Games of Power and Prowess

Chapter 17: Catch a Break

"Why is your face so cold?" Natalie asks, releasing me from the hug she pulled me into when I arrived for my daily assisting post. Her hands rub my arms up and down to create friction and warm me up.

"Morgan, Jo, Em, and I sat outside for lunch." I answer. Her furrowed brows show me the wordless why the hell would you do that? she doesn't need to say. "Morgan ordered food and we were waiting for it to arrive but it didn't come in until lunch was pretty much over so we just waited out there with him." I explain, moving away from her so I can sit in my designated seat by her desk.

"Oh, no you are not sitting there. You probably have hypothermia!" She says exaggeratedly, taking my hand and pulling me along with her. She sits in her chair behind the desk and brings me to sit on her lap. Her arms wrap comfortably around my torso to keep me steady.

"You're psychotic, Nat." I say jokingly, leaning closer on her and readjusting my position so that I'm more comfortable.

"Oi, I'm only trying to warm you up. Can't have my little Ally freezing to death now that we're finally in a good place again." Her fingertip touches my nose when she says my name and I scrunch up my features, probably making myself look even cuter.

We sit in this position for a while, Nat deciding to do a bit of paperwork and me laying with my arms around her and my face in the crook of her neck. Every once in a while, I kiss her collarbone just to watch her squirm and smile at me. I sit up and sigh, looking up at the ceiling for a moment.

Midterm exams are coming up and I am not prepared for them. Yeah, I'm a good student but I've only got good grades because I worry so much about them. I'm smart but because I've moved around so much, I miss a lot of prerequisite classes that would be applicable to my classes now. Usually I can just go online or ask my friends to help with homework but these are exams and I'm afraid I'll do poorly on them. Especially because I've been so focused on Nat as of late.

"What's on your mind, love?" She asks, her fingertips touching my jaw to bring me back to Earth. Her eyes are bright as she leans against the back of her chair and looks up at me.

"Can you get all my teachers to give me A's on my midterms?" I ask playfully but with some seriousness to my question. Her eyebrows raise and when she sees that I'm serious, her face morphs into one of thought.

"I don't think I could ask your teachers to do that." I try to conceal a frown. "I could go into the system and change your final grades, though." She says, her palm cupping my chin and bringing my pouting lips to hers. I can't help but smile when she places a big, exaggerated smooch on my lips. Her laugh is almost silent as she releases my face.

"Could you?" I ask seriously this time. If she could help me get good grades this semester, I would actually marry this woman. I would become her wife; absolutely no hesitation.

"No." She laughs, I pout and cross my arms. Her fingers slip between my arms and she pulls the apart only to embrace me so I can't cross them again. "But, I can help you study for them. It worked last time and I am more than willing to go out to that coffee shop and study with you."

"Is that going to be our spot?" I ask, deflecting her offer. She smiles, and lets out a small 'huh' as if she were just realising the opportunity for us to have a place that's our own.

"I suppose. It's a cute little shop. And safe for us, too." She says, smiling when she comes to the conclusion that it could become our little date spot. I look down at her and can genuinely feel my heart beating in my chest. "So, shall we set up a time to meet at our spot to study for your exams?" I groan and lean back, nearly falling before Natalie reaches around me to hold me in place.