#Hailey's1yrwc

[tom-whore-dleston]

Coffee and Confessions

Pairing: !Professor Xu Shangqi x !college f. reader

Genre: Fluff (lime)

Warnings: professor x student/TA relationship, elements of slow burn, mutual pining, sfw teasing, reader plays footsies with Shangqi, making out, confessions, suggestiveness, preludes to smut  

Summary: You start off your winter break with your favorite professor.

Word Count: 2.9k

Beta Read: @cyborg-cinderella - thank you bestie Ilysm 😘

Notes: This fic is my submission for @tonystarksfavoritedaughter‘s 1 year writing challenge. I chose the quote: “Your lips taste like strawberries.” Congrats Hailey on the milestone! I’m so proud of you 💕 sorry for posting it past the deadline, but I hope you love it 🥺 Although no 18+ warnings are present, my blog is still 18+ so PLEASE DO NOT INTERACT IF YOU ARE NOT 18+! Otherwise you will be blocked! Remember to reblog and comment if you enjoyed what you read 😊

It was finally winter break. Everyone around you was packing their bags to return to their hometown or planning vacations to extravagant places the world had to offer. Everyone except for you. 

You didn’t have much awaiting you in your hometown. All the people you grew up with essentially got up and left after graduating high school and never looked back. On top of that, your family decided to make plans without you and were expected to return home on Christmas Day. That is, if everything goes well for their flight back home, and you could only hope that the weather conditions were safe to travel in. So you were left with no choice but to hold down the apartment you shared with your roommates. 

Once your roommates left you with the apartment, you sighed in relief and plopped down on the couch. You stared at the ceiling for a few moments before deciding to flip on the TV. You were only able to squeeze in a few episodes of the show you were binging before boredom washed over you. Then, you decided to follow an at-home workout video. By the time you finished exercising, you were still bored out of your mind. 

The rest of the day revolved around ordering takeout and starting a new show to binge watch. In the middle of watching one episode, your phone chimed to signal you received a text. You grabbed your phone from under the blanket and turned it on. It would be an understatement to say that you were shocked by who sent you the text.

“Good evening,

I hope you are doing well and are receiving the rest you deserve after all your hard work this semester. I know this may seem out of the blue, but there is a pressing issue that I would like to discuss with you in person. Would it be possible to meet you at the cafe on Lime & Lemon St tomorrow morning at 10am? If not, perfectly fine. We can talk over email if you prefer. Please let me know as soon as possible. Thank you and have a wonderful night!

Professor Shangqi”

You lost track of the times you read the text from Professor Shangqi. Your face warmed up and your palms persparated. The professor you had been crushing on the whole semester is requesting to meet up with you outside of school. The smile on your face was as wide as the Cheshire Cat. Then, you suddenly frowned.

What if he wanted to meet up with you because you failed his class? What if he caught on to your crush on him and was going to confront you about it? Your mind was racing with thoughts and you didn’t know if you should cry or throw up or pretend you never received the text and call it a night. 

“No,” you exclaimed out loud to yourself. “I should reply. It’d be rude of me not to.” And so, you sent out a quick reply and sent it without thinking twice.

“Hi Professor!

Yes, I can meet with you at that time. I hope that everything is okay on your end. I look forward to meeting with you.”

Time couldn’t move any slower as you waited to hear back from Shangqi. When your phone dinged again, you opened up your messages within a second of receiving the notification. 

“Oh, everything is fine. I promise. Just wanted to ask you something that I prefer doing in person. Can’t wait to see you :)”

Now, you were back to smiling and biting your lip. Your fingers danced across your phone screen as you wrote one last message to him.

“Sounds good! I will see you tomorrow. Goodnight professor :)”

Rolling onto your belly, you screamed into the pillow that you were lying down on. You had to pinch yourself in case you were dreaming. Before you knocked out, you read over the text thread, excited you will be getting coffee with the professor you had developed a deep admiration for. 

The next morning, you sat in your car, glancing at your reflection in the tiny mirror above you. Your palms were sweaty against your phone as you checked the time. 

