"So you really wiped out all the zombies on your campus with a Nerf ball?" Chloe was laughing and Matthew was pantomiming the zombie tag move that won him the game when they arrived at her door. There was a funny little pause. He leaned in toward her and she turned toward the doorknob, he backed away and she turned to him. Their eyes met again and Chloe fidgeted with her key ring; her breath caught in her throat as she asked, "you want to come in? For some coffee?"
He said yes and she pressed the little brass key into its hole, taking a moment to praise the Lord she'd had the bizarre foresight to shove her trashy Harlequins under the armchair cushion, then lead Matthew in. *Now let's just hope he doesn't pick that cushion to sit on*, she thought. He stood somewhat awkwardly near the door for a minute, like he might be plotting an escape route, and then followed Chloe's lead as she kicked her shoes off.
"So, how would you like that coffee?" She asked.
"Lots of cream," he said, and inched into the living room. She motioned him to sit down, making sure to direct him to the sofa. She went into the kitchen and managed to fumble the water into the coffee pot and put the grounds in the paper, making a mess in the process as her hands shook with excitement.
Back in the living room Matthew was sitting in the arm chair, flipping through a rather beat up romance novel, its cover bent in half from wear. When Chloe saw it her face began to redden and she almost ducked back into the kitchen, but he looked up and smiled so she joined him, standing next to the chair and fidgeting with the hem of her skirt. He mercifully set the book on the end table and said, "How's the coffee coming?"
"So far, so good. I added the water and the grounds, and I think that's all there is to it, unless I've been doing the process horribly wrong all these years," Chloe said. "Should just be a few minutes."
Matthew motioned for Chloe to sit, and for the second time that day, after so audaciously asking this gorgeous stranger to walk her home, she found herself doing something totally out of character. Instead of slouching down on the couch, she sat on the arm of his chair. Butterflies lit up her stomach and a warm jolt of adrenaline shot through her. She had only a second to realize sitting on the arm of a chair is not nearly as comfortable as some girls make it look, then Matthew slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her into his lap. The butterflies turned into a thrilled little knot in her throat and she squeaked, "Hi."