Page 11

In the next few weeks that followed, my Wednesdays had started to fall into a bit of a routine.

My mornings consisted of having breakfast at the apartment and heading down to campus for my classes.

Then, I would meet up with Claudia and Lily for lunch.

Although we were taking different classes, our schedules seemed to align with one another, and we took it as an opportunity to meet up and hang out until our next class.

After lunch came the afternoon portion of my Wednesday, which was slowly becoming my favourite part of the week. It started with ASL class, then going to the bubble tea shop to practice ASL with Colton.

The Wednesday after our first practice, Colton had asked me if I wanted to go to the same bubble tea shop again, to which I had enthusiastically agreed. The week after that, it just became the normal spot for our weekly sessions.

Once we were done with our practice, we would head over to the grocery store across the street, where I would get new flowers for the week.

Nina had given an excited stamp of approval to me bringing home flowers that first time.

‘I can’t believe we never had these in the apartment before,’ she had said, while admiring the pink roses.

It was then I decided to continue bringing them home, choosing a different kind every time based on whatever I felt like getting that day, though they were always pink.

And of course, the routine always ended with Colton driving me home.

As the weeks passed by, I started to learn more and more about Colton Reed: how he started loving baseball ever since his family brought him to a batting cage for one of his birthdays, how his comfort food was his mom’s homemade spaghetti that she cooked every Sunday morning—a tradition he had carried on by himself once he left for college—and how he has a younger sister who he was extremely protective about.

Naturally, my questions about his family meant he would bring up a few about mine as well. I contemplated telling him about my family situation, as talking about my parents’ divorce wasn’t necessarily a fun fact about myself. But ultimately, I decided I could confide in Colton about it.

‘My parents got divorced when I was eight. They’re still good friends though and my dad still comes over to my mom’s place so we could all have dinner together.

And they always make sure that we’re always together to celebrate the holidays, so I’m grateful for that,’ I told him.

‘And I have an older sister named Elizabeth, but she usually just goes by Eliza. She’s six years older than me, but pretty much my best friend in the whole world.

She’s a journalist who currently lives in New York City. ’

I avoided looking up to see Colton’s reaction to what I had just told him and kept twirling the straw in my bubble tea. My eyes focused on the boba going in circles.

Finally, I stopped spinning when I felt something warm placed on top of my other hand on the table.

It was Colton’s hand.

I chanced a glance at it and finally turned my attention to his face. He gave me a small smile and gently squeezed my hand.

And that was it.

He acknowledged my story and said we didn’t have to talk about it any more, communicating with only an expression, and my hand in his.

Communicating without words.

I gave him a smile of my own in return.

My streak of a similar Wednesday routine eventually came to an end.

After our ASL class for the week ended, I suggested to Colton that we just stay on campus.

‘Stay on campus? Are you sick of bubble tea already?’ he teased.

‘Definitely not,’ I shook my head. Can one even get sick of bubble tea? Probably, but not me. Yes, I admit I had started to develop an obsession with the drink, but I was consuming it in moderation, only once a week during our ASL practice session.

‘My friends invited me out for dinner,’ I started explaining. ‘They’re on the track team and heading out right away after their training. So, I’m just gonna stay on campus until they finish.’

Nina had informed me the night before that the team was planning to grab dinner once they were done with their training and invited me along to join them.

Because I hadn’t got a chance to hang out with them again since the party, I told Nina I would wait for them on campus.

In the meantime, I wanted to be able to get some work done at the library.

‘Okay,’ he nodded. ‘But the real question is, do you still want to get bubble tea?’

I furrowed my eyebrows at him, failing to see what bubble tea had to do with this. ‘How is that relevant?’

‘Well. We could still go practice at the bubble tea shop and come back. I mean, I’m coming back to campus for my practice either way. Or, we can go get some bubble tea to go, and come back to practice on campus,’ he suggested. ‘So, what is it gonna be?’

If there’s one thing I had learned after spending all that time with Colton, it was that you have to pick your battles with him. I could point out how unfair both options were for him, but from my previous attempts at doing so, it wouldn’t get very far.

