feet planted on the couch, chin resting on her knees, arms hugging her legs.

My lips twitched. “Which movie were you watching before?”

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see her considering whether or not to give me an answer, her teeth nibbling on her bottom lip.

“Come on, tell me.”

In the end, she decided against it. “I rather not say.”

This time, I laughed and she joined me. It felt good, just…being with her.

Before the movie was over, we were both fast asleep on opposite sides of the couch. When I woke up early in the morning, she was sprawled half on top of me and I had my arms wrapped around her, holding her as close as possible. We had both moved in our sleep and met in the middle, apparently.

Never in my life had I held someone through the entire night. Snuggling, yes, but even that only lasted for a short while. I closed my eyes and dropped my head on hers, inhaling her scent and just feeling her chest rise and drop against me. Trying my best not to jolt her, I grabbed the light blanket from the back of the couch and pulled it over us. Zoe shifted, and I froze. Then she snuggled even closer and rubbed her face against my neck, her parted lips grazing my skin.

Awareness flooded my body. All of a sudden, I was wide awake, and so were all my body parts.

I sat on that couch for another thirty minutes, just holding on to her, memorizing how she felt in my arms. When I had to get up and leave, I gently slid out from under her and tucked the blanket more securely around her, hoping it’d keep her warm, though not as warm as I could.

Chapter Fourteen

Zoe

We had just finished our photography class in the lab and I was packing away my lenses when our professor, Jin Ae, caught my attention and said, “Zoe and Miriam, I need you two to stay behind, please.”

When I was done packing up my bag, she was still answering questions from other students.

Miriam met my eye. “You know what this is about?”

I shook my head. “No idea.”

“Maybe the assignment?”

I gathered all my equipment up and carried it over to Miriam’s station. “Probably.”