9:59am

You started to hyperventilate, considering how close it was to the time you were expected to meet Shangqi. Normally, you were perfectly calm and collected around Shangqi. Yet now, you were on the verge of vomiting because of how nervous you were about going out with him. Was this even considered a date? No. Just a student and professor having a casual business meeting. Right?

Your thoughts were interrupted by the sound of another car pulling into the parking space next to you. You almost yelped when you realized the driver was your professor. As Shangqi turned off the ignition and stepped outside, you took some deep breaths to steady your racing heart beat. When you finally got out of your car, Shangqi glanced in your direction and flashed a sweet smile. 

“Hey!” Shangqi called out, sauntering towards you. “Good to see you again.”

“Yeah, likewise,” you responded. You gave him a firm handshake like how you always did when you saw each other. Except this time, the handshake lingered a little too long for it to be professional. You both lightly giggled before anchoring your hands down and brushing fingers. 

“Shall we?” 

“Yes, let’s go in.” You walked alongside Shangqi until he rushed to open the door for you. A laugh erupted from your belly as you thanked him for the gesture, entering the coffee shop. As you hopped in line, Shangqi briefly glanced down at your backside before following you. He was grateful that you hadn’t turned around, otherwise he would’ve been in for it. Little did he know, you had hoped that he would look at you the way you did with him.

“Lemme guess, you’re gonna order the matcha lavender latte,” Shangqi playfully taunted as you peered up at the menu. You pretended to act offended even though deep down, you were flattered he memorized your favorite coffee drink. Yeah, it technically wasn’t coffee, but it was better than the boring Americanos your professor always drank.

“Of course, I am! Remember, every time I go to a new coffee shop, I have to order their matcha to compare between shops.” Shangqi beamed at how your face glowed while you spoke. “And if I were to guess, you are gonna get your tasteless Americano?” Shangqi adjusted his glasses and turned back to the menu.

“Actually, I think I’ll get the same thing as you. It must be worth the hype if you’re always ordering it. And I’ll have you know, dear, that Americanos are not tasteless.” Your head whipped around when he called you dear. You weren’t sure how you could possibly respond to that without wanting to yank him towards you and kiss him. But the way his eyes met yours made you even more tempted to do so.

“Next in line, please!” A loud voice projected from behind the counter. You both whipped your heads in the direction of the barista, waiting for you to approach the counter. Shangqi made way for you to stroll towards the counter first. Nodding towards him, you proceeded to the counter, reciting your typical coffee order to the barista. He punched the buttons on the screen, waiting for you all to conclude your order. Shangqi came up behind you, lightly cupping your mid back. The unexpected movement sent chills up your spine and your cheeks burned hot enough to keep you toasty in this cold weather. 

Shangqi angled towards you. “Make those two matcha lavender lattes.” You simpered, cocking your head towards him. The barista, unbothered by the exchange occurring in front of him, tapped away at the screen. 

“Would you like to try any of our pastries or…” his voice dragged out as you scanned the menu. 

“The strawberry crepe sounds pretty good,” you mentioned to the barista.

“And I’ll have the chocolate croissant,” Shangqi jumped in. The barista gave the total cost of the order, and as you dug through your bag for your wallet, the professor handed the barista his credit card.

“Wait, I could’ve-”

“No need for that. Besides, I’m the one who invited you here, right?” You nodded in agreement, allowing him to pay for the order. Then, you both waited to the side counter, standing so close that your arms bumped in unison. Without acknowledging the closeness, you both smiled to yourselves, glancing at the ground. 

After receiving your orders, you both settled into a cozy corner of the cafe. Shangqi rubbed his hands together to keep warm while you bit into the strawberry that sat atop the crepe. He stared at your lips as they puckered around the strawberry, his mind wandering to the dark depths that he only visited at night. You swallowed the fruit as he chewed on the inside of his cheek. In the blink of an eye, your professor steered himself back on track.  

“So you’re probably wondering why I invited you to coffee.”

You shrugged with a small smirk. “Just a bit curious.”

Shangqi laughed, “So the reason I asked you here is because…” He twirled the cup around on the table as if the right words would magically appear. Well this may not be a surprise to you, but you were my best student. In fact, you received the highest grade out of all of my students.”

You gulped on the lump in your throat, beads of sweat forming on your palms. As much as you wanted to make eye contact while he spoke to you, your nerves got the best of you. Just the sheer thought of looking into his beautiful brown eyes would make you faint.

