E&A: Forever and Always

Crossing Paths

About a week after I first saw that stranger in the park I went there everyday. I didn't know why, but I couldn't help but hope to see him again. Sure it sounds stupid and silly, perhaps it is, but I couldn't help myself. So I went everyday for a week and sat under the same tree reading whatever it was I was reading then. On the Friday of that week I was at the end of my book and pondering what I would read next, when a little pug came pouncing onto my lap. A smile stretched across my face as the puppy excitedly bounced around gently nibbling my fingers and licking my face.
" Adi! Get back here. She doesn't want to play with you. " I heard someone calling from the same direction I assumed the small dog came from. I peered around the tree and there he is. The boy whom I had been hoping to see for over a week at this point. He ran up to me with a sheepish smile on his face.
" I am so sorry about her. She can get kind crazy sometimes." I laughed a little at his apology and stood up holding the dog in my arms, more than slightly flabbergasted that he was actually standing in front of me.
" Don't worry about it I love dogs. Plus this little ones a cutie pie so I don't mind to much. " I smiled really taking in his features for the fist time. He was tall but only slightly taller than me. He had kind of shaggy brown hair and grey eyes. He was gorgeous by anyone's standards. I gave Adi back to him not quite sure what to do next.
" I'm Ellis by the way." He stated.
"That's a really interesting name. It's not bad just different." I rambled
"I'm Ainsley." I sighed at the awkward mess I had just spat out.
"Do you wanna go get some coffee or something?" I said before I even realized I was saying it. Mentally face palming at my awkwardness.
" Sure there's this cute little place by my apartment that will be perfect, that away I can drop Adi here off at home." He smiled and gave the cute little dog a pat on the head.
"You don't live on campus?"
"Nope, dogs aren't allowed in the dorms and I didn't want to leave her with my parents so an apartment was the only other option.
" Is it near here?" I asked as we started to walk towards the edge of the park.
"Oh yeah it's only like a block off campus."
" Great." So with that we walked off the campus to his apartment.
The walk was short and once we arrived I paused a moment to take in the large building. It was that same color brick as most of the campus on the outsides making it look a little dated, but once you entered the building it proved to be a modern apartment building. We went in to the elevator and up a few floors to his apartment. When we arrived I held Adi while he unlocked the door. Once inside I put her on the ground giggling as she went and grabbed one of her toys shaking it around.
" This is a really nice apartment and I'm not gonna lie it's a lot cleaner than I expected."
" Thanks I'm kind of a neat freak. I'm not overly excessive, but I like things to be in order. " he smiled nervously."We can get that coffee now if you want, Adi has plenty of water and stuff so she should be fine for a few hours." He said. I thought it was rather unusual that he didn't put her in a pen or a crate like my family always did so I asked him.
"You just let her run around? You like put her in a crate or a pen or something?"
" No, she gets anxiety and the crates make it worse and as for pens, well let's just say she's an escape artist." He flashes a cute little smile sending a side glance to his puppy.
"Gotcha lets get going then, I'm always interested in discovering a new coffee dive." He nodded and I followed him out of his apartment building.
"So I'm guessing by the fact that you were surprised that I live off Campus you live in the dorms."
"Yeah my roommate drives me crazy but she's almost never there so it's not too bad." I said. I glanced to the side were he was walking next to me I noticed his lean muscular figure that was difficult to see underneath his hoodie. We continued walking and I ended up spacing out. I didn't realize I was zoned out until I heard Ellis calling my name.
"Ainsley you just walked right past it." He said standing right in front of the what I had guessed was the coffee shop. Once again I sigh at how oblivious I am, and I turn around walking back a few feet to were Ellis is standing smiling that stupid little half smile at me. We were stopped in front of a quaint A-frame building with blooming flower bushes in the front. I followed Ellis up the walk way to the door, which he pulled open for me. I thanked him and gave a small smile. No one besides my dad had ever opened doors for me before not even my boyfriends, and here was a stranger chivalrously opening the door for me. Once inside the coffee house the smell of fresh brewed coffee fills my lungs.
" I haven't even tasted the coffee and I already love this place." I said excitement filling my voice. Ellis chuckled at my statement grabbing my wrist gently and pulling me towards the counter.
" Now being that I excepted your invitation for coffee you must at least trust me to order your coffee for you since you've never been here. Therefore you don't know what the best thing to order is."
" Ok sure you seem to know what's good so go ahead." I nodded motioning toward the counter. He leaned forward toward the older woman standing behind the counter and says.
" Hey Milly how is it going." The woman shook her head an pursed her lips.
