Awkward Sensations

Anne

For the past forty-five minutes, Vincent has been flipping through books like he was looking for something but wasn't finding it.

On two occasions when I turned to glance at him, he was tossing a book aside and picking up another to continue his flipping exercise.

I could tell he was frustrated because, in addition to the flipping and tossing, he kept on sighing.

I was getting worried that he might start tearing his clothes and dragging his short hair next. Maybe I'm exaggerating but he was close to agitation. 

"Hey?" I found myself calling out.

'Typical you Anny.'

He looked up from yet another flipping and stared at me.

'Go on Anne, finish what you've started, he'll flip and toss you next.'

"Err…why don't you take a break...those books are exhausted already," I said smiling, hoping he got the joke.

He exhaled heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose. To my surprise, he pulled back his chair and stood up.

He stretched his whole body and then proceeded to walk slowly with his hands in the pockets of his track pants. On getting to where I was seated, he plopped down next to me, leaving just a tiny space separating us.

He folded his arms against his abdomen. This made his muscles flex beneath his white t-shirt. All of that didn't go unnoticed by me. I was still surprised he listened to me.

After two frustrating sighs, he threw his head back against the headrest and clamped his eyes shut.

I ogled him like a psychotic fan, fighting the urge to touch his arm.

But he was burdened by something, that was for sure and I was itching to help. 

"You know you got me scared for a bit there. I thought you were going to start ripping your clothes and hitting your chest,” I said, trying to lighten the mood.

He smiled, but his eyes were still closed.

'Glad I could lighten the mood though.'

"What's bothering you, Vince?" 

He sighed, then slightly turned his head, which was still on the headrest, towards my direction. Like someone who just woke up from a deep sleep, he slowly opened his eyes.

I froze. 

Vincent was beautiful. 

My eyes roamed his face, taking in the slightly sharp edges and contours. His eyes were brown but of a lighter shade, surrounded by thick dark lashes. His nose ran straight without any bump or depression, curving sharply at the tip. 

I only had a glimpse of his small luscious lips when my mind knocked me off my creepy gawking by reminding me that he was looking at me. 

‘Focus on the issue here, Anne!’

"A cancer patient of mine was on remission a few months back but the cancer came back a few weeks ago and it's rapidly sucking the life out of him."

‘Oh no!’

"I'm so sorry," I said, placing a hand on his arm.

I felt tingly. Touching him felt like touching a naked wire. Little charges coursed through me from the point of contact.

He lowered his gaze to where I placed my hand, and I almost jerked my hand away, but then he relaxed back into the couch and stared into space.

"I've consulted different books and worked alongside several cancer specialists but nothing. I feel like I’m missing something important, and it's frustrating!" He said throwing his head back on the headrest and shutting his eyes again.

I increased the pressure of my hand on his arm because let's face it, I couldn't help any other way. 

I don't know his patient or what treatment he had undergone and they were not allowed to divulge any of that, then again I’m only a laboratory student. 

He unconsciously placed his other hand over the hand I placed on his arm and began rubbing dull circles at the back of my hand. The force of the spark that was ignited from the contact almost jolted me across the room. I don’t know if he noticed but my hand tightened on his arm as I strained to accommodate the slimy sizzling in my stomach.

"But I'll be fine," he assured, raising his head. When he noticed his wandering hand, he slowly and casually withdrew it.

"So, what are you watching?" He asked, sluggishly pointing at the TV.

"Oh, Divergent."

We both turned towards the TV at the same time to see the two main protagonists in the heated kissing scene, with the sensual music playing.

‘Aw…kw…ard!’

From the corner of my eyes, I could see him staring at the screen blankly. If it were Andrew, he would have covered my eyes, or turn to me for a kiss, and I would have smacked his arm. Just the thought of it made me laugh out. It drew Vincent's attention back to me. He was going to ask me something, I guess what I found amusing, but the sound of his phone interrupted him.

He pulled it out of his pant pocket. It was a video call from someone. Just as he was about to swipe the answer icon, we heard the sound of thunder, followed by pattering on the roof which increased rapidly, into a full-blown thunderstorm.

I didn’t know it wanted to rain. The thick drapes made it impossible to know how cloudy the sky had gotten.

I looked from Vincent to the window, contemplating whether to sit there or give him some privacy, because he wasn’t making any move to leave.

I slowly stood up and made my way to the window. I didn’t realize the drapes were heavy till I tried moving them out of the way. 

“I just want to peep through the window, silly curtain,” I mumbled to the curtain. 

"Who's that at the window?” the caller asked.

I jumped, turning abruptly, and tripped. I didn’t reach the floor though. I had held on tightly to the drapes which caused the near fall by entangling my ankle.

I heard the caller laugh.

"Hello," I squeaked, waving my free hand.

"Hello sweety," she said, smiling at me.

"Son, is there something I should know you're not telling me?" The person queried Vincent.

"Mum?" He warned.

"What?" She protested. "You have a girl in your apartment, a pretty one at that, what do you want me to think?” she asked with a shrug.

My cheeks heated up immediately. 

