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Sarah started laughing loudly. "Sorry," I muttered, taking a sip of my beer. Apparently Jenny's aim was better than mine.
Sarah led the topic onto the band's first performance next weekend, knowing that I was feeling uncomfortable and having pity on me. Sarah knew me better than anyone else, even if I was still hiding a few things from her. Like the fact that I was having visions again.
As the chatter carried on around me, I studiously avoided looking at Simon and chimed in with comments when appropriate, although my heart really wasn't in the conversation. I was too busy trying not to look in Simon's direction.
I was successful until Marcus, who had been sitting to the left of me, got up to go to the bathroom. Simon proceeded to move over and plop down onto his vacated seat.
"So," he said conversationally. "Who's Jonathan?
I gaped at him. Were we still on this? "Um, just some guy who graduated last year."
"Did you guys date?" Simon asked, casually laying his arm on the back of my chair.
"Isn't that kind of personal?" I was cautious, not sure how to maneuver this conversation.
"I don't know, is it?" he asked cryptically. Simon spoke lightly but he was watching me closely.
I didn't know how to answer so I decided to go for the truth but with very little detail. "He was just interested in me but he wasn't my type, that's all. Everyone's making it into a bigger deal than it was." Although it had been a little creepy the way Jonathan would always show up wherever I was. But I didn't really want to go into it with Simon.
Simon leaned back smiling, his arm still around my chair. "What's your type?"
I felt myself losing control of the conversation and tried to reign it back in. I looked around at the rest of the table, but everyone was too busy arguing the merits of some band to pay attention to us.
"I don't have a type," I replied slowly. "I'm not really looking to get involved right now. School is enough and this is our last year. I want to just concentrate on graduating and having fun with my friends."
"We could have fun," he replied, his mouth crooking up in a half-smile.
"Sure," I said with an edge. "As friends. I don't have time for anything else except friends." There was a warning in my voice that if we weren't friends, we weren't going to be anything else.
"That sounds good to me," Simon said innocently. He then cocked his head with a small smile. "For now."
I didn't know what to say to that, so I didn't say anything at all. I took a sip of my beer to have something to do and then leaned forward, joining the conversation at the table and trying to ignore the presence beside me.
**********
The night flew by quickly and before I knew it, it was almost midnight. Simon seemed to have backed off and I was relieved that we were just interacting as friends. I told myself that I didn't feel the least bit disappointed. Not in the least.
I learned that Simon and Grant had pretty much grown up together, since they lived so close to each other and were the same age. I knew Grant came from a wealthy family, but it seemed by Grant's comments that Simon came from an even wealthier family, although Simon downplayed it. Simon's father and Grant's mother were siblings, so Simon's last name was Crewe instead of Matthews, like Grant. Simon had a younger sister in high school and it sounded as if they were close. I had always wished for a sibling growing up since I felt so isolated from my father. I envied anyone who had a sibling they could confide in. I was lucky I had Sarah though. She really did feel like my sister.
I watched in amusement as Sarah flirted with Grant, putting a hand on his arm and brushing her hair as she spoke to him. Grant wasn't exactly oblivious and flirted back, although he kept it casual. I knew they had kissed once in the past, but that had been a while ago and they had both been drunk. Grant had a rocky relationship with his ex-girlfriend Cara, and I really wished that he would give Sarah a chance for something more than a flirtation. At the same time, I wished Sarah would give up this infatuation with Grant and move on. It was painful for me to see her interested in someone that didn't reciprocate her feelings. Sarah downplayed Grant's lack of real interest and made it seem like it was just a fun game for her, but I knew that she felt hurt by it.
Simon shared that he had been pre-law at Yale, but it had only been at his father's insistence. He had agreed to try it for a few years because his father was convinced that Simon would soon see the value of practicing law, but after three years, his father had finally relented and agreed that he would support Simon changing his major, as well as schools.
That's how Simon put it, but Grant implied that Simon's father had no choice but to relent; otherwise, Simon would have gone off on his own anyways.
I wondered what it was like to have a father that thought so much of your potential, even if it caused Simon to butt heads with him, instead of a father who seemed convinced of your lack of potential. Whenever my father asked me how I was doing in school and I shared that I was making high marks, he answered that of course I would be. After all, the business school at Maxwell wasn't the top in the nation, never mind that it was still well respected. I didn't mention that I had been accepted to plenty of other schools that were more prestigious, but Maxwell had given me the biggest scholarship and that had made my decision for me. I didn't want to throw my father's lack of financial support in his face, despite the fact that he didn't seem to hesitate to say hurtful things to me.
"Okay," I announced. "That's it for me. It's almost midnight and Cinderella needs to get home."
"Yeah, I'm with you," Marcus said. "Let's head back. If I stay any longer, soccer practice is going to kill me tomorrow."
Marcus stood up as I did. Simon also stood up beside me. He had never relinquished Marcus' seat back to him and Marcus didn't seem to mind since that put him next to Jenny.
"I think I'm going to head back too," Simon said, glancing at me. "I'm still recovering from the move here."
"Aw man, come on," Grant protested. "The night is still young and there's more pitchers to be had. We haven't even played pool yet."
Sarah looked up at me. "You want me to come home with you?" she inquired.
