You are cute

So, see you ? Is that it? Almost four years, a bitter separation, a short, slightly tense conversation - and that's it. The newly awakened hope that he would be jealous of Jake because he actually wants me back creeps back into her dark corner and curls up.

I barely manage to take my full plate away and leave the cafeteria without bursting into tears in front of everyone. My vision blurs as soon as I step a few steps away from the building. I feel like my chest is tightening and I take a deep breath to release the pressure.

"Don't cry," I tell myself well and almost stumble because I'm walking so fast. I have to be at work in a few hours, and I have no clue how to get through the day without collapsing.

I manage to get home, change clothes and pack a few things. Tears run down my cheeks, but I wipe them away vehemently and don't allow myself to give in to the pain and sorrow. I really cried enough. And even if the encounter with Sebastian feels like a defeat, I mustn't duck my head and give up now! He wasn't thrilled to see me with Jake. Maybe I shouldn't have said that Jake is just helping me with my thesis, but rather suggesting that he wants something from me. Then Sebastian would have realized that I could really be taken away from him, and he would have bitterly regretted and reversed his decision to part with me.

Sighing, I let myself sink onto the edge of the bed and briefly bury my head in my hands. "I'm so pathetic," I mutter into my damp palms. I should just call off Jake and accept that Sebastian left me. Licking my wounds, straightening myself up and making sure I stop stumbling while I take my first steps alone. 

But it hurts so much.

I'm not ready to give up on Sebastian yet. It wasn't a lie when I told Jake that I couldn't be without Sebastian. I can't just throw in the towel, I need him too much for that. 

Ultimately, I pull myself together, put my make-up on my tears, and make my way to work. I won't give up, that's for sure. Maybe the way back to Sebastian will be rocky and difficult, but it will be worth it. We belong together, I knew that from the first moment when he out of the blue invited me to the prom. Since then there has only been Seb and Evy, and I want to continue to believe that we will find our way back to that state. 

.....

I love to have some time to myself between lectures. Then when there are only a few students roaming the hallways and you can take a deep breath before your head is filled with new learning material. So I'm all the more surprised when someone sits down on the bench next to me. I look up from my notes and look straight into Jake's unusual eyes. Without my being able to influence it in any way, my pulse rate accelerates. 

"Are you free?" He asks, moving up so close that I automatically slide to the side. That makes him smile. "Afraid I will bite you?"

Somehow I think he's a guy who would bite girls. In this erotic way ... that I definitely don't want to think about! "I have about an hour to bridge between lectures," I reply to his first question.

“And may I keep you company? Now that I'm officially targeting you. "

I ignore the unwanted flutter in my stomach area and frown. "What exactly do you mean by official?" 

He smiles mysteriously and leans back against the wall behind our back. "I was asked earlier if I had something with you," he finally says. "From a guy I don't even know, but who's friends with your ex."

"Really?" A little burst of joy makes me move back up to Jake and look at him curiously. "Who was that? Gerry? " 

“I don't know what that was called. In any case, I've seen him with your man a few times. "

“Then ... is it working? Sebastian asked him to question you? ”I hardly dare to let my hope blossom again after meeting Sebastian in the cafeteria turned out to be less than satisfactory. But if he's sent someone out to find out what's going on, it must mean something. 

"I guess." Jake turns so he can look directly at me.

And man, my heart beats violently when he's so close to me! This guy is really dangerous to the female gender. Even I, who is in the process of repairing her failed relationship, am not immune to its inexplicable effects.

"How far do you want to go?" Jake asks in a moment.

"Whereby?" I ask back, perplexed.

He lifts the corner of his mouth. "How much fun do you want to have with me, Evy?"

I open my lips and close them again, while all of the alarm lights inside of me are rotating, flashing. Now watch out, girls! “I don't know what you mean by that.” My voice sounds like I've swallowed a grater, so I quietly clear the frog in my throat.  

Jake reaches out a hand and brushes the strands of shoulder-length hair behind one ear. "You're cute," he says bluntly.

I should stop staring at him like that, but I can't take my eyes off him. Did he hypnotize me? "Do you ... do you get over the women like that?" I finally manage to stop and immediately get annoyed that I'm acting so silly. Honestly, I shouldn't make it so easy for him to turn my head!  

"Is it working?" Jake says with an amused twinkle in his eyes.