Chapter Text
Perhaps she should have clued in the very first day when he turned up with his arm in a sling, but to be honest, she was too worried about her own struggle to get there that morning, and her only concern was the expression on the lecturer’s face when she barrelled in ten minutes late.
She needed this certificate to keep her job and while she was good at what she did, she was a lousy student.
She didn’t know why education was such a hassle for her. She wasn’t dumb, she learnt fast, she just seemed to have this inability to pay attention. Often, she would spend her nights catching up on lectures that went in one ear and out the other.
It was frustrating.
But she had to attend, so attend she did.
The fact the guy she was sitting next to had a sling on his arm was the least of her worries.
Fortunately, the lecturer didn’t comment and she managed to keep quiet for the rest of the session and gain no further attention.
So perhaps it came down to the stairs and her own two left feet that finally introduced her to Virgil Tracy.
She had her bag, her tablet, her stylus and her fuzzy little Spud – a tiny fluffy toy she had a habit of propping up on her desk to use as a focus point. Four things, two hands and the coordination of a drunk giraffe. It was inevitable she would try to kill her self when she dropped Spud, tried to retrieve him and then tripped over her own feet.
She had a split second of ‘wow, those stairs are gonna hurt’ as they loomed at her, and then there was this massive bicep, warm breath against her ear and the sound of her tablet bouncing down the steps without her.
There was a moment of silence as the entire room froze. She was gently pulled back until she could get her feet under her.
The bicep flexed as she was moved.
“Uh…”
“Are you okay?” It was a deep rumble across her back as the room started moving again, students muttering as they hurried for the door.
She blinked. “Uh, yeah.”
The arm let her go and she stumbled just a little. A hand grabbed her as if afraid she would go over again. “You’re sure?”
She finally turned to find a dark-haired man, about her age, frowning at her with kind and concerned eyes. “Sorry I was a little rough. Had to compensate.” He gestured with his right arm which was wrapped in a sling. A green sling with the number two scrawled on it in one corner.
His frowned deepened and he stared at her as if he was assessing something. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
She straightened and mentally shook herself. “Yes, yes, I’m fine.” Another blink and she realised he was slightly shorter than she was. Not that that was anything new. Her height tended to be the bane of her existence. So much further to fall. She attempted a smile. “Thank you, um…” She’d missed introductions being late.
“Oh, I’m Virgil.” He held out a hand.
Still a little slow on the uptake, she reached out and took it. His massive hand. A little rough, but warm.
Warm.
He was eyeing her again. “Um, yes, I’m Ellie.” The drunk giraffe.
His smile was as warm as his hands. “Nice to meet you, Ellie. Do you need a hand?” He gestured to her bag and the books that had fallen from it. To her horror, one of her bodice ripper romance fantasies was on the top of the pile. The half-naked and very male model on the front cover was staring up at them with obvious thoughts on his mind.
She crouched down and threw all the books back into her backpack, dreading whatever judgment he might be thinking. She grabbed at her dropped stylus and Spud got shoved face first into one of the side pockets.
She frowned at the sudden lack of her tablet only to remember the sound of it tumbling down the stairs.
“I think this is beyond repair. I’m sorry.” And there he was again, crouching down with a hand full of the remains of her tablet. When had he moved?
God, she was a ditz today.
Though she almost cried when his hand revealed the smashed screen and the innards which were now in pieces on the outside.
Well, there went her notes and another pile of money she didn’t really have.
She reached out and took the carcass gently. “Thank you.”
“Did you back up to the cloud?”
A sigh. “Couldn’t afford the subscription.” She slid the broken electronics into her bag with the rest of her stuff. “It will be okay.”
He was frowning at her again. “Did you want a copy of my notes?”
She stared at him. “That’s very kind of you.”
He pulled out his tablet from inside his sling. “Not a problem. Email?”
A blink and she muttered off letters and numbers a little dazed.
“Done. You’ve got network access at home?”
She nodded a little numbly.
“Are you sure you are alright? You seem a little fuzzy.”
She stood up and he followed. “I’m fine.” A sigh. “It’s just been one of those days.”
“Well, satisfy my concerns and walk down the stairs slowly. I have no wish to pick you off the lecture room floor at the bottom. Today is my day off.” He said it with a gentle smile enough to soften his words.
Fine. Perhaps her stubborn streak distracted her from asking about his profession, but then this was a nursing certification course. Most participants were nurses and a nurses’ day off was something to be cherished indeed.
So instead, she grabbed her bag and slipped from between the rows of chairs and made her way down the stairs, still the giraffe, but definitely less drunken.
He followed and gave her a smile at the bottom. His fingertips brushed her arm. “Keep safe. See you next time.” And he was out the door and gone.
She stared at the spot where he had been and then back up the rows of chairs to where she had been sitting.
A flash of warm brown eyes.
“Ms Tyler, I hope today’s tardiness won’t be repeated?”
She bit her tongue and turned to face the lecturer. An old battle-axe she had had before and had never liked. “I’m sorry and no, it won’t.”
“Good.”
But Ellie wasn’t paying any attention.
She had better things to think about.
-o-o-o-
TBC?