Chapter 18

"Who is it?"

"Ashley Fine."

"Jeff isn't here."

"Open up, I want to talk."

"Jeff isn't here. I have to study."

"Open the door."

"I can't."

"Now!" I said it with the authority of a police detective armed with a warrant. I heard the click of the lock and the turning of the knob before the door swung open.

"I don't know where he is."

He was a little taller than Jeff, though not quite as lean. He had the frightened look of a plebe, anticipating the random hazing of upperclassmen.

I brushed past him.

"That's okay. I brought my books. I'll wait."

"You can't. I don't know when he'll be back." Jeff had coached him.

I could break him but it wasn't really necessary.

"However long it takes, I'm staying. I hope you can sleep with the lights on."

He had been coached, but not prepared for this. His shoulders slumped in defeat, he went to his desk to study. I sat on the couch and opened a book.

He gave a sigh of resignation. What could I do, Jeff? She forced her way in and wouldn't leave. And that would be accurate, because I wasn't going anywhere until Jeff showed up.

I ordered in a pizza for dinner. I had occupied the high ground and I wasn't going to desert it due to lack of supplies. Sun Tzu says, well, I have no idea what Sun Tzu said, but I'm sure must have said not to desert the high ground.

At around 11:30 there was a key fumbling in the lock. Roger looked like he wanted to utter a warning, but I gave him a withering stare and he dropped his gaze back to his book.

"Ash ley." Two words. I had surprised him.

"We need to talk," I said. The words every man longs to hear from his woman.

"I've just been -"

"Cut the crap. We really need to talk. Roger, go stretch your legs."

There was no doubt about my authority. He got up quickly and mumbled, "I'm going to take a walk. I'll be back later."

He scurried out of the room like he was afraid of police brutality.

I closed the door behind him.

"How did you get him to let you in?"

"Except for you, there are two kinds of guys. One type stares at me and, even though they know I can see them, they just can't help themselves, they have to look.

"The second kind can't look for too long. It's like they are looking at something forbidden and dangerous and they can only look briefly before they have to turn away or something terrible will happen."

"Remedios The Beauty," he said with awe.

"You've read One Hundred Years of Solitude? I've got to give you points for that."

"You needn't sound so surprised. I read voraciously," he said.

"I thought you read science and history and non-fiction. That's heavy duty literature."

"Yes, and, okay, I'll confess I'm a little surprised to hear you've read it too. I guess you get some points yourself. Speaking of which, how many of those thousands of guys you've gone out with have even heard of it?"

"You. Roger was the second type. I told him to let me in. I told him I was staying and he couldn't even look at me, so how could he argue with me?"

Jeff nodded. After that exchange, he didn't seem to know how to get this started. No problem. I could take the lead.

"This is the first relationship I've been in with someone I really care about, Jeff. Who'd have believed it?

"I've dated a lot and I have a lot of experience going out with guys. I've even dated a couple of guys who would have been justified in believing they were my boyfriend except that if I'd lost them, well, there was never any real possibility I'd lose them, it wouldn't have mattered to me at all. It would have had all the emotional impact of oh, it's raining, let me get an umbrella.

"But I don't have any experience doing this. It scared the hell out of me, and that made me want to spend as much time with you as I could. I don't know why, but it seemed like that would help.