BUSY LOVE
The campus was already getting dark when I finally walked out of the university building, a bag full of papers digging into my shoulder. I was exhausted. Not dramatic exhausted, just properly worn out, the kind where your eyes burn a bit and every sound feels louder than usual.
I pushed my hair back with one hand, already mentally listing everything I still had to do that night. Revise the different theories. Finish the statistics assignment and the final project. Answer emails. Prepare the presentation. Sleep maybe three hours before the exam. These final weeks of university were gonna kill me.
My boots hit the pavement slowly as I headed toward the exit of the campus. Then I saw him.
Pete was leaning against the black railings outside the campus gates, hands in his coat pockets, looking entirely too comfortable for someone waiting in the freezing London evening. The second he spotted me, his whole face changed.
I blinked in surprise. “...Pete?”
He grinned lazily. “Alright, baby?”
The tiredness left my face instantly. “Oh my God.”
I crossed the pavement quickly and practically threw myself at him. Pete laughed softly as he caught me against him, arms wrapping around my waist immediately.
“Easy girl...” he murmured into my hair.
I hugged him tighter, burying my face into his chest for a second.
“You didn’t tell me you were coming.”
“Supposed to be a surprise, wasn’t it?”
“You idiot,” I muttered affectionately. “I missed you.”
“Yeah?” he smirked. “Could tell. Nearly cracked me ribs.”
I looked up at him finally, black eyeliner slightly smudged from the long day, silver rings cold against his coat as I kept my hands on him. Then Pete reached into his coat dramatically.
“Got somethin’ for ya.”
I raised an eyebrow. “If that’s another stolen traffic cone...”
“Oi.”
He pulled out a single dark red rose from inside his coat. Immediately my expression softened.
“Oh…”
Pete watched my face carefully, smug already. I took the flower carefully like it was something fragile. “You brought me a rose…”
“Course I did.”
I smiled tiredly but genuinely, running my thumb over the petals.
It wasn’t unusual. Pete gave me flowers randomly all the time. Sometimes after matches, sometimes after fights, sometimes because he passed a shop and thought I’d like them. Once he’d shown up with dying supermarket tulips and said, dead serious, “They looked depressed. Reminded me of you during exam week.”
But still. I loved it every time.
“You’re cute,” I murmured.
“Don’t say that too loud.”
I laughed softly. Then Pete tilted his head slightly.
“So…” he said casually. “Any chance me girlfriend’s got a free hour tonight for me?”
Immediately my face fell apologetically. “Oh, Pete…”
“Ah. Here we go.”
“No listen, seriously, I’m dying this week.” I adjusted the heavy bag on my shoulder. “I’ve got the exam tomorrow, two assignments due, I had classes all day, and I literally took time off work at the bar tonight just to survive all this...”
Pete nodded solemnly like a disappointed father. “Right tragic.”
“I’m serious.”
“I can tell.”
“I haven’t slept properly in like four days.”
“Yeah,” he said, looking at my face carefully. “Can tell that too...”
I rolled my eyes and hit his chest lightly with the rose.
“But like… maybe we can grab food quickly? Or somethin’? I just genuinely have so much to do tonight...”
Pete stared at me for a second, fighting a grin.
"So that's it?"
"Pete, I..."
"I know, I know..."
"I promise after tomorrow I'm all yours..."
Pete smirked, "That bad? I can't even nick an hour today?"
I sighed, looking down, thinking. He was making it difficult because there was nothing more I wanted than to be with him after weeks apart.
“Come on, darlin'. Not even for today?”
I frowned slightly. “What d’you mean?”
Pete just looked at me for a second before casually reciting the date.
Silence. I froze.
Then my eyes widened. “Oh my God.”
Pete burst out laughing instantly.
“No no no...” I grabbed his coat with both hands, horrified. “Pete I forgot...”
“You absolutely forgot.”
“I thought it was next week!”
“Mhmm.”
“Oh my God.”
I actually looked devastated now, immediately hugging him again tightly.
“I’m so sorry, baby, I swear to God I knew it was around now...”
