Hot Coffee

The waitor had thrown his try on a table immedietly, fretting over Alicia and shooting her a thousand apologies before running off to get more napkins. She'd paid absolutely no mind to him, fidgiting around and praying to God a bit, wondering what she was going to do. In her panic, she hadn't seen Jacob pull his shirt off and try to jump to the rescue.

She really hadn't seen another man strip down in months, and that had been with Montare on her first day of school, so it'd be safe to assume that her face was just as red as Jacob's was - if not even more-so.

She couldn't help but stare in bewilderment for a second before the hot liquid reminded her she needed to move fast with its severly uncomfortable burning. She didn't exactly have the best reputation around school and didn't want to make it worse, but it didn't take longer than a second for her to decide she could regret things later. Alicia quickly crossed her arms, pulling her shirt from the bottom and up over head. Throwing the sweater onto the chair beside her, she tried to not think about her black bra showing, or the rest of her, for that matter. She threw on his shirt, just as their server returned with those late napkins.

The waiter had apologized profusely, but that wasn't important now. What was important was Alicia removing that coffee-sodden sweater and replace it with his own shirt. Jacob was waiting for her to excuse herself to go to the restroom and change, so his surprise was enhanced greatly when she instead threw caution to the wind and pulled off her sweater right then and there. If he had been red before, that was nothing compared to now; he was positively crimson as he found that he couldn't removed his enraptured eyes from the scene enfolding in front of him. Despite his best efforts to turn away, every little detail became etched in his mind. Her almost completely-bared skin, those small but perky breasts so tantalizingly near, encased within her black bra...

Tearing his gaze away, he barely caught a glimpse of Alicia pulling on his shirt as he instead stared holes into the cup of coffee that rested on the table in front of him. Seeing nothing else to assuage the tension that maybe only he was feeling, he grasped it shakily in his hands and pulled it up to his lips, taking a bigger sip of the hot liquid than he would have normally taken. Well, it was hot, that was sure. It basically scalded his tongue, but it took his mind off his embarrassment, however temporary that was. Putting down the cup with a cough, he glimpsed back up to see that she was now wearing his shirt. Actually, she looked better in it than he did… "Well, at… least it won't… burn now," he murmured sheepishly. This wouldn't be quite so mortifying if he didn't feel so strongly for her.

Alicia tried to shrug the shirt on to a tighter fit, pulling it down and rolling back the sleeves so it wouldn't droop over her hands. She was far too embarrased to look up at Jacob, or anyone else for that manner. The two of them must've looked so inappropriate! And there were people probably looking. And he was looking. The young woman let out a weak laugh at his words. Yeah, that was true. Her skin was saved. Her dignity, though, not so much...
Face still red, she glanced up at Jacob finally, realizing he had to have been feeling as bad as she did. "M-maybe we should head back to the- ...?" Her voice quieted, trailing off as she gazed back down, her mind not functioning well.

Head back? Head back to the where? He kept looking at her for a moment, though his expression was blank, until he figured… oh, the dorm, of course. Standing up fast enough that he nearly banged his legs against the table, he took her hand in his and gently stood her up from her own chair, only just remembering that they were leaving without paying for anything. Reaching into his wallet, he laid a couple bills down onto the table, figuring they could keep the change as he purposefully strode out of the café and back into the cold, leading her towards the dorms with her hand in his. He didn't feel that it was too important to bring the offending coffee with them, though he made sure that the coffee-stained sweater wasn't forgotten.

Wow, it was cold. Even with a jacket, it was… well, cold. It seemed like they spent way too long making their way back to the dorms, and his body was visibly shaking by the time they reached it. It was quite a relief to be within the warmth of the building. Looking at Alicia, the embarrassment came flooding back to his cheeks, but he tried desperately to ignore it as he forced himself to keep looking at her. There wouldn't be much of anything between them if this was the last thing they did together. "So, I guess that didn't go exactly as planned." He laughed nervously, his cheeks still burning red. "But we don't have to end our date, our hope. I'd still like to continue if you do. We probably don't want to go back outside, though…" He looked back helplessly at the snow-covered ground outside. "If you don't want to though, that's okay. I can take you back to your dorm." Of course he would respect her wishes, but he held onto to hope that she would want to spend a bit more time with him.

Alicia shrugged against the cold the entire way back, thinking she couldn't wait until the two of them reached warmth again - and the peace and quiet of the summer dorms. They had attracted so many people's attention in that cafe, if was with a sinking feeling in her stomach that she thought she wouldn't be able to show her face there for months. Jacob, though, had surely gotten a better view than everyone else had. Her cheeks still burning, she cast a glance aside at him every now and then. Although what he did was ... extreme, she'd done pretty stupid things before herself. The difference was that he did it for someone else. In a way, it was oddly flattering, and she smiled a bit - if she didn't think too hard on it.

