The Beautiful Monster

Alyssa brushed her hair back from her face as she caught her breath. Her heart was hammering in her chest as she tried to compose herself and not act like she just got done making out with him in the hallway.

"Guess I'll just have to fantasize while answering questions about The Great Gatsby,"

Alyssa smirked as she stepped away from the wall. Luckily, she had read that book multiple times before even stepping foot in college, so she wasn't too worried about forgetting what happened in the book.

Elias chuckled as he tilted his head at her.

"I bet you can multitask well," he said.

Alyssa pressed her teeth into her bottom lip to try to conceal her smile. She had a feeling that he wasn't talking about taking a test.

"I guess we'll see," she replied. She was nervous about her first time with him, but she was also excited.

It would be an experience unlike any other, and she trusted him. She had never trusted another guy like this before. He gave her no reason not to trust him.

"I can't wait," Elias said with a bold smile as they gazed at each other. It was unfortunate they were surrounded by other people. The things that they wanted to do were not public friendly.

"Good luck on your business exam," she told him. She wasn't worried about him, though. She knew that he would nail it. His mind was business-oriented, while hers was science-oriented.

"It's not for a few more hours, so I still have some time to study a little more," he replied with a casual smile. He was far more focused on her than her exam. "Good luck on yours, smarty pants."

Alyssa playfully rolled her eyes at him.

"Speaking of which, I'm about to be late," she said as she checked the time on her phone. She had to go back down the hall to her classroom.

She leaned forward and pecked him on the cheek in a teasing manner before walking down the hallway. She didn't even have to look back to know that his eyes were on her.

She felt warm all over as she hurried to class to get to her seat and get ready for her exam. Her lips and skin still tingled from his touch, and she wanted to be pressed up against the wall by him all over again.

He was so addicting, and she couldn't remember a time when she felt so happy. Her life had certainly taken quite the turn.

~*~

A whole hour later, Alyssa finally got to step out of her classroom. Her hand was cramping from writing so much because there were so many discussion questions that she had to answer on that exam.

The questions were pretty easy, though. The test was just so time-consuming. At least she was finally done, though, and there was only one exam left for her to take. She was so close to the finish line.

To her surprise, she saw Elias waiting outside with a white paper bag in his hand. She gave him a confused look as she stepped up to him.

"What are you doing here? I thought you'd be studying," she laughed softly. She expected him to be in the library right now, and she didn't expect to see him for the rest of the day.

Elias cracked a smile and shrugged.

"I still have time. I just figured you'd be hungry after your exam," he said before reaching into the bag and pulling out a wrapped up grilled chicken sandwich. "No tomatoes, of course."

Alyssa's eyes widened as she took the sandwich. She couldn't believe he was so nice to go out of his way to pick her up an early dinner. He was right. She was hungry.

"Thank you so much," she told him sincerely. "I can help you study."

Elias shook his head as he rubbed her arm with his other hand.

"Go home and rest. You have one more exam left," he told her.

Alyssa felt her heart skip a little as she smiled at him. She really was falling for him. Everything he did made her adore him even more, and she doubted there was a limit on that.

"I'll see you soon, right?" she asked him. She didn't like being apart, but she did need to study a little more for her philosophy exam. Some of the concepts were fairly complex.

"Of course," Elias replied before leaning forward to kiss her softly.

Alyssa's lips curled up against his own in a happy expression. He made her feel like she was on top of the world. Nothing could touch her. Except him. She wouldn't mind that at all.

"I can't wait," she replied once they pulled away from each other. She knew that she probably needed to go back to her dorm anyway because they wouldn't be doing much studying if they stuck around each other.

"I'll text you after my exam and let you know how I aced it," Elias chuckled.

"I bet you will," Alyssa smirked. She liked his boldness. He wasn't overly cocky like some people she knew, but he had faith in himself. It was honestly an attractive trait, but he had plenty of those.

Elias nodded his head toward the end of the hall.

"Go on," he said warmly. "Enjoy the rest of your night."

Alyssa felt his hand gently pop her hip in a playful manner. She laughed and walked away from him, pitching one more look at him over her shoulder.

She didn't know how he could get any sweeter. She unwrapped the sandwich and bit into it, sighing to herself blissfully. Could this semester end any better?

It wasn't over yet, but she had a good feeling. She hadn't felt this optimistic in a while, and she was so glad to finally be out from under the storm cloud that had trailed her for so long.

Finally, there was sunshine and hope and love. There was so much out there for her to experience, and she found the perfect person to show her everything she could ever want to see.