In Case of Heartbreak

20 | surprise

C H A P T E R 2 0 | D E A N

You're not working tonight, right?

Glancing up from my phone, I realized that the professor was still running over the same slide that she had been for the last ten minutes, and when my phone buzzed a few moments later with a reply, there was no guilt in my mind as I looked down at the screen.

No, why? Got something planned? x

The symbol for a kiss that appeared at the tail end of her message caused an immediate smile to appear on my lips. It'd been a few days since the moment at her house, where I'd taken the risk and laid my feelings out on the line, and I had yet to fall back down from the cloud I'd stumbled upon. Katie was great; thoughts of her running through my mind every moment of the day, and everything with her was effortless, which stemmed from the trust and relationship we'd built over the last couple of months.

It's a surprise. ;)

Though I was itching to tell her, I left the message at that, hitting the send button before tucking my phone back into my pocket.

The rest of the lecture seemed to breeze by, though when I tried to pay attention, my plans for that afternoon circled my mind. I knew it was unconventional, that was a given, and while it wasn't something I'd thought about before speaking with Stella earlier in the week, I'd figured it would be fun.

I was one of the first ones out the door when the lecture let out, eager to put my plan into motion. Stepping out into the quad, I was just one student within the crowd, but through the throng of people I easily spotted Katie waiting near the edge of the building, a grin blossoming on my face as I neared her.

"Hey," I greeted, leaning in close to plant a quick kiss on her lips.

She'd only spotted me at the last minute, her blonde hair obstructing her view as it blew wildly with the breeze. As I pulled away, her lips twitched upwards and she hitched her bag higher up on her shoulder. "Hey."

"How was your day?"

It seemed completely natural for me to lift my arm and toss it over her shoulder, pulling her closer to me as we headed for the parking lot.

"Good," she nodded. "I only really had my lab today, but I got a bit of studying done while I was waiting for you." Her gaze suddenly shifted upwards as she tilted her head back, excitement flashing across her features. "And I'm just a little curious to see what this surprise is you have planned."

A smirk pulled on my lips as I chuckled. "You'll just have to wait and see."

My amusement grew as we settled into the car and I pulled off of campus, watching the curiosity on Katie's face grow as I headed in the direction of our apartments. It was apparent that she was trying to figure out where we were going as her eyes repeatedly scanned our surroundings, but as I turned onto an unfamiliar street, a determined crease formed above her brows.

It wasn't long before I pulled into a parking lot across the street from a small plaza, deliberately backing into the spot so that our backs would be towards the building. Katie's hand was quick to reach for her seatbelt, but before she could climb out of the car and spoil the surprise, I grabbed her hand and held her back.

"Remember how I said this was a surprise?" I asked, a mischievous look flooding my features as she nodded slowly. "Well, you're going to have to close your eyes then."

Incredulity spread quickly across her face as her eyes widened marginally. "You're serious?"

"Mhm," I nodded. "If your eyes are open you might figure it out beforehand, so if you want to get out of this car any time soon – "