I had told Mary and Brit about my plans to go to Mike's on Saturday and they had both laughed when I told them it was to study for exams. I was currently on the subway to Mike's house with my bag full of books and trying to convince myself that Mary and Brit were wrong; Mike and I were going to get some work done. While I was walking through the maple-canopied street by the perfectly landscaped gardens on the way to Mike's house, I marveled at how good the air smelled here. All the flowers were blooming coloring the lawns with blues, yellows and purples. The sun was already high and coming in through the thick leaves in rays. I did not even notice that I was smiling until Mike answered the door and chuckled at my expression.
"Someone's happy today," he noted mockingly.
"Quiet down," I retorted but could not stop smiling. "It's just so pretty outside. You're neighborhood is like a botanical garden or something."
"I see," Mike replied but kept on chuckling.
I walked past him haughtily and kicked off my shoes before going into the family room and setting up my books on the coffee table. Mike came in and sat next to me on the ground.
"I'm sorry babe," he said. "You just looked so cute."
I said it was fine but got out a pen as soon as I came to the family room and was about to start going over some stuff for history. Mike simply sighed next to me and then all of a sudden he tackled me and started tickling me. I yelped in surprise and then proceeded to let out squeals of laughter begging him to stop.
"Not until you forgive me!" he yelled defiantly.
"Fine! I forgive you!" I gasped between breaths, accepting defeat.
"Good," he replied. "I'm going to go get some stuff. I'm guessing we're doing history first?"
"Yes."
Mike smiled at my short response and left to get his books. I was still trying to regain my breath but forced myself to concentrate on my history notes again. I paused to get out my IPod and put on one of my favorite playlists. Mike returned and did not say anything as he proceeded to occupy the other half of the coffee table with his stuff.
I lost track of time as I became immersed in dates and theories and potential essay plans. My heart leapt when one of my earphones was suddenly pulled out. I glanced up and was surprised to find Mike there. Of course he chuckled.
"I was just wondering if you wanted some food? I'm starving and I think we need a break," Mike suggested. I agreed and we made our way to the kitchen. I asked if we could make pasta since it was quick and I still wanted to finish going over certain parts of biology and math. Mike agreed and got out all the ingredients. I heated up the sauce while Mike boiled some salted water. Soon the pasta was in the water and the sauce was ready.
"Did you know how cute you are when you study?" Mike asked while we waited for the pasta to finish cooking.
"More like highly irritable," I joked but blushed at the complement nonetheless.
"Yes, well that too," Mike conceded as he leaned closer to me and kissed me softly on the lips. I smiled and then kissed him back, pressing him against the counter. I felt my stomach start to clench up when we heard the timer go off. Mike strained the pasta as I got some plates and tried to direct my thoughts away from the fact that Mike and I were alone in the house. I reminded myself that I wanted to be able to study. After I poured some tomato sauce over both our plates of pasta and Mike grated cheese on top, we made our way back to the family room. I put my History stuff away and got out my chemistry notes from the beginning of the year. Mike and I questioned one another as we ate and ended up in more than a few debates about material that we then had to look up on the internet. I laughed triumphantly when I won the last debate about the definition of an intermediate in a reaction. Eventually we decided to start studying seriously again. I put my earphones in so I could focus and Mike started mumbling to himself while he took notes, a habit that I had just then noticed. We continued like that for quite a while and it was not until I paused my music and got up to stretch that I saw how much darker it had become outside.
