Page 84 of You Float My Boat

‘Do you need help with those?’

I glanced up to find an eager face smiling down atme, though most of it was covered in a large bobble hat sliding too far down her forehead.

‘Oh, no thanks. I got it. Just clumsy,’ I replied, slipping my almost empty backpack off my shoulders to load up.

Yes, I know. I should have been using it.

‘Okay.’ The girl stepped over my mess and headed into the library without another word.

This time, I shoved my books into my backpack, and held the box – and only the box – secure in my hands.

Amazingly, I wasn’t more flustered as I walked into the library and around the stacks, spotting Charlie over at the table in the far corner where we’d agreed to meet in ten minutes. I couldn’t even find it in myself to get annoyed because, of course, he was early. In all the times we’d met in the past few weeks, I’d never once got there before him.

Even today, when I’d made a special effort to arrive first – hence not using up precious seconds to load my backpack – there he was, rocking back on his chair while his fingers typed away on his phone like he had all the time in the world. Science students were not known to have a lot of spare time, but Charlie seemed to have more spare time than me – a first-year English student. In fact, coupled with the Boat Race it should be next to impossible to find a space in his calendar, yet he’d never once cancelled on our times together.

The only bonus about arriving second was that I had the luxury of seeing him in his space without any interruptions. We’d spent so much time together over the past few weeks, but I’d never properly had a chance toreally look at him – not without him asking whether I’d forgotten how to blink, anyway. Plus, I was usually too busy rushing. But now, this morning, I could take my time to see who I was becoming so familiar with, in a way I’d never been.

Thankfully, I’d reached the point where I no longer stared at his mouth whenever he spoke. Whereas before I’d always been a little too nervous in his presence, this Charlie was so easy to spend time with, as though we’d known each other for years instead of him just being my brother’s best friend. He teased me like it was his job to make me smile. I was learning his habits – the way he slowly ran his knuckles along the stubble coating his jaw whenever he was thinking hard, just as he was doing right now. Or how he always wore a baseball cap to study, and curled the rim like it was a stress ball.

My hardest lesson was that there was no way I wasn’t going to fall hard, because I was already plummeting. The last few weeks of spending time together, holding hands and touching whenever we could, it had become clear that any rules we’d put in place to appear like we were in a relationship were merely superficial. Because after that kiss – the one where he couldn’t not kiss me – it didn’t feel like there was anything fake about us at all.

It was part of the reason I’d wanted to arrive early. Part of the reason I’d brought a box filled with freshly baked sugary goodness. Because as much as I was desperate for it to happen again, I needed to get some answers before it did. Because that was the mature thing to do.

That’s right, I, Violet Brooks, was being mature.

Any concerns I was having about kissing or not kissing disappeared the second he spotted me. Whatever he’d been typing on his phone was forgotten as he stood up with a grin so wide it rivalled hot chocolate on a cold day for how warm and inviting it was. I might have stopped staring at his lips, but I would never get over that smile. The one that lit up his face and charged the sparkle in his eyes like he’d been plugged into the mains.

Oh boy. He could kiss me all he wanted if he kept looking at me like that.

Focus,Violet.

Answers first. Then kissing.

‘Hey …’ he breathed out, the deep timbre of his tone ghosting over my skin until every cell tingled.

How was it possible for one person to have such an effect?

‘Good morning,’ I smiled back, amidst the adrenaline and excitement rushing through me as I leaned in and kissed his cheek, because that was the polite thing to do. ‘I’m late again, I see.’

‘Nope. I’m just early. I had a study session cancelled so I thought I’d save our spot. Didn’t want anyone else to get it.’

‘Good idea,’ I replied, while subtly inching around to the other side of the table so I could concentrate, because that distinct Charlie freshly showered smell of post-rowing exertions, oaky and clean which always heightened my senses, made it virtually impossible to do so.

I placed the box down and eased off my backpack. His eyes tracked the movement, ‘What’s in there?’

‘A present.’

‘Seriously? I love presents,’ he replied, with that same enthusiasm I’d seen at the sandwich shop.

‘You’d best open it then.’

He leaned across the table, reaching out long fingers to pull the box closer. Carefully, he eased off the red and white elastic ribbon, and wrapped it around his wrist.

‘Cupcakes, brownies, jam doughnuts? And are those chocolate chip cookies?’ he gasped as he peered inside, breathing in that sweet sugar hit. ‘You really brought these for me?’

‘Yup, you took me to your favourite sandwich shop, I thought I’d bring you a selection of my favourite studying snacks from my favourite bakery.’

‘How did you know cupcakes were the way to my heart?’

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