Lucky in Love by Karina Gioertz

facing each other before he blurted, “Lucky, I don't want to play these stupid games with you anymore.  I'm in love with you.”
    Silence.
    Apparently having said all he intended to say, Noah leaned over and kissed me. The kiss was long and intense and I felt his hand hold onto my hand, his grip tightening the more he leaned into me. It was completely overwhelming. Hearing him confess his feelings was bad enough, but the emotions that began to stream through me the moment his lips touched mine were more than I could handle. As long buried lusts began to unleash themselves and take hold, a more familiar feeling of fear burst in and brought everything to a screeching halt. Without thinking, I put my hand on Noah’s chest and pushed him away.
    “Wait. Stop. You can't just do this.  Not like this!” My voice cracked as I spoke and for a moment I was terrified I might begin to cry again.
    “I'm sorry.  I know you don't feel that way about me...I just had to tell you.” Noah shook his head and pulled himself further away from me.
    “No, it's not that.  I just really wasn't expecting this...and you're drunk...and I'm a little scared of how you will feel about all this in the morning.” It was hard to explain something I hadn’t fully understood myself yet. Noah, however wasn’t dealing with any kind of confusion on his part. That almost scared me more.
    “Oh, I'm going to feel the same way.  I feel the same way every morning...Oh, I might be sick.” He leaned back into his seat, put his head back and closed his eyes, in what I assumed was an attempt to stop the room from spinning.
    “Ok, let’s get you home.” Grateful to have something else to focus on, I helped him off of his chair and slowly walked him out of the bar.
    The drive home was quiet and uneventful. I wasn’t sure if Noah had actually fallen asleep or if he was just pretending, either way, I was happy not to have to sort something as important as ‘love’ out with a drunk version of him.
     
    I woke up the next morning feeling as though my head were in a fog. I hadn’t gotten to bed until almost 4am, and while I was certain I had only just lain down and closed my eyes for one brief moment, the sun spilling through the cracks in my blinds suggested otherwise. Groggily, I pulled the blankets back up to my chin and rolled over on to my side in an effort to get more rest. I caught a brief glimpse of the clock as I started to bury my face in my pillow. Seconds later I jumped out of bed and frantically began to pull my clothes on. It was a school day and I had seriously overslept. Realizing what a moment of genius I had had the night before for stumbling into the shower, in spite of the fact that I was exhausted, instead of simply falling into bed fully clothed as my initial instincts had suggested, I gave myself a mental pat on the back while double fisting it into the bathroom with deodorant and toothpaste.
    Minutes later I was storming down the stairs, smelling rather fresh but nevertheless looking quite frazzled. Jason, who was calmly sitting at the kitchen table having his morning coffee, grinned when he saw me plow into the kitchen, nearly taking down one of the kitchen chairs in the process.
    “What time is it?” I asked trying to catch my breath.
    “Relax, you have plenty of time,” Jason replied, trying to muffle a burst of laughter that had managed to escape in spite of his efforts.
    “Really?  Oh, thank God!  I totally overslept.” I ignored the fact that Jason was so amused at my expense and let out a sigh of relief. Allowing myself to slow down, I took on more of a stroll as I went for the fridge to retrieve some O.J. After pouring myself a nice large glass of juice, I went and sat down in the chair I had nearly demolished upon entering the kitchen.
    “I wasn't expecting you to get up at all this morning.  What time did you get in last night?” Jason asked as while lifting his mug to take another sip.
    “About three, I