"Hey, Sam." Jess gave him a big smile and set her backpack on the floor. Their study corner was quiet as usual.
"Jess!" He stood up, taking her in his arms, giving her a long, passionate kiss. She'd been looking forward to it all day.
"Running late today?" He asked once they finally came up for air.
She shrugged. "Teacher wanted to give me some pointers."
"So the art is going good?"
She shrugged again. "It's more complicated than I expected. I'm sure you'll be seeing plenty of my assignments soon enough. Be kind?"
He laughed. "Always."
Jess pulled out a sketchbook, the teacher's instructions still fresh in her head. So much for thinking an art minor would be a piece of cake. She pulled her feet up into the chair trying to make a makeshift drawing board. The ones out in the common area were more comfortable, but then they would lose their quiet privacy. Even during the summer sessions, the college still teemed with students.
A while later, she pushed her hair and arms up over her head, her pencil planted between her nose and upper lip, staring at what she'd drawn so far with dissatisfaction. Yes, definitely a harder subject than she originally estimated.
A faint snicker, made her glance Sam's way. "What?"
"You're just too cute." His dimples were very pronounced. His eyes were dancing.
"I'll have you know, Big Bad Jessica does not do cute." She tried to scowl at him, knowing quite well he was the one who was too cute for words, but didn't do a very good job of it. "Are you even studying?"
He glanced down guiltily at his books and closed them one by one, then set them on the side table. "Well, actually, I was hoping I could talk to you about something."
"Oh?" Normally studying came first. She wondered what was up.
He took out some papers from his bag, but didn't set them down. She couldn't see enough of them to tell what they were for.
"I haven't done anything yet. So there's no kind of commitment," he said quickly. "And I don't want you to feel pressured into anything. I just thought, in the end it might be more convenient and give us more privacy. We could even have better, comfortable chairs, if we can afford it."
"Whoa, whoa! Sam, what in the world are you talking about?"
He stared at her, looking suddenly embarrassed, his nose scrunching up as he tried to put his thoughts together. "Uhm, Stanford has housing for…housing for couples. I thought if you wanted, we could apply for one?"
She was flabbergasted. She didn't know if she was more surprised at the grand idea or the fact he was the one to bring it up. He really had changed. This was the first time he'd made a move on his own where their relationship was concerned. Jeff would freak. "Oh, Sam…"
His expression collapsed with sudden doubt. "Was that too forward?"
Jess launched from her chair, sending sketchpad and pencils everywhere, to throw herself at him. She flung her arms around him, trying to hug the life out of him. She squealed with utter glee. "That would be awesome!"
After a moment, he seemed to finally realize this meant she was pleased, and hugged her fervently back.