“I wanted to know if you would be interested in being my TA for the spring?” The muscles in Shangqi’s body tensed while he waited for your response. He relaxed when he saw the twinkle in your eyes. You were smiling so hard you had to hide behind your hand. Moments later, you nodded your head repetitively.

“Yes!” Your cheeks were sore from grinning. “Oh my gosh, yes! Wow, I am truly honored, Professor. Thank you so much!”

Shangqi sighed in relief and raised his cup towards you. “To the fall semester. And now, onto spring semester.” You tapped your cup with his and then simultaneously sipped your drinks. It was refreshing to hear only good news coming from your professor. You hummed happily thinking about how you get to spend more time with him.

Further into the coffee date, you noticed a shift in Shangqi. While you made small talk, he would eye your lips and lick his own. Was it a coincidence that he did that? Were you imagining things? Was he coming onto you? You assumed that you were overthinking everything, yet his every little move made your skin heat up.

Feeling bold, you grazed your foot against Shangqi to test how he would react to it. He didn’t seem phased by it until your foot crept up his leg. His jaw clenched in surprise and he removed his glasses to clean the lens. His imagination still ran wild as you slowly trailed your foot in between his calves. 

Perfect. You got him.

To tease him more, you seductively ate the strawberry crepe that you had almost forgotten. You shut your eyes and moaned as the sweet treat hit your tastebuds. Something in Shangqi stirred as your innocent moans filled his ears and he gulped down another swig of his drink. Anything to distract himself from his mind diving deeper into that forbidden place. Meanwhile, you hid your smirk, knowing that you managed to get under your professor’s skin. In a good way, of course.

This continued until everyone in the cafe left for closing. You both took your time leaving the cafe. While Shangqi slid the crumbs off the table with a napkin, you took your time grabbing your bag behind you. It was really obvious that neither of you wanted to leave. Even the tired baristas picked up on you and Shangqi trying to prolong your date. 

“Well, that was nice,” you announced once you finally exited the cafe. A wave of sadness washed over you, realizing you won’t be seeing your favorite professor for over a month. 

“Yeah, it was a nice date,” Shangqi added, causing your heart to skip a beat. You smiled timidly at him. As much as you wanted to question him about it being a date, you didn’t want to pry. You were appreciative to have spent quality time with him before spending a lonely winter break at your apartment.

“Thank you, by the way,” you began. “For today. Actually, the whole semester. Out of all the professors that I’ve had, you’re my favorite. I can’t wait to be your TA.” Shangqi smiled at you, soaking up your kind words. You reached your hand out, waiting for him to shake it.

“I think we’re past handshakes now.” You lowered your hand slowly. “You’re gonna be my TA so we can be a bit more casual, don’t you think?” You snickered. Shangqi extended his arms and wrapped them around you when you closed the space between you two. You felt secure. You felt home. And you didn’t want to let go of that feeling. Neither did Shangqi.

Your professor pulled away just enough to look into your eyes longingly. The mixture of the nippy air and his comforting embrace caused goosebumps to form on your uncovered skin. His gaze moved down to your lips and his breath decelerated. Then, your voice snapped him back to the present.

“You know something, Professor?” Shangqi’s face plastered with perplexity. “I know you have been staring at my lips the moment we stepped in the cafe.” Shangqi tried to deny you but just ended up tripping over his words. He grew more nervous as he defended himself. It made you titter how the professor that always had a way with words became a blabbing mess over you.

“You can kiss me if you want.”

Shangqi chuckled at your forwardness, but proceeded to move his hands to your face. His rough hands cradled your jawline before leaning in to press his lips on yours. Your heart violently thumped against your chest and your stomach twisted as your lips danced to a beat that felt so familiar. After what felt like a lifetime, he pulled away for fresh air. 

Shangqi was awestruck. By you, the kiss…by everything. All he could utter was, “Your lips taste like strawberries.” Yet, he still brought you to a fit of giggles.

