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walking up to the desk and standing there until Cara makes eye contact. It’s honestly hard to remember my own name once she lifts her eyes to mine, but I take a deep breath and hope I don’t say anything stupid.
    “Do you need help with something?” she questions, scanning a couple of books into the computer.
    I find my voice after a minute of staring. “Hey, I wanted to see what you’re doing after class today? If you wanted to hang out or something?”
    Her eyebrows squish together and she crinkles her nose, which makes her look awfully cute, glancing to her left and her right, then finally back my way. “You want to hang out with me ?” she asks with a mixture of surprise and sheer mortification.
    I smile at the thought of spending time with her. “Yeah.”
    “To discuss poetry?”
    Hell, no . I perch my elbows on the counter. “No, not necessarily. Just to get to know each other.”
    She shrugs with apprehension. “Well, I usually … just hang out by myself.” She squares her shoulders and stands up straight with purpose. “I really can’t. I have something I need to do.” She shifts her body away and picks up a pile of books, effectively dismissing me.
    She doesn’t know me yet. I don’t give up that easily. “Okay, well, just know I’ll ask you again tomorrow.”
    Cara stops, turns, and appraises me briefly. A glimmer of a smile crosses her lips. “Well, just know that I’ll say no again tomorrow.”
    Tingles of excitement catapult straight through me. Game on . She’s beautiful and she has a sense of humor. Maybe she’s more my type than I thought.
    “Well, until tomorrow then, Cara.”
    “Bye,” she mumbles, but she doesn’t turn around.
     

     
    I pull into the parking lot of Jason’s apartment complex. It’s not a large one, about fifty or so shingled units surrounded by short well-trimmed bushes and manicured trees. There’s a large in-ground pool around the back and some of the apartments have balconies that overlook it. Jason’s apartment happens to have a great view of the pool. Must be nice . For an instant, I feel a pang of jealousy. I could be living here, too. I roughly kick a stone on the cement and huff out a breath, a wave of frustration surging through me. As much as I love my family, and I do, sometimes I feel trapped. I could’ve been living a different life right now.
    I knock on the door a couple of times and Jason opens it with a smile, looking like he just rolled out of bed in the middle of the afternoon. He’s so damn happy all the time. I want that, too. I’m just not sure how to get there.
    “Hey, dude. Come on in.”
    I peer around the door thinking I might be an unwelcome interruption. “Is this a bad time? Are you alone?”
    He lands a fake punch to my stomach and I take the opportunity to wrestle him to the ground, pinning his arms to his sides. It’s juvenile, but we’ve been it doing since we were kids and old habits die hard. He laughs and struggles to escape from my grip. “I give, I give.”
    I smirk, once again feeling victorious, get myself up, and walk into the small living room. There’s a flat screen television on the far wall and a couch and loveseat in an L-shape facing it. From where I’m standing, I can see that the kitchen counters are spotless and the sink is void of dirty dishes. If I checked the bathroom, I’m pretty sure I’d find the same theme. I’m shocked. The place is immaculate. There’s not an empty beer bottle lying around, no clothes on the floor, and the place doesn’t reek of BO. “Okay. You either got a maid or someone’s providing a female touch. I’ve never seen this place so clean. Which is it, Jason?”
    He runs his hands through his shaggy hair then goes over to the fridge and grabs a beer, motioning to me and pulling one out. “What? Can’t a guy have a clean apartment?”
    I pass on the beer and collapse onto the leather couch, resting my feet on an old trunk that serves as a coffee table. “Yeah, a