"Nothing. I want you to think nothing,” Vincent said, nodding his head for emphasis.

"Oh shush,” she said dismissively with a wave of her hand. “Bring her to the party, I want to meet the lovely lady."

"Mum..." 

"Gotta go, your dad's calling me. Love you, son, bye! Coming dear!"

“Wait!”

The line went dead.

He sighed, then turned to look at me, registering my predicament.

"You can untangle yourself, right?" He asked with a raised eyebrow, visibly amused.

I looked down at my ankle. I had forgotten I was still tied up. I tried to free myself but couldn’t. It was as if the curtains were angry at me or something.

Vincent stood up and walked up to me. As he bent over, his back muscles flexed and rippled enticingly underneath his white shirt. I had wanted to place my hand on his back for support but decided against it.

After mild tugging and pulling, I was successfully freed from the clutches of the evil curtains bent on embarrassing me.

"Thanks," I said bashfully.

"Anytime clumsy," He teased, straightening up. 

I smiled bashfully. My cheeks heated almost a hundred degrees.

He shifted a bit to the side and peeped through the window. I was surprised the curtains made it easy for him. It was now obvious they hated me. 

Vincent brought down his eyes to me and was about to say something, I guess about the weather but his phone interrupted him a second time. This time though, it was a voice call from Andrew. I saw the screen before he picked it. 

"Hey?.....yea she's here.....what's going on there.....are you okay....alright. Here, Anne, it's Andrew," he said, handing his phone to me.

"Hello, Drew?" I said, clutching the phone tightly against my ear. Don’t ask why, I have no idea myself.

"Anny, there's a really big storm out here. The roads are blocked, the river near the school has flooded a lot of places, please don't leave the house, it's not safe. I'll try to come back but if I can’t, I'll stay at John's, okay?"

I was too shocked to speak. Not because of the storm and flood but because of the prospect of spending the night here, alone with a guy that just by his presence and few touches, ignited a whole lot of weird stuff in me. 

"Y..yea," I stammered.

I handed the phone back to Vincent who was observing me the entire time. He took the phone and had a bit of discussion I was not paying attention to. 

"Anny, are you okay?" I heard him ask me. I wasn't even aware I had zoned out.

"Yea I’m good,” I replied, sending him a glance.

I wasn't.

He began giving me that thoughtful look again. It was like he was trying to solve a puzzle, but I don’t know if it had anything to do with me. Well, the thoughtful stare was directed at me, so basically, it should be about me, right?

"Anny, relax. Get comfy and let the storm pass, alright?" He said, as if he’d been reading my mind all this while. Maybe my demeanor was giving a lot away. 

I looked up at him and for a moment, our eyes locked and held. Have you ever been in a situation where you’d make eye contact with someone and everything in your head wipes off? That was exactly my predicament. I went blank. Funny thing is, I couldn’t do anything else. My mind couldn’t register any other action. I was just vulnerable under his intense gaze. All these happened in just a moment, but it was enough to make me uneasy.

He finally cleared his throat, breaking the brief silence and awkwardness.

"I'll go grab us some food. Is pizza okay with you?" He asked.

He waited to see my vigorous nod before walking off to the kitchen.

I walked back to the couch and picked my phone, switching on the screen. My eyes widened when I saw the time. It was six o’clock, and the rain outside wasn’t making any move to stop anytime soon. This further dashed my hopes of sleeping on my bed. 

'Calm down Anne, it's all good…I hope.'

I gave out a deep sigh and plopped down on the couch. As if on cue, Vincent walked in carrying a box of pizza, a carton of orange juice, and two glass cups.

"This was delivered earlier," he said, placing the box of pizza and the rest on the table, returned to the kitchen, and came back with two plates.

"Anny!" he called out dramatically, with his deep velvety voice, raising his two hands midair as if he was about to conjure something "...dig in," he added, bringing down his hand, then grabbed a slice of pizza and took a huge bite.

I had to smile. Who wouldn’t smile at that? He was going out of his way to make me comfortable. That was sweet. I felt all mushy inside.

I bend forward and picked up a slice, taking a bite out of the sliced goodness. I hadn't realized I was starving till I took that bite, plus the pizza was out of this world.

We finished eating in somewhat comfortable silence. He carried the empty box of pizza and the plates, while I took the cups and empty carton of juice. Yea, we downed everything. Surprisingly, I ate and drank the bigger portion to Vincent’s amazement. I was glad he didn’t ask the typical ‘where did all those food go to’ question.

In the kitchen, Vincent trashed the box and carton of juice, while I quickly washed off the dishes in the sink.

'What now.'

Outside, the rain intensified, crumbling the minuscule hope I had left.

Don’t get me wrong, Vincent was cool to be around, but, I get all tensed up with different unfamiliar feelings with every speech, every stare, every movement he made. They weren’t bad feelings per se, let’s just say I detested losing control of myself and my emotions.

Shortly after, he excused himself and went upstairs, while I went back to my couch which had now become my favorite place in the house.

The movie in front of me wasn't appealing anymore, but I had to use it as a distraction from the present situation.