Alicia looked away once they'd reached home, laughing just as awkwardly. What was there to do? What did she want to do? It felt wrong to just leave him here, but this really had gone in a way direction than she'd thought. What she wanted was to change into her pajamas and curl up in her bed. But she also wanted to night her imagination promised her. "I'd like to go to my room, please." she said quietly, still not looking at him.

He felt a bit deflated, that was for sure. It wasn't like he hadn't expected this, of course: the experience in the café had been so embarrassing, he couldn't possibly blame her. Still, it wasn't like he would enjoy the night ending with Alicia spilling coffee on herself and him looking like a jackass pulling off his shirt in a public place. Stupid misplaced chivalry… He couldn't say no to that request though, so he just said "Okay," and walked her back to her room. They were quiet the whole way, and Jacob noticed how Alicia wouldn't even look at him.

Well, there they were. The two of them stood outside of Alicia's dorm room, as if any movement would break the spell of silence that had fallen over them. "Will I see you again?" A slight frown formed on his face. It was a genuine question, considering how the day had gone. He liked her. Like, he really liked her. It would be a blow to have this be it.

The young woman leaned slightly back on her door, in the quiet she'd thought it'd be easier to think, easier to talk to him. Somehow, though, it only made things worse. Her heart was beating so fast, she was almost certain that he'd be able to hear it. It was the question he asked, though, that really topped it off. What was she supposed to say? Yes seemed hard to utter, but No was what seemed to be expected.

Alicia glanced away wearily. She didn't want to not see him again. She didn't want to send him away right now. She just wanted out of this damp clothing. As the silence hung in the air, she tried to find the courage to say to stay, or even just say Yes, but the words were fleeting. Nimbly then, the Summer got on her toes, one hand on his shoulder for balance, and reached up to give him a tender kiss.

For a moment, he could feel his body tense in confusion. The silence had hung so long that it had felt like they were frozen in time, but suddenly Alicia's slender hand was upon his shoulder. It was actually pretty cute how she had to stand up on her tip toes to reach him, a thought that felt like it was so far in the back of his head that it was merely white noise. In actuality, his mind felt blank with confusion, then shock as she leaned in. When her lips touched his, it was like a light went on in his brain. That voice that constantly tried to make him stop saying really lame puns started screaming above the emptiness, Kiss her, stupid!

For one fleeting moment, which in turn felt like minutes, Jacob stood there with wide eyes, not moving, not doing anything at all. He regained his composure though, faster than he expected himself to, and kissed her. Without really thinking about what he was doing, his arm wrapped around her back and pulled her body closer to his, slightly deepening their kiss. Her lips tasted like vanilla. It was a lovely taste.

Alicia couldn't help but smile a little against his lips as his hands wrapped around her, closing a lot if the distance between them. It was a rather soapy notion, but she had to confess to herself that it was never-the-less true: the Summer had quickly grown to love being in his arms. She wondered for a split-second if he had gotten her answer, that this was most certainly not the last time they'd meet. When she finally broke away from their kiss, it was to catch her breath, a slightly coy smile playing on her face. "You're going to be needing your shirt back, aren't you?" She muttered quietly to him in a slightly teasing tone, though Alicia wasn't  entirely sure herself what she was really suggesting. The girl leaned up to kiss him once again while her free hand slipped away, fumbling around to open the doorknob behind her.

Not for the first time, she wondered what about him made him so trustworthy, and attractive to her...
It had to have been his punny sense of humor

Well, this was unexpected. Even up to just before the kiss, Jacob had been pretty positive - like 83.25% sure - that this day would end badly. Now, with his lips against hers, that thought seemed to be so very long ago, locked away somewhere where his mind couldn't access it anymore. When Alicia finally broke off the kiss, it was as if a spell had been broken, and he found his eyes adjusting to the hallway once more, where the Summer stood smiling in front of her door. What day was it? That smile was different than any he had seen on her before. It was not at all like the more reserved, shy girl he had gotten to know, but it was a welcome change of pace.

You're going to be needing your shirt back, aren't you? Huh… He had almost forgotten that she was still wearing his shirt. Still looked better on her than him. Sure, he did need it back… eventually. It wasn't exactly imperative to get it back right away. When she kissed him once more, he was more than happy to reciprocate, letting his hands lay loosely on her hips as she fumbled for the doorknob. Moving a hand off of her and reaching for the doorknob himself, he placed his own hand on top of hers and helped her get the door open, mumbling softly against her lips, "No need to rush. Besides, it looks good on you." Where did those not-shy words come from? He wasn't so forward a minute ago. Her kisses were electrifying. Maybe she'd invite him in. At the very least, his chances were a lot stronger than just a little bit ago.