Pete was already laughing against my hair, one hand rubbing slowly up and down my back.
“Relax.”
“No because that’s awful...”
“Jade...”
“I completely forgot our anniversary.”
“Yeah, I noticed.”
I groaned into his chest dramatically. “I’m the worst girlfriend alive.”
“Nah.”
“Yes I am.”
“Nah,” he repeated calmly. “You’re just stressed out of your skull.”
I pulled back enough to look at him properly.
“You’re not upset?”
Pete shrugged lightly. “I just wanted to see ya. Seeing ya now, ain’t I?”
“But still...”
“You reckon I care more about some date than makin' sure you're alright?”
My expression softened immediately. God. This man.
“Anyway. I reckoned there was a pretty decent chance you'd forget.”
“Pete!”
“So I came prepared emotionally.”
I laughed despite myself, wiping at my face tiredly.
“You’re annoyingly understanding.”
“Yeah well. One of us has to be mature.”
“That is objectively not true.”
“Shut up.”
He kissed my forehead quickly. Then I sighed.
“Okay. I really do need to study…”
“I know.”
“But…” I hesitated, then looked at him hopefully. “You could come back with me? To the flat?”
Pete raised an eyebrow. “Oh yeah?”
“I’ll study for a bit and if you don’t mind waiting…” I smiled sheepishly. “We can have dinner together? And you stay over?”
Pete pretended to think deeply. “Hm... Dunno. Sounds like you're just tryin' to get me into your bed.”
“Pete.”
“Shameless, you are..."
I smiled at that pushing him a little, "Come on..."
"Well when you put it like that…”
I smiled immediately. “Yeah?”
“Course, darlin'.”
┄
By the time we reached my flat, I was already leaning against him while walking.
The flat was loud as usual. Music from someone’s speaker. Dishes in the sink. Someone laughing too hard in the kitchen.
The second we entered, Clara, my flatmate, was sitting on the sofa with tea and revision notes spread around her.
Her eyes immediately landed on Pete. Then on the rose. Then back to me.
“Well,” she said dryly, “Interesting timing. During exam season.”
I already sighed. We didn't have the best relationship. Pete stayed quiet beside me, amused.
Clara crossed her legs. “Bit distracting, isn’t he?”
I dropped my bag near the door.
“I dunno, Clara. I don’t judge your emotional dependency on chocolate, do I?”
Pete immediately covered his mouth to hide a laugh. Clara stared at me. I smiled sweetly.
Clara rolled her eyes dramatically, “Unbelievable.”
“Love you too,” I replied casually, already grabbing Pete’s hand and pulling him upstairs.
The second we got into my room, Pete shut the door behind us. Then looked at me.
“You evil little thing.”
“You loved it.” I grinned.
“Bit.”
He pulled me gently by the waist until I stood between his knees where he sat on the edge of the bed. Then he looked up at me quietly for a moment.
"God, I missed you..." he whispered. The rings on my fingers, the messy dark hair, the tired eyes trying so hard to stay awake.
Pete rested his forehead briefly against my stomach. “You alright, then?”
“Just tired.” I exhaled softly.
“You’ve been pushin’ yerself too hard.”
“I know.”
“You eaten properly?”
“…Define properly.”
He looked up immediately. “Jade...”
“I’ve had coffee.”
Pete groaned dramatically. “You’re unbelievable.”
I laughed quietly, fingers moving through his hair. “Sorry.”
He kissed my stomach through my shirt, smirking. “Right. Study, then food. I’ll try to behave, darlin'.”
“You? Behave?”
“Don’t ruin me reputation, love.”
┄
For the next hours, I studied at my desk while Pete stayed on my bed. At first he watched television quietly. Then after a couple of hours, he got bored and started distracting me every ten minutes.
“You still alive over there?”
“Yes.”
“You sure?”
“Yes.”
“Blink twice if those papers are holding ya hostage.”
“Pete...” I laughed, but tried to keep going.
Later he tossed one of my socks at my head.