At the same time, I couldn’t help the butterflies in my stomach every time Colton offered me choices that gave me some kind of benefit, even if he was just doing it for nothing more than being a good friend.

I took a moment to consider the two options he had given me. As much as I liked spending time in the bubble tea shop, a change of scenery sounded like a good idea.

‘Do you have a place in mind where we can practice ASL?’ I asked him instead.

I could see the exact moment his eyes lit up. ‘I know just the perfect spot.’

‘Then bubble tea to go it is.’

I tried getting the answer out of Colton as to where the ‘perfect spot’ was, while we were getting our bubble tea, only to have him answer me with, ‘You’re just gonna have to be patient.’ This was accompanied by a glint of mischief in his eyes.

When we arrived back on campus with our drinks, my suspicions only grew when he took up a parking spot in front of the baseball stadium.

‘Come on,’ he said, after opening my door. I grabbed the drinks and got out of the car.

Noticing that I was carrying the drinks, he grabbed them from me. ‘Let me get those. It’s a bit of a walk though, is that all right with you?’

I gave a slow nod, still confused about where exactly he was bringing me.

The walk lasted for a while, and I noticed that we ended up passing the baseball stadium and were walking up a hill in the clearing behind it, towards a clump of trees.

Colton finally came to a stop at one of the trees at the edge of the grove, and I reached a few seconds later.

‘We’re here,’ he announced, setting down the drinks and his bag at the foot of a tree as he sat down on the grass.

Leaning against the trunk with his legs extended in front of him, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, exhaling it slowly with a peaceful look on his face.

There was a sense of calmness in him at this very moment. From all the time we had spent together so far, Colton had never shied away from openly expressing himself, but this was the first time I had ever seen him truly relaxed.

I couldn’t stop staring at him. I wanted to capture this version of Colton in my head to hold on to when the semester was over, and there was no ASL class to practice for any more.

He must’ve felt my gaze on him, when he peeked one eye open to see me still standing in the same spot as before.

‘Come sit,’ he said, patting the spot next to him.

I hesitated for a moment. But since the afternoon weather gave way to a pleasant atmosphere, and the sun had been shining brightly for the past few days, I figured the grass was dry.

Without further second-guessing my decision, I put down my bag and sat next to Colton, following his lead by stretching my legs out in front as I leaned against the tree.

We spent the next few minutes in silence: listening to the rustle of trees, and the sounds of birds singing.

I started closing my eyes as well and inhaled a deep breath, gently exhaling it.

Colton was the one to break the silence.

‘I discovered this spot during my freshman year,’ his voice was soft.

I opened my eyes and turned my face to him, and he turned his to mine.

‘How did you find it?’ I asked, urging him to continue.

‘It was the week before the first baseball team practice, and I thought I would stop by to get a feel of this place. I was pretty nervous about it, so I thought I would just take a jog. I didn’t know what came over me to jog this far, but I did, and stopped right here to catch my breath,’ he said pointing at the spot we were sitting on.

‘The next thing I know, I just sat here for the next twenty minutes, taking deep breaths and looking out at the baseball field, ’ his face turned to face the front, and there it was, the baseball field in all its glory.

‘And I just felt a lot calmer than I did, I was still nervous but less than before. So, if I ever feel like I need a moment to step back from anything, or when the idea of playing baseball seems a bit more daunting than usual, I always find myself coming back here. Just looking at the field. It helps me to remember why I love the sport so much and why I started it in the first place,’ he said.

I took a moment before saying anything, letting the story sink in. ‘And does it work?’

‘Most of the time.’ He shrugged, his voice slightly lowered as if he was embarrassed by what he had just told me.

I gave him a small smile. ‘Thank you for sharing this with me.’

My words hung in the air as the breeze passed through the tree. As his soft gaze met mine, I hoped he could sense how honoured I had felt for him to have brought me there.

A small smile found its way to his lips. ‘You’re welcome.’ We just looked at each other for a minute before his eyes narrowed in confusion.

‘What?’ I asked, sensing something wrong.

‘I just realized. You didn’t get flowers this week.’