College Library
I went to a small liberal arts college in the Midwest. It was a classic sort of place, modeled after Ivy League schools, with the lawns and the walkways and the buildings arranged around the "quad". It was the end of my sophomore year, and it was almost the end of the semester. We were coming up to finals week, and we were all studying long hours to prepare. I was particularly worried about a linguistics class I had gotten myself mixed up in, which ended up being way over my head.
So I was in the library a lot. My dorm was too noisy and there were just too many distractions. Our library was a cool old building, six stories high. The upper floors where the stacks were arranged had seating areas on either end with windows looking out over campus, then rows of tall book stacks. The center of each floor had more study areas. Three rectangular tables in an open area just past the book stacks, then a center area two steps down with a row of privacy desks ("carrels" we used to call them) on each side, and some big armchairs in the center with side tables and lamps. It was all very cozy and old-school, kind of Hogwarts-y. The other end of the floor was the mirror image: two steps up, three tables then more stacks running to the other end of the floor.
I was sitting at the middle table just past the book shelves. To my left were three giant arched windows broken up into small panes. You could see the tree-lined quad and Old Main on the other side with its stone facade and white painted cupola. To the right, some restrooms and drinking fountains.
I was doing my best to concentrate, but I was already in hour four and the law of diminishing returns was setting in. There were only a few people here and there, not many. A lot of people had already left, but there was this guy, sitting in an armchair down in the sunken area.I'd noticed him a couple times daydreaming instead of reading. I was studying linguistics, after all. Not exactly a thrill ride. Anyway, this boy was cute.
I'd seen him around, but we'd never actually met. He was a runner. Not tall. Like, 5' 6, barefoot. He was wearing jeans with a threadbare spot on one knee and a white Oxford cloth button down shirt. He had removed his shoes and gotten comfy, with his feet tucked under him. We were facing toward one another, with a clear line of sight. And I noted that whenever I looked over, he was always looking my way, too--not making eye contact, but he definitely wasn't reading.