“It was the-”

“The crepes. Yeah, I remember.” Like a pair of magnets, your lips were stuck on his again. His thumbs smoothed over your cheeks as you tugged on his winter coat. Your tongues almost simultaneously slipped into each other’s mouths, causing you to gasp as he explored the inside of your mouth. The bitter taste of coffee mixed with the sweetness of the pastry danced along your tastebuds. You craved to memorize the taste of his tongue, to have his lips imprinted on your body. 

“Shangqi,” you stammered, as the kiss died on your lips. “I really like you. I know I shouldn’t but I can’t help it.” Now that you finally admitted your feelings for him, you wanted to burst into tears. Your head started to drop, but your professor tilted it back so you could gaze into his brown eyes.

“I really like you too.” Shangqi swiped your hair out of your face so he could bask in all your beauty. He sighed in joy, “God, it feels so good to say it. I have felt things for you ever since the first day. I never thought I would adore someone the way I adore you.” He sniffled, unsure if it was the tears he was fighting back or the cold winter catching up to him. “But, here we are. I’m not ashamed to admit how much I really like you.” 

What started off as a short peck turned into another passionate kiss. You felt his lips form into a smile against your own. He nuzzled his nose against yours, causing you to snort quietly. A sound that Shangqi secretly loved.

“I don’t want you to go now. I wish we had more time together.” Shangqi caressed you as if it would be the last time he would ever be able to. A lightbulb in your head abruptly lit up when you remembered that you were basically spending all of winter break alone in your apartment. Perhaps, Shangqi could keep you company.

“My roommates are back home and I have the apartment to myself if you want to come over.”   

Shangqi perked up. “Yeah I like that. Just text me the address and I’ll meet you there.” You nodded happily before he kissed you one more time. Both of you locked eyes before heading to your cars. You shared one last subtle laugh before easing your ways into your cars. The shape of his lips still lingered on yours, and you couldn’t wait to touch them again. 

Now, you finally had something to look forward to during winter break. More appropriately, someone to look forward to.

Navigation | Main Masterlist | Xu Shangqi/Shang-Chi Masterlist | Teach Me Tonight AU

divider by @firefly-graphics

[tom-whore-dleston]

All tags under cut:

Teach Me Tonight tags: @cyborg-cinderella @stranworth @rainygooseberry

Xu Shangqi tags: @neganwifey25-blog

Bestie tags: @wint3r-h3art @crazycookiecrumbles @buckybleu @tmholland @tonystarksfavoritedaughter @blackbat05 @beakeoghan @potatos-main @yummymatcha @inklore @hollandparkersx @tashababy

Coffee and Confessions

Pairing: !Professor Xu Shangqi x !college f. reader

Genre: Fluff (lime)

Warnings: professor x student/TA relationship, elements of slow burn, mutual pining, sfw teasing, reader plays footsies with Shangqi, making out, confessions, suggestiveness, preludes to smut  

Summary: You start off your winter break with your favorite professor.

Word Count: 2.9k

Beta Read: @cyborg-cinderella - thank you bestie Ilysm 😘

Notes: This fic is my submission for @tonystarksfavoritedaughter‘s 1 year writing challenge. I chose the quote: “Your lips taste like strawberries.” Congrats Hailey on the milestone! I’m so proud of you 💕 sorry for posting it past the deadline, but I hope you love it 🥺 Although no 18+ warnings are present, my blog is still 18+ so PLEASE DO NOT INTERACT IF YOU ARE NOT 18+! Otherwise you will be blocked! Remember to reblog and comment if you enjoyed what you read 😊

It was finally winter break. Everyone around you was packing their bags to return to their hometown or planning vacations to extravagant places the world had to offer. Everyone except for you. 

You didn’t have much awaiting you in your hometown. All the people you grew up with essentially got up and left after graduating high school and never looked back. On top of that, your family decided to make plans without you and were expected to return home on Christmas Day. That is, if everything goes well for their flight back home, and you could only hope that the weather conditions were safe to travel in. So you were left with no choice but to hold down the apartment you shared with your roommates. 

Once your roommates left you with the apartment, you sighed in relief and plopped down on the couch. You stared at the ceiling for a few moments before deciding to flip on the TV. You were only able to squeeze in a few episodes of the show you were binging before boredom washed over you. Then, you decided to follow an at-home workout video. By the time you finished exercising, you were still bored out of your mind. 

