Office Hours |h.s|

ninety six

Maude

Walking into the Brew House, I can't help but take an extra look over my shoulder. A force of habit that I have a feeling will be hard to break.

Harry isn't my professor anymore, so that technically means it's not wrong for me to be meeting him here for coffee. And it's not like this is a date or anything, it's just two adults catching up after not being in contact for a while. Thankfully though, everyone has pretty much left campus to go back home for summer break at this point, so nobody's even really around to spot us.

Would anyone even really care? I mean, most students probably don't even know Harry's a professor at the university since he only taught us for my first semester of law school. Maybe now isn't the time to be spiraling about us getting caught. This is normal. This is allowed. It's just coffee, I'm not marrying the guy.

Glancing around the coffee shop, I sigh when I realize he's not here yet. When he texted me the other day asking if I was free for today, I was hesitant to really go through with meeting up with him. It's been almost three years and I've made so much progress with myself, it didn't seem like the smartest idea to reunite with my ex. We had our closure and have moved on, at least I did. And yet here I am, feeling a nervous pit form in my stomach at the thought of him standing me up.

To try and get my mind off him for a second, I head to the counter to order a cold brew and a blueberry muffin. The baristas and I have some light conversation, catching up with each other's weeks since I'm still pretty much always here. Brew House has been a staple in my life since I got to Harvard, and probably is the reason I even got my diploma in the first place.

I take my phone out of my pocket, sighing when I see there's no messages from Harry about why he's running late. This is probably some form of punishment from above for even thinking about seeing my ex again. Maybe it's a good thing that he didn't show. Better for me in the long run, even if it does leave a few 'what if's in my head. Still, I sit down at a table, facing the door, figuring I'd relax and enjoy my muffin while I'm here.

I pass a few more minutes texting with Cassidy, helping her pack over text. She has no idea where I am or who I was supposed to meet with, which only adds to this feeling that I'm doing something wrong. The same one I felt when Harry and I were together. I really did forget how much I hate this feeling.

"Maude!" Harry's voice steals my attention from my phone immediately. I look up to see him walking over, a big smile on his face. "I'm so sorry I'm late, I got caught up in car accident traffic coming from the firm."

For a second, I hesitate, not quite sure how to greet him. I decide to just stand up and give him an awkward hug, since that's what friends do, right? "Oh it's fine! Glad you made it."

"Let me just go order a coffee real quick, okay?" He smiles at me when he steps back from our weird side hug. It nearly melts my heart. I've missed that smile.

"Yeah of course, I'll be here." He nods once, smiling at me for a second too long before turning to go order his coffee.

With a deep breath, I sit back down and send one more text to Cassidy before my eyes are glued to Harry.

He's nervous, tugging at his bottom lip as he orders, scratching the back of his neck. And as he waits for his coffee to be made, he can't stop tapping his foot. I definitely understand where his nerves are coming from, since I feel them too. No going back now, though.

With a mug full of hot coffee in his hand, he sits down across from me, settling into his seat. For a second my chest tightens, fearing that we are being too careless. I have to remind myself over and over in my head that this is okay and we don't have to hide. Nobody knows that we're having coffee together right now, and nobody cares.