“I’m not doing it to get anything out of it. I’m doing it so you hopefully have a good start to your days.” He averts his gaze from me and his cheeks pinken slightly.

My heart squeezes in my chest, and it feels like I’m not even in my body right now. Like I’m watching it from the outside. Why would he do that?

“How do you even know where to find me, or what I drink?”

Breathing is becoming challenging. I can hear the blood whooshing in my ears as I desperately wait for his response.

“The coffee cart is outside my office. I see you go there every morning.” He waves his hand in front of him, as if it’s nothing.

“But how do you know my drink? That cart isn’t close enough to your window that you could hear my order if your window was open.”

He’s nervous as hell. His free hand is shoved deep into his pocket and he’s shifting on his feet. “I asked the barista. It’s not a big deal.”

Words are impossible. I’m stunned silent as I take all of this in, while trying to remember to breathe. He hands me the iced coffee, made exactly the way I like it, mumbles something I don’t catch, before spinning on his heel and leaving without another word.

What the fuck?

It’s a damn good thing I only have one class today because my concentration is shot. I can’t focus on anything else the rest of the day, except the fact that it’s Stone who’s bringing me coffees every morning.

And his reasoning… because he wants me to have a good day.

It’s a completely selfless act. He didn’t even make it known that it was him. My brain isn’t letting me process this, and I’m freaking out.

My mind is still spinning and obsessing by the time I get home. It’s been fucking hours since he walked out of the aquatic center, and I’m no less relaxed about it. It doesn’t help that it started storming about an hour ago.

Storms always remind me of Stone. They always remind me of the one time years ago where we were stuck in his classroom when the power went out. The way we drank whiskey and played twenty questions. It was the first time we gave into our desires after our first kiss in Portland. I still remember how his hands felt roaming my body that night. It’s as if it were yesterday. It’s pouring down rain, and thunder is, I’m sure, on its way.