I didn't hear the footsteps slush through the puddles to give me warning of approach.
Suddenly there was a hand on my shoulder and I nearly jumped out of my skin. "Rose?" That sweet, velvet voice that I knew anywhere…
"Yeah?"
"What are you doing?" His Russian accent laced with his low voice was enough to make me loose it.
"I was just…uh…getting on my way…"
I stood up and was walking quickly in a random direction, half hoping he wouldn't follow.
But he easily caught up. "Roza."
That was it. I stopped immediately. Any other words and any other blocks would've been totally useless because I would've kept moving but that name…My Russian nickname could stop time if it wanted to.
"Yeah?" I managed to choke out.
"Tell me," he breathed. He was so close to me…Why was he taking such risks? Why was he being so affectionate? It was almost impossible to get through his tough mentor bravado. What changed?
It was broad daylight (the middle of the night for us) and the snow and turned to slush – but that did not mean it wasn't cold. Because it was.
I was sitting on a bench on the edge of campus where I thought no one would find me but somehow, like always, he knew where I was and he knew to find me.
I looked him up and down and soaked up every little piece of him I could. His shoulder-length drown hair was down. He was wearing his duster and some blue jeans – his usual get-up. With every breath he took, little white puffs of water vapor appeared.
That's when I looked up into his chocolate eyes.
That's when I got lost in them.
That's when he leaned down…!
And that's when I woke up.