"Oh well, It's alright I guess Deana just got back from her trip to Europe she's talking about moving over there can you believe that girl's nerve." Milly said sounding rather exasperated " I may not have given that girl life but I sure as hell did raise here like I did, and I never gave her flack about her choices unless she deserved it and now she is talking about moving away to some other countries were I gotta pay an arm and a leg to see her."
"Heavens Mil, you seem pretty worked up. Do you want me to talk to her?" I was a bit amazed at how familiar they seemed with each other.
" Would you please. Maybe you can talk some sense into that girl, after all she listens to you. Anyways who is this lovely lady you've brought today I haven't seen you with a girl in a long while?"
" Oh right! Milly this is Ainsley, Adi felt the need to bounce on her at the park." Milly nods as though she understands and then he turns towards me. "Ainsley this is Milly." I wave and give a small smile.
"Hello" I say as warmly as possible.
" Hello Ainsley it's very nice to meet you."
"You as well"
"Well that is just wonderful what can I get for you two?" She looks tentatively at Ellis as if she knew he would be the one ordering. Ellis orders as my thoughts begin to consume me against my will. Did he bring girls here often? Is that why Milly seems so familiar with the situation? Oh shut up Ainsley they could just be family friends or something. Maybe he had a long term relationship and always ordered her coffee for her. Stop overthinking you don't know his story. I am riled out of my thoughts by his hand on my lower back sending goosebumps up my spine as Ellis leads me to a spot by the café window and we sit down. I put my elbows on the table and press my chin to my palm, looking Ellis over as he stares at his phone. I let my eyes roam over his sharp jaw and high cheekbones, admiring the way his hair drops into his face before he blows it away. My mind was still racing but using quieter tones. My eyes snap to his  just he looks up, the two us making eye contact for a moment before I look away and down at his sweatshirt.
"What? " he asks quizzically but not rude.
" I don't know, it's just you. You seem so seasoned and interesting. It makes me wonder why you agreed to go for coffee with me of all people. I'm sure you have dozens of girls swooning just waiting for you to talk to them, or the right moment to hit on you."
" Huh.." He smiled running his tongue over his lip before giving a sweet half smile. "I agreed because I could tell you were different."
"I bet you tell that to all the girls."
"No I uh.. I haven't had any kind of relationship for going on two years now. My ex left me while we were in Germany backpacking two years ago, and when I came home my dad really needed help taking care of my mom while she went through her last round of chemo. So I spent six months helping with that and then started here as a sophomore since I did most of my freshman credits senior year of highschool.
" Oh wow that's amazing, not that your girlfriend left you but I don't know a lot of guys that would stick around and help their parents like that."
" Really? Why wouldn't someone go back to take care of the two people who took care of them. Family is family." He states matter of factly, somehow making my heart warm even more than his story did. Milly drops by sets down two mugs. He looks to his coffee hesitantly taking a sip and wincing shortly afterwards.
"Careful, Milly makes a great cup of coffee but it is always super hot. "
"Thanks for the heads up." I say with a little grin as I engage party trick mode and take a huge swig only feeling a slight burn as the liquid rushes down my throat. Ellis just stares in awe amazed that I just drank piping hot coffee without an issue. I hope doesn't think I'm weird. He won't will he? No he's to nice for that, even if it did weird him out he wouldn't say anything. I try to quiet my thoughts so I can listen to Ellis' reaction.
" Oh god, Ainsley how'd you do that? That is literally the most badass thing I have ever seen." I smiled a sillier smile simply because of how small he looked. He was massive by my standards since I am so small, but in this moment he looked like a small child begging to know a cool trick.
" My junior year I had a tumor that was dissolving my jaw bone and I had to have surgery to get it removed. The anesthesiologist messed something up and I lost most of the topical feeling in my tongue so I can drink just about anything short of boiling water." I nodded and watched as the small excited child inside Ellis slowly faded back to the giant that I knew him to be.
"So how come you're still on campus over the summer? Just about everyone else leaves." Ellis questioned reasonably.
" My parents live in California so I was gonna go visit but my mom got called away for Doctors Without Borders. So I figured I would just a stay here and save the money for when both my parents will be home. What about you, what keeps you here over the summer?"
" I don't have anyone to visit here in the states and I couldn't afford the ticket to visit my parents so here I am." He shrugged
"Where do your parents live?"
" Scotland, the father immigrated here in his twenties, and met my mom. They were gonna move back sooner, but my mom got sick so they had to delay it till she got better. They moved last summer after they helped me move into my apartment here."
" God, how is it that one person can be so singularly interesting and want have coffee with someone like me. The coolest thing about me is that I can drink scalding coffee." I rant completely exasperated by the pure roundedness of this guy. He stares at me as though he is disappointed. Why? I don't know, but I have a feeling he'll get around to telling me.