The rest of the day revolved around ordering takeout and starting a new show to binge watch. In the middle of watching one episode, your phone chimed to signal you received a text. You grabbed your phone from under the blanket and turned it on. It would be an understatement to say that you were shocked by who sent you the text.

“Good evening,

I hope you are doing well and are receiving the rest you deserve after all your hard work this semester. I know this may seem out of the blue, but there is a pressing issue that I would like to discuss with you in person. Would it be possible to meet you at the cafe on Lime & Lemon St tomorrow morning at 10am? If not, perfectly fine. We can talk over email if you prefer. Please let me know as soon as possible. Thank you and have a wonderful night!

Professor Shangqi”

You lost track of the times you read the text from Professor Shangqi. Your face warmed up and your palms persparated. The professor you had been crushing on the whole semester is requesting to meet up with you outside of school. The smile on your face was as wide as the Cheshire Cat. Then, you suddenly frowned.

What if he wanted to meet up with you because you failed his class? What if he caught on to your crush on him and was going to confront you about it? Your mind was racing with thoughts and you didn’t know if you should cry or throw up or pretend you never received the text and call it a night. 

“No,” you exclaimed out loud to yourself. “I should reply. It’d be rude of me not to.” And so, you sent out a quick reply and sent it without thinking twice.

“Hi Professor!

Yes, I can meet with you at that time. I hope that everything is okay on your end. I look forward to meeting with you.”

Time couldn’t move any slower as you waited to hear back from Shangqi. When your phone dinged again, you opened up your messages within a second of receiving the notification. 

“Oh, everything is fine. I promise. Just wanted to ask you something that I prefer doing in person. Can’t wait to see you :)”

Now, you were back to smiling and biting your lip. Your fingers danced across your phone screen as you wrote one last message to him.

“Sounds good! I will see you tomorrow. Goodnight professor :)”

Rolling onto your belly, you screamed into the pillow that you were lying down on. You had to pinch yourself in case you were dreaming. Before you knocked out, you read over the text thread, excited you will be getting coffee with the professor you had developed a deep admiration for. 

The next morning, you sat in your car, glancing at your reflection in the tiny mirror above you. Your palms were sweaty against your phone as you checked the time. 

9:59am

You started to hyperventilate, considering how close it was to the time you were expected to meet Shangqi. Normally, you were perfectly calm and collected around Shangqi. Yet now, you were on the verge of vomiting because of how nervous you were about going out with him. Was this even considered a date? No. Just a student and professor having a casual business meeting. Right?

Your thoughts were interrupted by the sound of another car pulling into the parking space next to you. You almost yelped when you realized the driver was your professor. As Shangqi turned off the ignition and stepped outside, you took some deep breaths to steady your racing heart beat. When you finally got out of your car, Shangqi glanced in your direction and flashed a sweet smile. 

“Hey!” Shangqi called out, sauntering towards you. “Good to see you again.”

“Yeah, likewise,” you responded. You gave him a firm handshake like how you always did when you saw each other. Except this time, the handshake lingered a little too long for it to be professional. You both lightly giggled before anchoring your hands down and brushing fingers. 

“Shall we?” 

“Yes, let’s go in.” You walked alongside Shangqi until he rushed to open the door for you. A laugh erupted from your belly as you thanked him for the gesture, entering the coffee shop. As you hopped in line, Shangqi briefly glanced down at your backside before following you. He was grateful that you hadn’t turned around, otherwise he would’ve been in for it. Little did he know, you had hoped that he would look at you the way you did with him.

“Lemme guess, you’re gonna order the matcha lavender latte,” Shangqi playfully taunted as you peered up at the menu. You pretended to act offended even though deep down, you were flattered he memorized your favorite coffee drink. Yeah, it technically wasn’t coffee, but it was better than the boring Americanos your professor always drank.

“Of course, I am! Remember, every time I go to a new coffee shop, I have to order their matcha to compare between shops.” Shangqi beamed at how your face glowed while you spoke. “And if I were to guess, you are gonna get your tasteless Americano?” Shangqi adjusted his glasses and turned back to the menu.

