Page 17 of Yours, Unexpectedly

“They did show up, actually…” He squints and looks up toward the ceiling. “It was, uh, it was kind of for you.”

My jaw drops open. Oh my gosh, I’m such an idiot.

“Did… did you buy me coffee?” He nods, gauging my reaction. And underneath that auburn beard, his mouth curls in another cautious smile. “Wow. Um, thank you? You didn’t have to do that.”

“I know. I was trying to use it as a peace offering so that this semester didn’t get off to a weird start, but I think I just made it more weird.” He ponders for a second. “Yeah, I definitely made it more weird.”

“It’s not weird. It’s… it’s sweet. Are you secretly sweet and you’ve been hiding it from me?”

He blows out a breath and turns around while mumbling something that sounds vaguely like, “I’ve been hiding a lot of things from you.”

My brows furrow but before I can ask any more questions, he keeps talking.

“Listen, Gabe invited me to Sunday dinner this weekend. Is that okay with you? I don’t want to invade any more of your space than necessary.”

There’s a lot of my space that I would love Anders to invade. And the brief flash of heat that I might have imagined in his eyes tells me that thought was written across my face.

“Mhmm. Yeah that’s fine. Mom will be ecstatic to have you there. You haven’t been in a while.”

“That’s pretty much what Gabe said but again, I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

“And I appreciate that, but I promise I’m fine. I do need to get going though.”

He studies me for a second before apparently deciding he’s okay with this. He nods and then walks over to pick up that damn coffee off the ground.

“Here you go. It’s cold by now but there’s a microwave in the green room you can use to heat it up. And if I try the whole coffee thing again on Friday, you have to promise to actually drink it and not scowl at it for the entire class.”

“I was not scowling.”

“Oh, you were definitely scowling. It was cute.”

My eyes widen. “Right. Okay. Well, see you Sunday, I guess. And Friday obviously…”

He tilts his head and leans up against the back of a chair. Studying me as I walk away, he murmurs, “Bye Bex.”

I wave over my shoulder as I walk out and then immediately pull out my phone.

friend *ship emoji*

Cancel any plans you have for Sunday night. Need you both as a buffer for Bardot family dinner… Gabe is bringing a certain roommate that shall not be named.

Riz

Are we pretending he doesn’t exist now?

Don’t worry. I was planning on being there anyway!

Luci

Ditto! *hug emoji*

I slide my phone into my pocket and walk around for the next fifteen minutes trying to find a green room, finally resigning myself to drinking cold coffee.

Friday morning, a to-go cup of coffee is sitting next to my original seat. I take a sip, savoring the bitter flavor. I would say it warmed me from the inside out, but I think that happened the moment I laid eyes on the coffee, before I even took a sip. Anders just gives me a wink when we make eye contact.

I stay again after class that day, telling myself it’s just to say thank you for the coffee, not at all because I crave being around this man.

I’m on the opposite side of campus, dropping something off for Callahan, when I see her. She’s with two other girls and I watch with admiration as she throws her head back in laughter.

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