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unwanted attraction to my lab partner, as serious as that might be to me, would not be seen as such by the professor.
With everyone getting up and leaving the hall, I hastily packed my bag and turned around to leave as well. I handed the scrap of paper with my email on it to Emerson—practically shoving it in his face—and spoke in a tone as cool and emotionless as I could manage while avoiding eye contact. “Here, Emerson. If you need to ask about anything for class, here's my email since we're lab partners now. Otherwise, well, you know where I live.”
He took the paper, looking strangely confused. For a moment, it looked as if he was about to say something, but I cut in before he had a chance.
“Well, that's it, I gotta run now. See ya.” I pushed past him and hurried out of the lecture hall, hoping he hadn't seen the blush spreading across my cheeks or picked up on the nervous, awkward way I was walking as I passed him. I merged into the river of students in the hall and headed on to my next class which was one of the electives I had chosen—astrophysics.
I hoped I wouldn’t see him in that class, as well, but with the way things had been going, I wouldn’t have been surprised.
***
After a hectic first day of classes, I sipped green tea and watched the sun as it sizzled on the horizon, hanging just below the tips of the distant hills. I leaned out off the edge of the balcony and glanced to the side. Thankfully, Emerson's balcony wasn't within view, so I could relax without having to worry that he or Chris would walk out, shirtless most likely, and start bugging me while I was trying to unwind. Homework for the evening had been completed. Dinner had been cooked, eaten, and the kitchen cleaned, leaving a plate for Leslie when she got home from her meeting. She’d told me what it was for, but I couldn’t remember for the life of me. But if I’d had a long first day, her day had been longer. I settled into one of our patio chairs and took in the evening.
From inside the apartment, I heard the front door open. “Hello?” Leslie called out, shuffling in with both of her hands full of bags bulging with groceries.
“Hey, I'm out here,” I said, glancing into the apartment from my perch. “You need a hand with those?”
“Nah, I'm fine. Just gonna drop 'em off in the kitchen, then I'll join you out there.”
A minute later, Leslie walked out onto the balcony, carrying a small, potted plant in one hand and a bottle of water in the other. “Violets,” she said as she put the plant down. “Our first flowers for the apartment. It's up to you to get the next one. Sound like a plan? We take turns getting plants for the balcony until we've got enough to fill it up and make a real garden out here.”
I smiled; I'd always loved gardening and growing things. “Yeah! Sounds perfect. And, we can get a few herbs growing for the kitchen, maybe some cherry tomatoes and chilies, too.”
“I like the way you think.” Leslie plopped down in the seat beside me. “So, tell me, how was your first day? Good classes? Any hot guys?” she said with a wink and a cheeky smile.
I sipped on my tea and shook my head. “You will not believe what happened.” I proceeded to tell her about the unusual events in chemistry class and the situation with Emerson being my lab partner that existed because of said events.
“Oh, my God, Brooke! You’ve got to be kidding me. Wait. Are you serious?”
“Not even joking a little bit, Les. I have been partnered with our hot neighbor and it really looks like there's no way out of it. Like, none. At all.”
She chuckled and shook her head. “Fate,” she said softly.
“What?”
“Fate, girl,” she echoed. “Something is telling you that you should be paying a bit more attention to the man next door.”
“Oh, come on. It was just a coincidence, nothing more. Seriously.”
“A coincidence would have been him just being in your chemistry class. Being lab partners, put together by a randomized process on a computer? Nope, that's way beyond mere coincidence. That right there? That's fate. You two are meant to-”
“Stop right there, Leslie Marie. Do not say that I'm meant to be with that douchebag.”
“Aww, come on, Brooke. Don’t ya think that's a bit harsh? I know he's a bit of a party boy, but it seems a bit too soon to be judgmental like that. I mean, you don't really know the guy...”
“You saw the strumpets at their apartment for their party over the weekend, right? There was enough silicone in that pack of skanks to keep the Titanic afloat. Have you never heard the saying about how you can judge a person by the company they keep? Applicable here, Les, very applicable.”
“First of all, strumpets? Who even says that?” she laughed. “Second, it kinda feels like you're shutting him out without even giving him a sliver of a chance.”
“Look what happened last time I gave a guy a chance.”
She put a sympathetic hand on my shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “Bee, not every guy is gonna be like Andrew. You gotta let that go. It's really messing you up by holding on to it like this. C'mon, Brooke, you're gorgeous, you're crazy smart, and you're such a sweetheart. It's a waste seeing you build these walls around yourself and not letting anyone in just because you’re afraid they'll hurt you. You can't live your life like this—especially your college years! You're supposed to be out meeting new guys, having fun, living life! I know you're serious about your studies and that's great! It doesn't, however, mean you can't also have a social life, you know? There are plenty of students who get their 4.0 who also go to parties once in a while and even have romantic partners. It's all about balance, BeeBee. Balance.”
“I'll get over Andrew in my own time, in my own way, okay?” I sipped my tea and turned my eyes away from Leslie; I didn't want to have that conversation. I wasn’t ready for it.
“You've been getting over him for the last nine months, Brooke,” she said quietly. “Or, at least, so you say. I don't see much getting over going on.”
“Can we change the subject already?” I requested, almost snapping at her. I immediately felt guilty about how aggressive my tone was. “I'm sorry, Les,” I insisted. “I didn't mean for it to come out like that. I know you've got my best interest at heart. You really are my best friend. I really love having you around, it’s just that…”
