I Notice Things

I knew she was cute from the moment she walked into class with her nose in a book. She easily maneuvered around the tables and students in the lecture hall, her eyes never leaving the pages of the fantasy adventure in her hand. There was something about the way her hair cascaded around her shoulders while she looked down that drew my eyes to her. When she looked up, I was breathless.

Naturally, this immediate attraction meant I would never say a word to her, opting instead to sneak glances from across the room, taking a sip of my Cold Brew anytime her gaze threatened to meet mine. She didn't drink coffee, something I noticed early on when I spotted the string of a teabag hanging down the side of her travel mug. If I happened to be looking when she took a drink I found myself wondering what it would be like to sit across from her at a cafe.

They were foolish thoughts. Hopeless wonderings of a lonely art student wishing for someone to share a table with her at the campus Tims. Someone who would study with her until they both got too distracted staring at each other.

Instead of coffee dates with cute girls, after class, I sat alone in Tims attempting to finish reading a twenty-three-page essay about Shakespeare. I was in serious danger of falling asleep when an iced coffee was set down on the table in front of me. In particular, a large vanilla cream cold brew with a shot of espresso. My usual order. I furrowed my brows as I looked up at the barista. 

"You've got an admirer." He winked before gesturing to the girl at the counter. My eyes widened. I could feel the blush spread across my entire body matched only by the chills spreading through my body. It was her. 

She looked up and we locked eyes. My heart started racing as she smiled. God, her smile was beautiful. She made her way to my table, tea in hand.

"I figured you could use an extra push to get through that." She chuckled, pointing at the screen. 

"I can't believe you knew my order." I grinned, fiddling with the space bar of my computer to try and calm my nerves. 

"I notice things." I blushed, knowing what that meant. She had noticed me. Which also meant she had noticed me staring. I glanced down at my cup. 

"Would you like to join me?" I blurted out, kicking myself for being too forward. She tucked a strand of hair behind her hair and bit her lip. 

"I wouldn't want to distract you from the riveting work of some guy with a hard-on for ole William." She joked and before I could stop myself I snorted with laughter. "You're adorable." She smiled, stopping me from being mortified. She slid into the seat in front of me and we studied until we could only focus on each other.