"Thanks for waiting with me," I say to Nate.
"It's no problem really," he says absently.
"Is it troublesome having to look after me," I ask him unsure of what he actually thinks. He seems distant while Owen is more friendly and outgoing.
"No, not really, you're cool," he says looking at me with a small smile.
"Oh okay, thank you anyway," I say to him feeling a little better.
"Don't sweat it. Everywhere that we've accompanied you Owen and I were going there anyway. Mekhi was really unhappy when you got into that altercation with that girl before. Although you handled yourself well and are more than capable of defending yourself, in my opinion anyway, he wants to prevent those type of situations from occurring too often," Nate says giving me information that I wasn't looking for but appreciate all the same.
"Yeah, I figured that much. Thank you for sharing that with me," I say to him.
"No problem, relax a little bit. I know I'm not as cozy as Owen and not much of a talker but I'm a cool dude. I just try not to get too friendly with my friends' girlfriends," he says explaining his quiet demeanor.
"I understand, thanks for telling me that as well so I don't feel awkward if we happen to be alone together. I just thought that maybe you didn't like me," I say truthfully.
"Nah, it's not that little lady. It's just a respect thing," he answers.
"Okay cool," I say accepting his answer.
We sit in silence for a few minutes both of us engrossed in our phones, but it's no longer awkward for me. I understand why he wouldn't want to be too friendly with his friends' significant others.
'Yeah, what if the relationship doesn't last long and you've made friends with the other party? It's too much drama. It's better to be neutral.' I think to myself as I post some pictures of tonight's pep rally to my newsfeed.
"Hey, baby. Sorry to keep you waiting," Mekhi says walking over to us.
"Its fine, Nate was kind enough to wait with me," I say to him standing.
"Thanks man, I appreciate it," Mekhi says shaking his hand.
"It's no problem, you guys have a good night," Nate says and take his leave.
"You too," I call after him.
"Finally, I've got you to myself after two days of not holding you," Mekhi says pulling me into his arms and kissing me deeply.
"I missed you too," I say breathlessly.
"Come on, let's get out of here," he says tugging my hand and we begin to ascend the stairs to leave the arena.
"Ouch, can we slow down a little bit," I say with aching feet as we reach the stadium's exit.
"What's wrong love," he asks with concern etched on his face.
"Nothing really, it's just my feet are a little sore," I say and he looks down and see the cute wedge sandals I decided to wear this morning.
"Aww baby, why didn't you change your shoes," he asks pulling me to a bench.
"I didn't think about it honestly and I didn't expect we would be having a pep rally today," I answer
and he unstraps one of my sandals and massage my foot.
"Hmm, I guess it's not your fault this time…how does this feel," he asks continuing to massage my aching foot.
"Amazing, but you don't have to do this," I say to him as he unstraps my other sandal and begin massaging the other foot.
"Its fine baby, I don't mind it," he says easily with that half-smile and I know there's no stopping him.
"I know, but I'm fine now. I can just walk barefoot to my car," I say standing and wincing a little at the pain in the heels of my feet.
"No, this won't do," he says scooping me up with my wedges in hand.
"Ahhh what are you doing," I say surprised at his sudden action.
"I'm going to carry you to your car," he says firmly leaving no space for argument and begins walking.
"B-but you can't carry me like this," I say to him.
"And why not," he asks.
"This is too personal, we're in public and my car is kind of far," I say to him pleading.
"One, you're my woman so I don't care about what others think or say and two, I'm an athlete that's worked out for years and you don't weigh enough to be a burden to me," he says matter of factly.
"Okay, umm how about a piggy back ride," I offer not wanting to be carried through the parking lot in his arms.
"Alright, I can agree to that," he says putting me down and stooping low to allow me to climb his back.
"Okay, are you ready," I ask nervously biting my lip.
"Yes, come on," he says and feeling a little childish I get on his back and when he stands I wrap my legs around his waist locking my feet together.
"Is this okay," I ask him.
"Yes," he says placing each hand under a thigh supporting me with sandals still in hand.
"I can hold my shoes," I offer.
"No, it's alright. Now where did you park," he asks and he starts walking.
"Over there," I say pointing in the direction of my car.
"What do you want to do this evening," he asks as we walk through the parking lot.
"It doesn't matter as long as I'm with you," I answer hugging him close resting my chin on his shoulder and leaning my head on his.
"We can grab something to eat and go back to my place," he says with his deep velvet voice.
"Sound like a plan to me," I reply.
"I might not let you go home tonight," he says with a raised eyebrow.
"That's fine, I trust you. I'll let my family know that I won't be home tonight," I say easily.
"Are you sure," he asks.
"Yeah, I'll just have to borrow some of your clothes again," I whisper in his ear.
"That's alright with me," he says turning his head to look at me.
"Cool," I say and kiss him on the cheek.
With that he continues to walk to my car carrying me on his back the whole way. I'm a little nervous about spending the night with Mekhi, it'll be the second time ever. However, I'm confident enough in my decision to not let my nervousness consume me and let Mekhi's steady stride calm me. Reaching my car he places me on my feet so I can grab my keys out of my pocket and unlock the doors.
"Do you mind if I drive," he asks.
"Not at all," I answer and hand him my keys in turn he opens my door for me.
"We'll leave your car here on campus for the night. Is that alright with you," he asks when he gets
into the car and starts the engine.
"Sure, it's alright with me," I answer with a smile.
"Cool," he says and pulls off.
He drives to his dorm and parks my car next to his. We get out of my car bringing my school bag with us, lock and put the alarm on it, then get into his car. When he's putting my bag in his trunk he brings me a pair of slide on flip flops.
"Thank you! When did you get these," I ask as the shoes are exactly my size.
"I picked them up the other night when I stopped at the store to pick up some undershirts," he says smoothly starting his engine.
"Oh, thank you. That was very thoughtful of you and right on time," I say to him with a shy smile.
"You are more than welcome, I was going to keep them at my condo for when you came over, luckily for you I didn't make it back there," he says grabbing my hand.
"Yes, good thing you didn't go," I say agreeing with him.
"What would like to eat," he asks changing the subject.
"Well…we didn't get to finish our food from taco Tuesday," I say to him.
"Okay baby, I know what you want," he answers and head in the direction of the restaurant we dined in on Tuesday.
"Thank you," I say leaning over to kiss him on the cheek.
"Hmm, you're really affectionate today baby, what's up," he asks with a smile on his.
"I just really missed you yesterday," I say blushing.
"Yeah, I missed you too," he says bring my hand to his lips and kissing it.
"Is it weird for us to have these feelings," I ask him voicing my thoughts.
"No baby, it's supposed to be this easy. I know how I feel about you and you know how you feel, nothing else outside of that matters," he says easily.
"You're right," I say to him smiling as he looks over at me while waiting at a stoplight.
"I know," he says quickly pecking my lips before the light changes.
When we arrive to the restaurant Mekhi parks and we go in to order our food to go. With about twenty minutes to wait for our order we decide to walk around. I text my parents that I won't be home tonight and put my phone away. Holding my hand we chat more in depth about the last two days we haven't seen each other. As we're walking and talking I realize that I am continuously falling for him and I'm more content with it today than I was before. We go back to the restaurant after twenty minutes and pick up our order then head to Mekhi's place. Although, I'm happy to be going I can't stop the butterflies in my stomach as we ride in silence in the cool spring evening.