Page 73 of Academically Yours

“Dessert?” She asked, her eyes lighting up as she surveyed the carts around us. There was an ice cream cart, but also— “Donuts?”

I laughed. “Sure, Noelle. Anything you want.”

And I meant it—really. I would give her anything she wanted.

~ ~ ~

What was wrong with me? It was crazy—I had just seen her. Had just had her, yesterday, my mouth all over her body. Had just spent the evening with her, dinner before we strolled around with Snowball. Had watched her doze off on the ride back to campus.

Had kissed her goodnight before she walked into the dorm.

And yet—I missed her, already. I looked up at the ceiling of my living room. I couldn’t take it. I was going crazy that night, sitting on my couch, throwing a ball for Snowball who couldn’t seem to calm down either. It was like she could sense my anxiety as much as I could feel it. And it made my chest fill with a warmth that Noelle had liked my dog—but also, that she had loved Noelle. Snowball could be standoffish, and she often didn’t like people. But Noelle? She had rested her head on Noelle’s lap and laid next to her for the entire ride home.

What was I going to do with all this extra energy? We had already said goodnight. I wasn’t about to show up at her apartment, expecting a booty call. It wasn’t her fault if just thinking about her made me hard. I hadn’t had sex in a long time before last night, and yet here I was already craving her again.

But… we hadn’t even talked about what we were, officially. Maybe this was just a casual hookup for her. Maybe it didn’t mean for her what it meant for me. I didn’t want that—didn’t know what I would do if that was the case, but I didn’t know.

And I was terrified of asking and getting an answer I didn’t want.

So for now, yeah… I’d just keep going with whatever this was. Whatever we had, it was good. I liked talking to her. I wanted to talk to her, even—a feeling I hadn’t had with anyone, in such a long time. Not even my little sister. So I crawled into bed and I couldn’t take it anymore.

Me: Are you awake?

Noelle: Yeah. Just getting into bed.

I needed to hear her voice before I fell asleep.

“Twenty questions,” I said as soon as she picked up.

“What?” She sounded far away, and then like she had taken me off speakerphone or came closer. “Did you say twenty questions?” Noelle repeated.

“Yes. Play with me?”

“Hmm… What do you want to know?”

“What’s your favorite flower?”

“Sunflowers.” I smiled. Of course, she would pick one that was as sunshiny and bright as she was. I tucked that little tidbit of information away for later. I didn’t know when it would come in handy, but I wanted to surprise her.

“What’s your favorite thing to do when it snows?” Noelle asked, and I looked out the window, wishing it was a cold, winter night and we were snowed in together. That she was here with me, instead of just on the phone.

“Well, I always did like to snowboard. But I also like sitting at home with a hot drink and just watch the snow fall from the window.” I eyed my dog. “I think Snowball’s answer would be different, though.”

She giggled. “Yes, well I rather think your arctic dog would love to run around in the snow.”

I hummed. “What’s your favorite book?”

“Not a fair question. There are too many answers. You can’t expect me to pick one.”

“Okay, fair enough.”

“Favorite subject growing up?” she asked.

“Math.”

She laughed. “Why does that not surprise me?”

“Hey,” I frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”