Then he started reading parts of my textbook aloud in a ridiculous posh accent until I laughed so hard I nearly cried. At one point I looked over and found him already watching me.
“What?” I asked quietly.
“Nothin’.”
“You’re staring.”
“Allowed to.” I smiled automatically.
Eventually we ordered cheap takeaway and sat cross-legged on the bed eating noodles from cartons while some awful reality show played quietly in the background.
Pete stole food off my fork constantly. I complained constantly. Neither actually meant it. Then after dinner, Pete leaned down beside his bag casually. “Oh yeah...”
“What?” I looked over.
“Got the rest of your present.”
My eyebrows lifted. “You already brought me a flower.”
“That weren’t the actual present, love.”
Pete pulled out two tickets carefully. I stared. Then stared harder.
“…No.”
Pete grinned immediately. “No?”
“No way.”
He handed them over. The exact concert I’d wanted to go to for months. The one that had sold out almost instantly. My mouth actually fell open.
“Pete.”
“Mhm.”
“How the hell did you get these?”
“Know people.”
“You do not know people.”
“Bit offended by that actually.”
I looked genuinely shocked. “Oh my God.”
Pete watched my face fondly as I read the tickets again like they might disappear. “You remembered…”
“Course I did.”
I suddenly looked guilty again. “And I forgot us...”
Pete groaned. “Are we seriously still doin’ this?”
“I’m sorry.”
“Love...”
“No because you got me this and I forgot the date entirely and...” Pete cut me off by pulling me into his lap suddenly.
I laughed softly in surprise, arms wrapping around his neck automatically.
“There,” he murmured. “Better.”
“You’re using physical affection to manipulate me.”
“Yeah.”
“It’s working.”
“Good.”
He kissed me slowly then, soft and familiar and warm. Not rushed. Not dramatic.
When we pulled apart, I looked at him quietly for a second. Then I suddenly leaned over to my desk drawer.
“Wait...”
Pete watched curiously as I pulled out folded papers tied loosely with black ribbon.
“What’s that then?”
I looked embarrassed suddenly. “It’s not finished...”
“Dangerous start.”
“I was writing you something for the anniversary.”
Pete’s expression softened immediately.
“Jade…”
“But I thought we still had more time so it’s messy and half unfinished and some pages are literally crossed out...”
“Lemme see.”
I handed it over reluctantly. Pete read quietly while I watched nervously from beside him. It wasn’t polished. Half letter, half rambling thoughts. Little memories. Things I loved about him. Descriptions of nights together. Train stations. Pub songs. His laugh. The way he always reached for me in his sleep.
Pete read all of it silently. Then looked up at me.
“You wrote all this?”
I shrugged shyly. “Bit cringe, innit.”
“Nah.”
He folded it carefully, “This is better than any present.”
I looked at him suspiciously. “You say that now until I buy you a PlayStation.”
“That’d still be second place.”
I smiled helplessly. God. Pete touched my cheek gently.
“You know what my favourite thing is?”
“What?”
“That after all these years…” his grin turned mischievous suddenly, “you still get all nervous givin’ me romantic stuff.”
“Oh shut up.”
“You do.”
“I do not.”
“You’re blushin’ right now.”
“That’s because you keep looking at me like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like you’re flirting with me.”
Pete laughed softly. “Baby, I'm flirtin' with ya.”
I hit his chest lightly again.
Then somehow we ended up tangled together under the blankets, talking quietly while the city outside went dark. Kissing lazily between conversations.
Pete tracing shapes on my waist beneath my hoodie. Me playing with the rings on his fingers.
At one point he murmured playfully against my neck, “Still can’t believe you forgot our anniversary.”
I groaned dramatically into the pillow. “I’m never escaping this, am I?”
“You're never escapin' me, love.”
“You’re evil.”
“A bit, yeah.”
Then quieter, teasing against my skin:
“Looks like I’ll have to think of another way to make you apologise, eh?"
I immediately laughed into his shoulder. “Oh my God.”
“What?”
“You’re unbelievable.”
“Yeah,” Pete smirked softly, pulling me closer. “But you love me though.”