That hadn't been the answer she was expecting, if she were expecting one in particular at all, and left the Summer with a flush of red covering her cheeks. Thankfully, she thought, it would be harder to notice in this dim hallway; and even more difficult inside of her room. Quietly, Alicia let her hand slip off of the door knob and entangled her fingers with his. She grazed a kiss across his cheek before pulling back, stepping into her room, as dark as it was from the cloudy afternoon and the closed blinds. Thankfully, her room wasn't too big of a mess. Her bed was, for the most part, made and there was nothing more on the ground than a few scattered sketchbooks.

She wondered if he was supposed to leave now, go back to his own room and she could stay in hers, and they could both just let the water sort of settle. But she had to confess to herself again that she didn't want that, as bad as it might've sounded, she loved the feeling of being that close to him. Sending him away was the last thing Alicia wanted to do. "Do you want to come in?" she asked quietly.

A bit of a thrilling sensation rushed through his body when Alicia entwined her fingers with his, bringing him away from reality once more and into a sort of mind-fueled world where it was only the two of them together. Several thoughts ran through his head at once. Her lips feel really nice. Her blush is so cute. It doesn't look like she's making any move to leave. She was standing just inside her room, staring at him, and Jacob stared back, feeling his heart start to race all over again. There wasn't much he could really see in her room due to the relative darkness, but he could see what looked like sketchbooks on the ground. Do you want to come in? Well, there was the answer to his question, and such a beautiful answer too. If he said something that very second, it would be really stupid. That confidence he had when he kissed her was definitely there somewhere. He just had to find it… "Of course," he replied with a smile, nimbly stepping into the room after her and allowing her room to close the door. Oh, there that confidence was.

Wow, he was really in her dorm. It was still dark inside, but he could definitely make out the sketchbooks on the ground now. Everything else looked relatively tidy. Now that the two of them were in there together, all those confident words disappeared. What was he to say? He was going to say something stupid, wasn't he? "Nice place." Well, it could've been worse. This was all new territory for him, so he was basically going in blind. Makes sense that it's dark, then.

With the blush still on her face, Alicia quietly brushed past him again, glancing nervously out for a moment to see if there was anybody they might've missed in the hallways nearby and shut the door as gently as she could. A tiny 'click' could be heard as she locked it, out of habit, more than anything. A lot of Summer's in the dorm were too straight-forward to bother knocking, and she wasn't the type of girl to appreciate interruptions. And there they were, in her small, dark room, so quiet she could hear her own anxious breathing. She'd never had another boy in her room before, not at this hour, not like this. A few months ago, even the thought would've made her uncomfortable.

But now, as she walked back by her bed, she could only feel a stinging disappointment that she had created a distance between them - small as it was. "Thanks." Alicia said simply with a smile, pulling a few strands of hair back again and tucking them behind her ear. She decided now would be a good time to shed off her damp jacket, nimbly undoing the buttons before pausing half-way down, having trouble with one in the middle. "Jacob, could you help me, please...?" she asked, glancing up at him.

It really was dark. Alicia hadn't made a move to turn on any lights, and he certainly wasn't presumptuous enough to go looking for a light himself. Instead, she made for her bed, and Jacob began to look around the room again in order to allow himself something to do. The awkwardness and nervousness were bubbling up inside him, and he was desperate to not let it influence him while in Alicia's presence… not anymore. Taking a couple deep, hopefully not-noticeable breaths, he was broken from his calming breathing when Alicia asked him to help her undo a button on her jacket. Oh boy.

He nodded and slowly made his way over, realizing that she probably couldn't see that head nod very well, and he was already over to her in a step or two. Oh boy. Moving his hands to the middle of her torso, he placed his fingers nimbly upon the button, slipping a finger under it to get the button out of the slit and freeing Alicia from the confines of that segment. It felt different still to be so close to her… It wasn't bad though: quite the contrary, it was almost exhilarating. His eyes weren't even on the button, but on her own eyes, as his fingers did their job almost subconsciously. It felt almost as if his heart was trying to leap into his throat, but he instead did the only thing his mind could conjure up to quash his nerves: he kissed her again. Even though he'd done it already, his eyes widened all the same in the darkened room as his lips pressed against hers, his hands staying rigid against her jacket. Vanilla was still such a sweet taste. She was pretty good at getting his heart racing. Oh boy.

The young woman looked down as he swiftly approached, too shy to look up at him as her hands still fumbled around with the stubborn button before finally letting Jacob take care of it, who seemed to do with with far more ease. Whispering a sweet thank you to him, she quietly undid the last few buttons, letting the heavy coat slide off of her arms and unto the ground - the sleeves of his shirt falling over her hands after she did so; leaving his hands resting gently against her

Alicia hadn't expected him to kiss her again so soon, a little gasp of surprise escaping her as their lips met again. She was caught off guard, her heartbeat rapid and the butterflies in her stomach near going crazy before finally allowed herself to ease into his kiss; pressing back gently. "You surprised me a bit," she muttered, smiling softly before giving him another tender kiss on the cheek. Alicia slowly lifted her arms and wrapped them around his neck, standing on her toes and loosely hanging off of him.