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Rowan
Jason ends up walking me home after my last class of the day, and as he bids me a goodbye on the front steps of the house, he looks sheepish suddenly, like a middle-school boy intimidated by a pretty girl. It’s cute. Really cute.
“Rowan, listen,” he says, scuffing the steps with the toe of his shoes. “Would you like to go out with me sometime?”
“Oh, um—”
“Like, on a date,” he says before I can continue. He smiles, a boyish, sweet smile that forces me to smile back.
“Yeah, Jason, sure.” His eyes light up, like a child on Christmas, and honestly, it’s endearing. I can’t remember the last time a guy genuinely wanted to go out with me. “When do you want to go?”
“What about tonight?” he asks, excited. “I can take you out for dinner, or something.”
I’m tired, slightly grumpy, and have a shit ton of homework to do, but I know I’ll feel bad if I turn him down now, so I nod my head instead and shrug a little. It can’t hurt, right? I need this. I need the distraction.
“Sounds good. Pick me up around seven?”
“I’ll be here.”
I stand on the porch and watch Jason walk away, back towards campus. He turns once and waves back at me, and I smile before turning around and going into the house.
“Ooooh, who was that?” Jamie asks as soon as I close the front door behind me. She’s lounging on the living-room couch with a textbook propped up on one leg and a glass of wine in one hand. From where she’s sitting, I know she saw Jason and me on the front porch through the window.
“He’s just a friend,” I say quickly, kicking off my shoes. “I met him in microbiology yesterday.”
“Um, okay. But does he know that he’s just a friend?”
I sigh and cross the floor, plopping down on the couch next to her. Jamie hands me her glass of wine, and I take a sip, relishing in the crisp flavor of blackberries and spice. Count on Jamie to always have a fine wine ready for whatever crisis comes our way.
“He asked me out on a date.”
“Really?” Jamie’s eyes go wide. She’s thrilled, probably more so than I am. “Did you say yes?”
I sigh. “Yes, I said yes.”
“But do you like him?”
“Would I have said yes if I didn’t like him?” I ask her, and Jamie giggles.
“Probably. You have a soft heart, Rowan. Anyway, when are you going?”
“Tonight, I guess.”
Jamie nods thoughtfully, her eyes scoping me out. “What are you going to wear?”
“What’s wrong with this?”
“Oh, please.” Jamie gets to her feet, taking my free hand in hers to pull me up. “Come upstairs, we’ll figure this out.”
“There’s nothing to figure out,” I yell after her. “It’s just a date.”
* * *
Hey,I’m OMW.
I stare down at the text on my phone, trying to settle my nerves, then lock the screen and toss it aside. I want to cancel on him, make up some petty excuse as to why I couldn’t go on this date tonight.
Homework.
