After she gets the popcorn out of the microwave, she puts it in a bowl and I see her struggling to bring the bowl and two drinks into the living room. I rush over to her and help her by grabbing the drinks from her hands. As I grab the drinks our hands graze each other and I feel my heart skip a beat. I gulp hard and our eyes meet. Not for longer than a second but after we broke the contact I let out a huge breath I wasn’t even aware I was holding. She smiles and brushes past me as I stand in my place trying to catch my breath. After I do I turn around and see her sitting on the couch where I was previously sitting. I stand for a moment and I see Ashley look up at me with those dark, anticipating eyes.

“You going to sit down or stand up and watch the movie?” She says as she shovels a handful of popcorn in her mouth. “I hope you sit down because I’m thirsty and seeing as you have my drink then…”

I set the drinks down on her coffee table that sits in front of the couch and step away. “I think I’m going to go get changed into my pj’s. I’ll be right back.” I walk to her room and shut the door still trying to wrap my head around everything happening within me. The way Ashley is looking in her pj’s is making my heart jump, but damn it I don’t know why. After I’ve calmed down and my head stops floating, I change into my pants and short-sleeve shirt. Not as revealing as Ashley, I know, but I obviously wasn’t prepared for what she would be wearing.

I walk out of her room and back into the living room where Ashley is still sitting and watching the home screen of the DVD. I take a seat on the other end of the couch that Ashley’s on. I try not to make eye contact to avoid another momentray cardiac arrest. She hands me the bowl of popcorn which I graciously accept. Ashley starts the movie and I can’t seem to focus on anything but the space that’s between us, but I’m not making a move until Ashley does first. Like she was reading my mind, she gets up to reach for her drink and scoots a little closer to me. After she refreshes herself and as she puts it back she scoots even closer towards me. I feel more comfortable as I repeat her actions shortly after. We’re just as close as we were when we were walking together on campus today.