Page 37 of Rise Above

hit me out of the blue, my shoulders raising to my ears. This wasn’t a date, but that notion didn’t stop my heart from racing. I wanted to look good for Aife. I wanted her beautiful eyes on me, and again, I couldn’t explain why. It was best to play this casual: jeans and a tee shirt. We weren’t doing anything crazy. Today was just about getting to know her.

With a quick hand through my hair, I left my condo

to meet Aife at a small breakfast café. Her one caveat for hanging out was that she had to spend a few hours working on her paper. I, of course, easily agreed. I’d sit in silence for hours on end if it meant time with her. She was doing weird things to me, and part of me didn’t like that. The last 88

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time I started to feel things, I got royally fucked. However, part of me didn’t care. Davis was always saying I needed more friends.

The café Aife picked was a small but bustling café

right off the University of Chicago campus. I wondered how close she lived to here. Today was supposed to be just lunch, but I’d weaseled a full day simply by milking my tongue injury. I had to promise myself I wouldn’t overuse her compassion. Aife was probably too kind for her own good.

“What can I get you?” A man with a blue apron

asked.

I stared at the board and made my decision fairly

quickly. “Large, black coffee and an egg, cheese, and bacon sandwich, please.” There was a slight lisp to my words, not helped by the stitches on the left side of my tongue.

“Name?”

“TJ.”

He nodded and set off to making my food as I found

a spot for Aife and me to sit. Aife hadn’t arrived, but that was okay. I wanted to see her walk in, to see her beautiful face. She would hopefully be wearing a smile, and she had a wonderful smile. It lit up her entire face, eyes crinkling and teeth flashing. Fuck, I was a goner already. I had to keep these thoughts at bay. There was still excitement at seeing her though.

The door chimed and the woman running through

my mind entered, looking around. When her eyes met

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mine, she smiled before heading to the counter. Aife placed her order and walked over to me, plopping into her chair.

“You’re getting up to get our orders.” She stuck her

tongue out at me.

“I’ve got an injury.” I purposefully made my lisp

sound worse.

Aife snorted. “To your tongue, not legs.” Her eyes

trailed to my jean-clad thighs as she said the word. She bit her bottom lip, staring at them for a moment before tracking her eyes back up to me.

Before I could respond, the waiter called my name

then hers. Shooting her a joking glare, I grabbed our food and sat back down. My stomach growled greedily at the smell of eggs. This was no surprise; I was frankly always hungry.

“Well, don’t hesitate to dig in.” Aife grinned as she

bit into her everything bagel.