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conversation. No such
luck.
    "Can I ask you a question?" he asked later as
we walked to one of the on-campus cafés before communications
class.
    I shrugged and looked up at him. "You can
always ask ."
    He lifted an eyebrow. "Ah. So, then…will you answer a question for me?"
    "Depends…"
    "I guess I'll try my luck." He peered down at
me. "What did you mean earlier when you said most people don't hang
around this long?"
    Crap. I shouldn't have said it . We
were at the café and there was no line. I quickly ordered a salad
and used the rest of the time to come up with a non-answer.
    "So…you're not going to answer?" Tristan
asked as we sat at a table by the window.
    I shrugged. "I just meant most guys wouldn't
pass up a pool party with hot college girls to do homework."
    He leaned toward me, looking into my eyes,
the gold sparkles bright and enrapturing. My breath caught. "That's
not what you meant."
    I forced myself to breathe, my head swimming
from the intensity of his gaze.
    "It's pretty close," I finally said. He
continued staring at me expectantly. I sighed. Then I tried to
switch directions with my own question. "Why did you pass it
up?"
    He shook his head. "You answer mine
first."
    I pulled my eyes from his and stared at my
uninspiring salad. "Seriously…that pool party was an example. Most
people wouldn't hang out for hours just doing homework and
discussing trivial things."
    I didn't add "with me," although that was the
original meaning. It would point out something was wrong with me. I
expected him to lose interest before he ever knew those things.
    "I haven't found any of our conversations
trivial," he replied. I looked back up at him and tilted my head,
an eyebrow cocked. "You have?"
    "It's not exactly exciting stuff."
    His eyes flickered. "So…you're bored?"
    "No!" I sighed again, getting frustrated.
"That's not what I meant."
    "Are you going to tell me what you mean,
then? Or are we just going to continue in circles?" He sat back in
his chair and took a bite of his apple, waiting for my answer.
    I sighed yet again; it was nearly a groan. How could he do this to me? He was too irresistible for my
own good.
    "Fine." I took a deep breath. "I really don't
get why you choose to hang out with me, doing nothing special, when
there are so many other things you could be doing with so many
other people. Most people would be long gone by now."
    "I told you, I'm not like most people." He
leaned forward, his gaze intense again. "I'd rather hang out, doing
nothing special with you because you are …special."
    My eyes widened, my heart getting erratic. A
moment of silence passed as I recovered.
    "You obviously don't know me very well," I
muttered.
    "Hmm…I know you and I are very much
alike."
    I raised an eyebrow. "In what alternate
reality? We seem to be complete opposites."
    He was perfect. I was ordinary…except for the
weird things. He was a math whiz and I was an English major. He was
athletic; I was far from it. He was beautiful. I was…me.
    He nodded, a thoughtful look on his face.
"Hmm…yes, in many ways we are opposites, you're right. But, we're
much more alike than you realize. You're not like most people
either."
    So he did notice. Yet here he was.
    "And that's why I passed it up. College
parties are no good for me. Trust me. You, on the other hand, are very good for me." He grinned beautifully and I just stared
at him for a long moment.
    "I don't get it," I finally whispered.
    "You don't have to. It's just the way it is."
He glanced behind me, apparently at a clock. "Eat up or we'll be
late."
    ***
    When I arrived home, Mom stood in the foyer,
as if she had been waiting. She didn't look happy.
    "You're still hanging out with him," she
said. It wasn't a question. She would know the truth, if she were
looking for it, which apparently she had been.
    I shrugged. "I guess that's what you'd call
it. We just study, really."
    She glared at me for a long moment. "You
really like him?"
    "Yeah, I do. Who wouldn't? He's