“Actually, I think I’ll get the same thing as you. It must be worth the hype if you’re always ordering it. And I’ll have you know, dear, that Americanos are not tasteless.” Your head whipped around when he called you dear. You weren’t sure how you could possibly respond to that without wanting to yank him towards you and kiss him. But the way his eyes met yours made you even more tempted to do so.

“Next in line, please!” A loud voice projected from behind the counter. You both whipped your heads in the direction of the barista, waiting for you to approach the counter. Shangqi made way for you to stroll towards the counter first. Nodding towards him, you proceeded to the counter, reciting your typical coffee order to the barista. He punched the buttons on the screen, waiting for you all to conclude your order. Shangqi came up behind you, lightly cupping your mid back. The unexpected movement sent chills up your spine and your cheeks burned hot enough to keep you toasty in this cold weather. 

Shangqi angled towards you. “Make those two matcha lavender lattes.” You simpered, cocking your head towards him. The barista, unbothered by the exchange occurring in front of him, tapped away at the screen. 

“Would you like to try any of our pastries or…” his voice dragged out as you scanned the menu. 

“The strawberry crepe sounds pretty good,” you mentioned to the barista.

“And I’ll have the chocolate croissant,” Shangqi jumped in. The barista gave the total cost of the order, and as you dug through your bag for your wallet, the professor handed the barista his credit card.

“Wait, I could’ve-”

“No need for that. Besides, I’m the one who invited you here, right?” You nodded in agreement, allowing him to pay for the order. Then, you both waited to the side counter, standing so close that your arms bumped in unison. Without acknowledging the closeness, you both smiled to yourselves, glancing at the ground. 

After receiving your orders, you both settled into a cozy corner of the cafe. Shangqi rubbed his hands together to keep warm while you bit into the strawberry that sat atop the crepe. He stared at your lips as they puckered around the strawberry, his mind wandering to the dark depths that he only visited at night. You swallowed the fruit as he chewed on the inside of his cheek. In the blink of an eye, your professor steered himself back on track.  

“So you’re probably wondering why I invited you to coffee.”

You shrugged with a small smirk. “Just a bit curious.”

Shangqi laughed, “So the reason I asked you here is because…” He twirled the cup around on the table as if the right words would magically appear. Well this may not be a surprise to you, but you were my best student. In fact, you received the highest grade out of all of my students.”

You gulped on the lump in your throat, beads of sweat forming on your palms. As much as you wanted to make eye contact while he spoke to you, your nerves got the best of you. Just the sheer thought of looking into his beautiful brown eyes would make you faint.

“I wanted to know if you would be interested in being my TA for the spring?” The muscles in Shangqi’s body tensed while he waited for your response. He relaxed when he saw the twinkle in your eyes. You were smiling so hard you had to hide behind your hand. Moments later, you nodded your head repetitively.

“Yes!” Your cheeks were sore from grinning. “Oh my gosh, yes! Wow, I am truly honored, Professor. Thank you so much!”

Shangqi sighed in relief and raised his cup towards you. “To the fall semester. And now, onto spring semester.” You tapped your cup with his and then simultaneously sipped your drinks. It was refreshing to hear only good news coming from your professor. You hummed happily thinking about how you get to spend more time with him.

Further into the coffee date, you noticed a shift in Shangqi. While you made small talk, he would eye your lips and lick his own. Was it a coincidence that he did that? Were you imagining things? Was he coming onto you? You assumed that you were overthinking everything, yet his every little move made your skin heat up.

Feeling bold, you grazed your foot against Shangqi to test how he would react to it. He didn’t seem phased by it until your foot crept up his leg. His jaw clenched in surprise and he removed his glasses to clean the lens. His imagination still ran wild as you slowly trailed your foot in between his calves. 

Perfect. You got him.

To tease him more, you seductively ate the strawberry crepe that you had almost forgotten. You shut your eyes and moaned as the sweet treat hit your tastebuds. Something in Shangqi stirred as your innocent moans filled his ears and he gulped down another swig of his drink. Anything to distract himself from his mind diving deeper into that forbidden place. Meanwhile, you hid your smirk, knowing that you managed to get under your professor’s skin. In a good way, of course.

