Five minutes before 9 pm, Claire headed out. The playground that they agreed to meet at was actually in the neighborhood so it was a mere five-minute walk to get there. A block after, she realized that it was rather chilly tonight, and regretted not wearing a scarf, but she figured that it would be too late for her to go back to get one. The cold wind rushed by, causing a mini tornado of autumn leaves by her feet, and she hugged herself in an attempt to keep herself warm.When she arrived at the playground, five minutes later, it was deserted. She hopped over the chain that hung around the perimeter and settled into one of the swings. There were no other people around and cars rarely go through these streets so it was quiet, in a serene way rather than a terrifying one.“I’m not too early, aren’t I?” she mumbled to herself, craning her neck side to side in case she just didn’t spot Jay when she got there, but true enough, she was alone.

The weekend came and ever since then, Ethan has been waiting outside her last period classroom and insisting to drive her home. Although the ‘little incident’ last Monday, as she called it, never happened again nor was brought up in their conversations, Claire still felt a little bit awkward with him and she even sometimes caught herself staring at his lips. Fortunately, Ethan wasn’t acting out of the ordinary so it was easier for her to shrug it off.“Brian”, she called out as she gestured towards the stack of books left unattended on a nearby table. “Can you go and reshelve those?”The guy paused from arranging the borrower’s cards and nodded at her before heading towards the table to do as she instructed.Today, Claire was in charge of check-out counter duty since Katie had family plans for Thanksgiving and couldn’t come. The head librarian did assign another part-timer to work with her in the meantime, th

For the rest of the week, Claire has been trying hard to not get herself distracted. Winter break was coming and her academic load has been getting heavier and heavier so it was quite easy for her to focus on something else to keep herself from thinking about the possibility of her parents getting back together. Jess has been really cheerful, as well, ever since she went on a date with Greg so she counted on her to make her smile. But at the same time, because of her behavior, Claire found it difficult to open up to her about her situation as she didn’t want to spoil her mood.“Hmm”, she mumbled as she checked the mock quiz she made for Ethan. “Looks like you’ve grasped the concepts pretty well”“Well”, Ethan said and leaned in towards her. He crossed his arms and rested them on the table as his eyebrows wiggled playfully. “Do I get to receive a reward, then?”Usually, Ethan’s tactics like this on

Claire rested her chin on her palm as she looked at the trees rushing by through the car window. Ethan knew that traveling from Cartersville to Memphis would take around five to six hours but much to her surprise, he agreed as soon as she asked. Now, they were a few hours in through the ride and have already finished listening to the same playlist thrice. The music resonating in the vehicle through the speakers was faint enough that she could still hear her heartbeat racing. Claire realized that she was likely to spend at least the next twelve hours with Ethan— a flirty billionaire playboy who always acted recklessly. The realization hit her after she got over the mysterious surge of boldness she had, and it made her antsy. “I’m sorry”, she mumbled without taking her eyes off the scenery outside. “I know this is too sudden” “I don’t really mind”, Ethan replied with a grin. He peeled his gaze off the road for a split second to glance at her dim reflection

“Claire!”Upon hearing her voice, she sat up in her bed. She kicked herself out from under her blankets and was about to head out when suddenly her bedroom door opened, revealing a teary-eyed Jess.“Hi, Jess”, she greeted as she waved a hand. Her friend then ran to her and tackled her into a hug, causing her to shriek in surprise. Laughing, she said, “What’s wrong?”“Are you serious?!” Jess exclaimed, burying her face into her chest. “We were worried! You suddenly ran off to Memphis alone!”Claire chuckled and patted her head in assurance. “I wasn’t alone. I was with Ethan”“Ethan?”She looked up and saw Jay leaning against the doorframe with his arms coolly crossed over his broad chest. “Oh, hey. You came”Her room was dim as the sun was starting to set outside and she didn’t turn her lights on yet, but as she looked clos