As the evening air grew colder and the sky shifted from the warm hues of sunset to the cooler tones of twilight, I couldn’t help but notice the way the chill seemed to affect her. Elena was drenched, her hair still dripping with the cold coffee and cocktail, leaving her skin glistening in the fading light. Her blouse clung to her body, the fabric soaked and clinging tightly to her curves, outlining every contour of her form. The pink color of her blouse was now slightly transparent, and I couldn’t help but notice how delicate her frame was.
Her large doe eyes were filled with a mixture of emotions-exhaustion, frustration, and something softer that I couldn’t quite place. They looked like they could swallow me whole if I let myself get lost in them. Her lips, which had once been full and inviting, were now trembling slightly as she fought to keep her composure. I could see her shiver, the cold air biting at her exposed skin, and I cursed myself again for not being more aware earlier.
My gaze couldn’t help but wander down to her shivering lips, watching as they parted slightly in a soft breath. It wasn’t until she spoke that I realized just how close I had gotten to her, how I was so focused on every little detail of her that I was barely aware of my own thoughts.
“Adrian…ahhh … I’m sorry professor…”
Her voice soft, almost like a whisper-struck me. It was like a punch to the gut, catching me off guard. She had never said my name like that before. It felt intimate, like a secret shared between us, like the world had slowed down and everything else had faded away. The way she said it, like she was trusting me with something fragile, made my chest tighten.
Her breath hitched slightly as she shivered again, her body trembling with the cold. The night was drawing in, and the chill of the air was becoming unbearable for her. I could feel the temperature drop, the cold creeping in between us, making her even more vulnerable in the fragile state she was in.
“Are you cold?” I asked, though the answer was obvious. She was shaking like a leaf, and I couldn’t stand seeing her this way, out in the open with no one to protect her from the world.
She didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she rubbed her arms, trying to warm herself, but it was no use. She was freezing, and I couldn’t just stand there and watch her suffer. Without thinking, I reached for my jacket and took it off, offering it to her.
“Here,” I said, my voice low. “Take it. You need to get warm.”
But she didn’t take it.
Her arms were crossed tightly over her chest, her hands gripping the fabric of her blouse as though she was trying to shield herself from more than just the cold. It hit me then-the blouse. The way it was soaked through, how it clung to her skin in all the wrong places, leaving little to the imagination. She was uncomfortable, maybe even embarrassed. And she wasn’t going to take my jacket, not like this.
Damn it.
I was pissed at myself for not noticing sooner. She had been through enough already, and here I was, practically standing in her space while she shivered. But I couldn’t just leave her like this. She was too damn small, too fragile to face this cold alone. I needed to get her warm, and I couldn’t just stand there watching her suffer.
Slowly, I moved closer to her, standing only a few inches away. I could feel the warmth of my own body now, the heat of the jacket in my hands, and the way my heart pounded a little faster as I hovered next to her. She looked up at me then, her eyes filled with that familiar mix of vulnerability and strength. The way she was looking at me made everything inside me tighten.
“Please,” I said quietly, my voice almost a whisper. “Let me help you.”
Her breath hitched again, and for a moment, I thought she might push me away. But she didn’t.
Before she could protest, I carefully draped my jacket around her shoulders, pulling it tight so it covered her completely. My hands lingered on the fabric for a moment longer than necessary, my fingers brushing against the cold skin of her arms. I couldn’t help but notice how tiny she was, how small her frame felt beneath my jacket. She looked so delicate, so fragile, like the wind could blow her away if she wasn’t protected.
The jacket was huge on her. The sleeves swallowed her hands, and it hung off her like a blanket. But it didn’t matter. It covered her completely, and that’s all that mattered right now. She needed warmth, and I wasn’t going to let her suffer in silence any longer.
I stepped back slightly, my heart pounding in my chest as I watched her adjust the jacket around her body. I could see her trying to settle into it, trying to find some comfort, but I knew it wasn’t enough. She was still shaking, her small form still trembling from the cold.
I didn’t know what to say, how to fix this. But I knew one thing: I wasn’t going to leave her alone. Not now. Not like this.
“Are you alright?” I asked, my voice softer now, as I stepped closer again.
She didn’t say anything right away. Instead, she just nodded, her lips still trembling, and I could see the fatigue written all over her face.
I reached out, not sure if I should, but I couldn’t help myself. My hand gently touched her shoulder, the warmth from my touch contrasting with the cold she was still battling.
“You’re not alone,” I said, the words slipping out before I could stop them.
She glanced up at me then, her big eyes wide and searching. I could see something in them-maybe it was trust, maybe it was just the exhaustion taking over-but whatever it was, it made me want to pull her closer and protect her from everything.
But I didn’t. I stood there, watching her, waiting for her to tell me she was okay. She didn’t say much, but there was a slight shift in her expression. Maybe it was a sign that she was starting to let her guard down, just a little.
“I’m sorry,” I muttered, my voice rough with frustration. “I should’ve noticed sooner.”
She looked up at me then, a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips, and for the first time that night, I saw a glimmer of something different in her. Maybe it was the warmth from the jacket, or maybe it was just the comfort of knowing she wasn’t alone anymore, but she looked a little less broken. A little less vulnerable.
“You don’t need to apologize,” she said softly, her voice steady despite the cold. “You’re here now.”
Her words hit me harder than I expected. It wasn’t much, but it was everything to me. The idea that she didn’t want me to apologize, that she just wanted me to be there, made my chest tighten in a way I couldn’t explain.
I couldn’t fix everything, but I could be here for her. I could protect her. And for the first time since I met Elena, I felt like maybe, just maybe, I was starting to understand what it meant to care about someone more than myself.