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And...there it was. Eric shifted uncomfortably and stared at the generic gray carpet, but I was grateful he hadn't bailed.
"Um, well," I tripped over the words and crammed the bottom of my T-shirt inside my fist. "We're, um...I'm not seeing anyone right now."
Every word of the sentence stabbed me in the heart. But if Jared was happy, to his credit, he didn't show it.
"Oh," he said sympathetically. He reached out and patted me on the shoulder. "Hey, I'm sorry to hear that. You two seemed to really be into each other that night at the symphony. I almost didn't even blame the guy for stealing you away."
Eric cleared his throat and looked around the room, but to his credit, he still didn't leave. I had to give it to him: however poorly he tended to treat his romantic interests, Eric was a decent friend.
"Yeah, well," I said in a low voice. I just wanted to stop talking about this. "Things change."
Jared opened his mouth to say something else when the instructor of the class entered the room. Everyone took their seats, and Eric and I grabbed one of the tables together. Jared took another next to ours, and pulled out the assigned book and a notebook. He smiled kindly when he caught me looking at him, but otherwise said nothing more for the rest of the class.
~
Four mind-numbing hours later, we filed down the stairs and out of the building with several hours' worth of homework and studying for tomorrow.
"I can't believe this," Eric groused as we started the long walk back to the train station. "This is more homework than I had in any of my courses last semester."
The sun was high in the sky by this point, and it was warm, even for early June.
"No one gets that much homework anyway during third year, so it's not really a fair comparison," I pointed out, earning a withering glance from Eric.
"First year, then," he said. "More than Torts. Top that, Counselor."
I chuckled. Eric was fun to rile up. It was a lot of homework, but that was to be expected. Studying for the bar exam was arguably the most critical step to becoming a lawyer. If we didn't pass, we were out of a job and for many, hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt. This was a make-or-break kind of thing, and I intended to take it seriously.
"You'll get through it," I said. "I'll help."
A blue BMW compact pulled up beside us. The passenger window rolled down, revealing Jared smiling in the front seat.
"Hey, there, sports fans," he greeted us as he revved the engine. "Need a lift back to town?"
"Absolutely," Eric said, and we piled in.
I sat in the back while the boys sat up front, but as he drove, Jared would glance at me every so often through the rearview mirror.
"How're you doing back there, Skylar?" he asked. "I'm not making you carsick, am I?"
I shook my head. "No, I'm good, but thanks for asking. I didn't know you had a car."
"Oh, definitely. I wouldn't live without one. Otherwise you're stuck in the city, you know?"
I couldn't see Eric's face, but his back straightened considerably. A city boy through and through, Eric hadn't even gotten his license until just last year so he could drive with some girl out to Cape Cod for the weekend. Having similarly grown up in New York, I hadn't gotten mine until college, but had barely used it.
Jared pulled onto the freeway and I sat back in my seat to enjoy the drive. It was a really nice day; I was wishing I didn't have to spend the majority of it holed up studying.
"What do you think, Skylar?"
Jared winked broadly through the rearview mirror.
"Um, sorry," I stuttered. "What? I was lost in my thoughts."
"I'll say. I asked you three times what you thought of the upcoming local elections. Who are your favorite candidates?"
I blinked. "Oh. Yeah, honestly, I haven't really been following local politics. I don't even know who the candidates are."
Jared chuckled. "You and most people. That's okay, I can educate you."
