Hair brushes against my collar bone and legs tangle with my own. The auburn curls shine bright in the morning sun. Her delicate hands brush my stomach, chest, arms, face. I turn on my side and come face to face with bright gold eyes.

“Levi,” She whispers. Her voice is soft, and stirs something within me, “I love you.”

She pulls her leg up over me and leans in close. I let my hand fall to her tight and drink in her warmth.

With that declaration she presses her lips to mine, pushing against me. I kiss her back, and this time, there’s no alcohol on our breath. Our bodies fit together like two pieces of a puzzle, like this, like we, were meant to be.

Suddenly a shrill noise fills the room and I open my eyes to bright sunlight.

“Time to get up!” Autumn calls, walking out of the bathroom dressed and ready to go.

I turn off my alarm and feel my cheeks get hot as I look at her, remembering her warm skin against mine. She shoves some books into her backpack and looks over at me.

“You’ve got ten minutes, Levi. I’ll see ya down stairs.” She smiles and leaves the room.

After she leaves I hop into a much needed cold shower. If only that dream was true. Nothing changed after that night at the cabin. I’ve tried a couple different times to tell her how I feel, but I just haven’t found the right moment yet. I hop out of the shower and throw some clothes on. With a quick scan over the room to make sure I have everything I grab my backpack and take off down the stairs to meet up with Autumn.

***************

So far, I’ve been able to go four months with Autumn knowing how I feel. I glance over at her sitting next to me. Her golden eyes are glued to the professor. I had an open spot in my schedule this semester so I took Intro to Food Science with Autumn. She’s definitely more interested in it than I am. While her major is Culinary Arts, it may also have something to do with the professor.

I look back up to see what he’s writing on the board and frown at him. Good thing he’s a professor, and off limits to students, or I would have more of a problem with him than I do.

We’ve been up at Sims University for about a month. Cal, Aron, Carly, Annie, Autumn, and I are all in the same dorm. The couples each have their own room while Autumn and I share ours. Honestly, some days I’m fine with everything. But, some nights, when she’s asleep and I can hear her quiet breathing fill the room, I wish she was curled up by my side. My dream from this morning comes back to me and I bite down on the inside of my cheek. Class ends and we all stand to leave.

“Ms. Morris.” Dr. Corban says. His eyes hold onto her like she’s a pricey jewel he wants to own. It reminds me of the way a predator looks at its prey.

Autumn looks up to him. “Yes, sir?” She asks.

His eyes flick to me, “May I talk to you without your body guard?” He asks. His tone could pass as joking, but I’m not sure he is.

“Oh, sure.” She says, giving me a small wave.

I smile at her and walk out the door, waiting outside for her. A few minutes pass before she walks out, beaming.

“Hey, what was that about?” I ask her, pushing off the wall.

“Oh, he asked me to work for him a couple evenings a week grading papers and stuff.” She replies, falling into step beside me.

“Cool.” I’m a little bummed she’ll be spending time alone with him.

“Yea, I’m supposed to be at his office tomorrow at 6. So I’ll have to leave for there right after dinner.” She smiles.

I nod and step to the side, opening the door for her to walk through. As I do, I see a figure in the corner of my eye. I look back and see Dr. Corban standing in the door of our classroom, his eyes glued to Autumn. He looks to me as he notices and smirks. I turn and walk out behind Autumn. This guy was giving me the creeps and I did not like the way he was singling her out at all.