Chapter 7: The day after.

We stayed to see in the sunrise. Not much else happened physically; I knew exactly what a sixteen-year-old would be doing in my place, and managed to fight down the impulses. Besides, the kiss earlier was just about as far as I dared to take it at the moment.

So we talked. I found out that she would be starting her sophomore year in the fall. She was the youngest of three children, and literally the baby of the family (her sister and brother are eighteen and fifteen years older, respectively). Her parents had adopted a rather hands-off parenting technique, and acted more like grandparents. They gave her a lot of rein, and she justified their trust by never pushing the envelope too far. She was sixteen going on twenty-five--mature beyond her years, yet retaining her wide-eyed wonder at the world. Oh, and she was a fellow chocolate fanatic. I got a fair dose of high school as well, mostly in reference to Dana and Rachel. The three attended Friends High School, considered to be one of the top private schools in the state.

In return, I filled her in on my family. Not too much there; just an older sister whose shadow I lived in, and parents that held high expectations for their only son. A brief rundown on high school, then a full-blown description of college. I tried (and mostly succeeded, I think) to ease back on my normally cynical viewpoint, and described the freedom to pursuing one's interests balanced with a practical career. I mentioned how often the friends one makes in college will end up lasting a lifetime, and that the dorm experience was one of the most enjoyable periods of my life. Brief note: I declared biochemistry freshman year, couldn't find anything interesting for the next four years, and now am in a biochemistry Ph.D. program. Oh, and I've lost all contact with my college friends. I've got reason to be cynical.

By the time we finished telling each other our life stories, the sun was peeking through the branches. After we left the reservoir, we stopped at a café to pick up bagels and some liquid sunshine before she drove me home. We agreed that she would call me later to discuss dinner plans. I was exhausted, and suspected that she could have used some sleep herself. She was alert enough so that I didn't worry about her getting home safely. Personally, I was more concerned about her after she got home. I mean, parents worry about their children by definition, and staying out all night...

I woke up around four, my eyeballs feeling as if they were glued to my eyelids and the contacts I left in. A primitive alarm, if you would--had I taken them out, I would have been dead to the world when Maddie called. Some ice-cold Coke drove the last vestiges of sleep from my mind, and I decided to get some work done. Paying bills, vacuuming, scrubbing the tub--any kind of mindless work that kept me in the apartment. The repetitive motions gradually calmed me down from the nervous wreck I woke up as. Fact one: Maddie chased after me. Fact two: she enjoyed my company. Fact three: she initiated our night together. She liked the person she saw when I had all my masks down, so what did I have to worry about? Where this would go, certainly, but that's trouble from the future I don't need to borrow. Judging from yesterday, she doesn't want to rush into anything physical. And I don't mind being someone she can talk to and cuddle with. Hopefully make out with on occasion--I'm human, after all.

Ah, Murphy's Law. If you want someone to call, take a shower. I was mostly finished anyway; the cold water was running out. Dashing over to the phone, I took a moment to compose myself and picked up the phone. "Hello."

"Jordan?"

"Hey there. Had a nice nap?"

"Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. So, was there anywhere that you wanted to go?"

"Not especially, though I was inclined toward something exotic."

"A new Japanese restaurant opened up a month ago at Security Square, and it's gotten good reviews. I wanted to go, but-"

"You'd like someone to hold your hand and tell you what you're eating."

"Exactly."

"That would be great--I haven't had good Japanese food since I went home last year."

"There's one other little thing."

"Hmm?"

"Two friends of my parents are here for a few days, and brought their daughter with them. I've been asked to show her around Baltimore."

"Let me see... she's older than you, the two of you are friends, but haven't seen each other in a while, and she's transferring to Hopkins."