17

I 'm startled awake by a knock on the door. Zoey is in her bed snoring, so it's not her.

Whoever it is knocks again, "I'm coming!" I whisper shout, "Will you please shut up? It's the middle of the night!"

Checking my watch for the time, it's not as late as I initially thought, though it's still after eleven o'clock. It feels later after the night I had, I guess.

I crack the door open, and all the air gets pulled straight from my lungs. My body is instantly on fire, and it feels like electricity is pinging off the walls. WHAT IS THIS?!

His large body seems to take up all the space in the narrow hallway. "R-roman," I stutter like an idiot before reality hits me. "Oh my god, how are you standing here? You were hit so hard! Are you okay?" I'm whisper-yelling again because I'm in shock but aware enough that I don't want to be the jerk that wakes her roommate and a whole dorm hall.

With all the thoughts bouncing around my head and coming out of my mouth I just now notice he hasn't even moved. Is he breathing? He's just staring at me looking torn. Somewhere between drowning in painful memories, but also like when an animal sees fresh meat.

That's when I realize I'm standing in front of him in my pajamas. Pajamas you don't even wear to run to Walmart. Pajamas you don't wear for your first real encounter with the man you can't get off your mind. They're my comfiest pajamas, but they only consist of silk white shorts and a cropped camisole.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry. I was asleep when you knocked, and I wasn't thinking." I feel my whole body turn red with embarrassment as I spin around to grab my fluffy pink robe off the back of the door.

I notice a similarly embarrassed Benny elbow Roman a little as I cover myself up.

Roman is still just staring at me. He looks so out of place in my boring dorm hallway. I mean the man is the size of a truck! They both are. Then you add in the beauty of these two men, and no one stands a chance.

Roman is all hard edges where Benny seems smoother and more relaxed. Since he's staring, I decide to stare a little too. Starting with his sandy blonde-brown hair, forehead wrinkled in thought, and jeez, even his muscles have muscles. He's just wearing a pair of well-loved jeans and a white T-shirt that hugs all of those muscles, leaving little to the imagination. While all of him is gorgeous, my entire body goes on alert when I stare into his eyes. I've never seen more captivating eyes. Not even in all the creatures we photographed around the world. One is a shocking cerulean blue, while the other is as green as the first blades of grass in the spring.

I don't know how long we stand there just staring at each other until Benny makes a small coughing sound.

I'm not sure whether it's from the intensity of his stare, or being caught staring myself, but it's all a little much, so I lower my head and begin to fidget when I ask, "Roman are you okay? What's going on? It's almost midnight."

A hand broaches my line of sight and I watch as it very slowly approaches my face. The moment he makes contact it feels like the world stops.

My body is no longer mine. There's a tingling where we're connected and it's the most amazing thing I've ever felt. WHAT IS THIS?! With his index finger curled under my chin, he slowly tips my face up so I'm staring into his eyes again. I swear my heart is going to stop, and that was before he started talking.

Oh lord, now he's smiling and it's even more beautiful than I ever could have imagined. Then he says in a low, gruff voice, "Can we take a walk and talk?"

For several moments words leave me, and I just nod a little until my ability to speak finally returns.

"Let me throw on some real clothes real quick and I can meet you out in front of the building. I don't want you to get in trouble for being in here . . . wait how DID you get in here?"

He just smiles like he knows it muddles my thoughts, takes my hand in his, kisses the top of my knuckles, and begins walking down the hallway as he tosses a smile over his shoulder.

How can a man make me feel like my heart is going to stop and beat out of my chest at the same time?!

I close the door softly, holding on to all the calm energy I can for a moment. Once the door is closed and I hear their heavy footsteps fade away, I whisper-screech as I rush across the room. "ZOEY!"

"WHAT, WHAT, WHAT?!" she cries sitting straight up in bed and removing her eye mask.

"ROMAN. Just. Knocked. On. Our. Door," I squeak out, thumb hooking over my shoulder in the direction of the door. I think I might be on the edge of hyperventilating.

Zoey is out of bed now, eyes the size of saucers, rubbing her hands up and down my arms. "Breathe Lee, it won't do you any good if you pass out. Remember, deep breath in. Hold it. 5. 4. 3. 2. 1. Release . . . better?"

I nod.

"Okay, let's try that again. What's going on?" she pries.

I take one more deep breath and get all my words out on the release of that same breath, "Roman and Benny knocked on the door and woke me up. He's okay and not hurt, but I don't know how, and he wants to take a walk and talk," I finish talking, dropping unceremoniously onto my bed.

I didn't know Zoey's eyes could get any bigger.

I hop up off my bed rushing to my dresser. "I told him I was going to throw on some clothes and meet him outside. Is this crazy? It feels crazy."

"It's definitely crazy, but you better get your ass out there and find out what's up. You've been kinda crazy about him," she says with that stupid eyebrow wiggle she does.

"Okay, right. It's definitely crazy, but I'm just gonna talk to him and see what's up. What could go wrong?"

When I've finally gotten myself together, in my favorite black flare leggings, a comfy pink hoodie, and a wild silver messy bun, I rush outside.

He's waiting under the tree just outside the dorm building with two drinks in his hands that were not there before, and he seems to have lost Benny. He notices me glancing around for him and points towards the courtyard that connects all the dorms. I see Benny lounging on the edge of the small concrete wall, waving when he sees me, so I give him a small wave in return.

Nodding, I walk towards Roman on shaky legs.

"I wasn't sure what you liked, so I got a caramel macchiato and a hot cocoa," he says, nodding to each Cool Beans cup. He looks unsure of himself, which looks adorable on this gorgeous mammoth of a man.

"I love both, but if I drink that coffee right now, I won't get to sleep again until tomorrow." I say with a small smile as he hands me the hot cocoa.

He takes a sip of the coffee as he slowly starts to walk away. I follow his lead, also sipping on my cocoa. It's the perfect mix of temperature and creamy chocolate goodness. A small moan of contentment slips out, and he freezes.

"As much as I love that sound, if you could refrain until we've discussed everything, that would be very helpful," he says, his voice somehow even more gravelly than before.

I release a nervous giggle, "Soooo, um, can we start with the questions I blurted at you back at the dorm?" Still slightly nervous about walking around with a practical stranger in the middle of the night, I glance around and see a few different groups of other students. One group looks to be studying and the other looks like they might have had a few drinks and thought it was a good time to play football. No one told me that college kids were so nocturnal.

"I'm okay. I'll explain how, later."

"You were definitely not okay. I was there. I saw how hard you were hit. You should not be okay. I mean, I'm glad you are, but how is that possible?"

He smiles before he says, "I know it doesn't make sense right now, but I promise I'm really okay. And I'll tell you everything soon."

"That's not strange or anything . . ." What am I doing? I am in so over my head right now. "Okay, so um, what did you want to talk about?"

"Well, you, actually. I'm sure you've noticed I seem to be . . . drawn to you," he says cryptically.

"Umm okay, what a . . . what about me?"

He stops us, takes my cup, turns and sets them both on a bench. He turns back to me again, scratching the back of his neck, "Sorry I'm not good at this, um, can we start with your name? I feel like I'm at a bit of a disadvantage since you know mine." The crooked smile on his face makes my heart feel all fluttery.

"Oh, of course! I never really got to introduce myself to you after the whole . . . uh . . . you know what, never mind." I wave it off with another nervous giggle. God I sound like an airhead. Gathering a steadying breath, "Let's start over. Hi, Roman. I'm Leera."