Susan led David outside the cafeteria and across the academic quadrangle to the library and then downstairs along a convoluted path to her study nook: a couple of stuffed armchairs behind a row of books.
"Keep quiet about this place, okay? I don't like people coming here."
She flopped into an armchair with a textbook and started reading. He sat primly across from her in the other armchair, notebooks balanced on his knees. He kept glancing at her while she read, slouched almost on her spine, occasionally turning to flop her legs over the arm of the chair. She had long legs and a supple body. Her t-shirt pulled up, exposing a bit of midriff.
At last he finished and stood to go. She looked up from her latest position, flat on the floor, legs in the armchair. "How about next week right here? We can talk about the lecture. Good way to remember it. And maybe you can buy the coffee next time, eh?" She held up a hand. Did she want to shake hands? No, he realized, she wanted a lift up. He grabbed her hand and pulled, awkwardly.
"Not so hard, big guy, I'd like to keep my arm."
Big guy? No female on earth had ever called him that. He covered his giddy smile with one hand and looked around. The aisles between the rows of books were far too narrow for her to have dragged the armchairs between them. "How did you get all this stuff in here?"
"I took 'em apart," she grinned. "I like having my own space. See ya."
YOU ARE READING
Susan's Choice
Short StorySusan came from nowhere to her first-year English class in Vancouver and she won't talk about her past. Nor will she talk about why she likes shy and nerdy Dave and ignores the advances of gorgeous boy-toy Todd. Dave falls hard for Susan but things...