This continued until everyone in the cafe left for closing. You both took your time leaving the cafe. While Shangqi slid the crumbs off the table with a napkin, you took your time grabbing your bag behind you. It was really obvious that neither of you wanted to leave. Even the tired baristas picked up on you and Shangqi trying to prolong your date. 

“Well, that was nice,” you announced once you finally exited the cafe. A wave of sadness washed over you, realizing you won’t be seeing your favorite professor for over a month. 

“Yeah, it was a nice date,” Shangqi added, causing your heart to skip a beat. You smiled timidly at him. As much as you wanted to question him about it being a date, you didn’t want to pry. You were appreciative to have spent quality time with him before spending a lonely winter break at your apartment.

“Thank you, by the way,” you began. “For today. Actually, the whole semester. Out of all the professors that I’ve had, you’re my favorite. I can’t wait to be your TA.” Shangqi smiled at you, soaking up your kind words. You reached your hand out, waiting for him to shake it.

“I think we’re past handshakes now.” You lowered your hand slowly. “You’re gonna be my TA so we can be a bit more casual, don’t you think?” You snickered. Shangqi extended his arms and wrapped them around you when you closed the space between you two. You felt secure. You felt home. And you didn’t want to let go of that feeling. Neither did Shangqi.

Your professor pulled away just enough to look into your eyes longingly. The mixture of the nippy air and his comforting embrace caused goosebumps to form on your uncovered skin. His gaze moved down to your lips and his breath decelerated. Then, your voice snapped him back to the present.

“You know something, Professor?” Shangqi’s face plastered with perplexity. “I know you have been staring at my lips the moment we stepped in the cafe.” Shangqi tried to deny you but just ended up tripping over his words. He grew more nervous as he defended himself. It made you titter how the professor that always had a way with words became a blabbing mess over you.

“You can kiss me if you want.”

Shangqi chuckled at your forwardness, but proceeded to move his hands to your face. His rough hands cradled your jawline before leaning in to press his lips on yours. Your heart violently thumped against your chest and your stomach twisted as your lips danced to a beat that felt so familiar. After what felt like a lifetime, he pulled away for fresh air. 

Shangqi was awestruck. By you, the kiss…by everything. All he could utter was, “Your lips taste like strawberries.” Yet, he still brought you to a fit of giggles.

“It was the-”

“The crepes. Yeah, I remember.” Like a pair of magnets, your lips were stuck on his again. His thumbs smoothed over your cheeks as you tugged on his winter coat. Your tongues almost simultaneously slipped into each other’s mouths, causing you to gasp as he explored the inside of your mouth. The bitter taste of coffee mixed with the sweetness of the pastry danced along your tastebuds. You craved to memorize the taste of his tongue, to have his lips imprinted on your body. 

“Shangqi,” you stammered, as the kiss died on your lips. “I really like you. I know I shouldn’t but I can’t help it.” Now that you finally admitted your feelings for him, you wanted to burst into tears. Your head started to drop, but your professor tilted it back so you could gaze into his brown eyes.

“I really like you too.” Shangqi swiped your hair out of your face so he could bask in all your beauty. He sighed in joy, “God, it feels so good to say it. I have felt things for you ever since the first day. I never thought I would adore someone the way I adore you.” He sniffled, unsure if it was the tears he was fighting back or the cold winter catching up to him. “But, here we are. I’m not ashamed to admit how much I really like you.” 

What started off as a short peck turned into another passionate kiss. You felt his lips form into a smile against your own. He nuzzled his nose against yours, causing you to snort quietly. A sound that Shangqi secretly loved.

“I don’t want you to go now. I wish we had more time together.” Shangqi caressed you as if it would be the last time he would ever be able to. A lightbulb in your head abruptly lit up when you remembered that you were basically spending all of winter break alone in your apartment. Perhaps, Shangqi could keep you company.

“My roommates are back home and I have the apartment to myself if you want to come over.”   

Shangqi perked up. “Yeah I like that. Just text me the address and I’ll meet you there.” You nodded happily before he kissed you one more time. Both of you locked eyes before heading to your cars. You shared one last subtle laugh before easing your ways into your cars. The shape of his lips still lingered on yours, and you couldn’t wait to touch them again. 

Now, you finally had something to look forward to during winter break. More appropriately, someone to look forward to.

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