Chapter 2

I arrived in the coffee shop in the Student Union ten minutes late. I didn't want to appear anxious and I thought it better form to locate her rather than have her see me and bring him to my table.

And there she was. I saw her from the side but didn't get a very good view of him. As I got closer I was surprised by his look and his looks. He wasn't bad looking though I never would have noticed him in a crowd.

He was kind of thin. What was striking was his clothing. He looked like he was wearing clothes his mother picked out for him for college. This was probably because he was wearing clothes his mother picked out for him for college.

No, he didn't have on a cheap white dress shirt appropriate for a pocket protector. But if you put him in a lineup, ten out of ten girls would have identified him as the nerd.

"Hi, Jennifer. Been waiting long?"

"No. Just an appropriate amount of time. Jeff, this is Ashley."

He stood to shake my hand. I think they used to do that in black-and-white movies.

"Nice to meet you, Ashley. Jen has been saying some nice things about you."

"She's been saying some nice things about you too."

I shook his hand. I guess that's what you're supposed to do. It wasn't the limp handshake I had been expecting, but neither was it the kind I experienced from the guys in my crowd, the kind that said, "I'm better than you."

He did have a nice smile. It was warm and friendly as if he really was happy to meet me. But it wasn't the kind that said he had been set up with a hot one. He showed no awe of me, which was very surprising, because almost everyone else did, including women.

"I can't stay long," said Jennifer. "I have a study group and I need the help."

"I told you I could help you with that," he said.

"I know. But I can't rely on you for everything. I need to establish some independence, even if it is in a group."

He seemed to find that amusing for some reason.

I went to the counter and got a cup of black coffee. When I returned to the table Jennifer was gathering up her stuff and begging off to go to her study group. We were alone.

"Jennifer said you're just a freshman. How can you help with her courses?"

"I know some stuff. I read a lot."

"Maybe you should be taking junior courses." My tone made my insincerity obvious.

He hesitated, as if reluctant to speak. "I am."

"How can you be taking advanced courses as a freshman?"

"I placed out of some stuff on the entrance evaluation exams."

"What courses?"

"Ah, just some stuff. Nothing important. Jen says you were homecoming queen last year. Does that take a lot of time away from your studies?"

"Nah. I'm pretty smart. I keep up with the stuff pretty easily." And I can recognize a segue, though it was pretty smooth.

"You're fortunate. Some people here have to work very hard to do well."

"Thanks." When was he going to mention my breathtaking beauty? I had never been on any kind of date where the guy didn't almost wax poetic over it unless he was tripping over his tongue. What was wrong with this guy?

"If I'm talking too much just tell me. I know you expected to get some studying done," he said.

"Yeah. Maybe we should do a little."

I was inclined to think about him, to speculate on what interested him, how smart he was to skip those courses and, yeah, I'll admit it, what it was that made him so special in the sack. I didn't know if he was looking at me, but history indicates he would be stealing glances so I dug into my work.

I glanced at him a few times and smiled in case he looked up at the same time. He was just reading. He took no notes. In fact, he didn't seem to even have a notebook or pen. Maybe it was in the missing pocket protector.

Two of my subjects went very smoothly. The third was a problem. I still didn't get why we were doing it. I could sort of keep up with how to do it, but I never understood why, and that muddied up my understanding of each thing I learned. I threw down my pencil in disgust.

He looked up. "Problem?"

"I just don't understand this damn accounting. I never got why we always do two entries. That makes it tough to know what entry goes where, because I don't know why I'm doing it."

He reached into his pocket. "I'm sorry. I seem not to have brought enough money with me. Could you loan me a buck?"

He had the most annoying ability to change the subject.

"Are you good for it?"

He smiled. It was a nice smile. "You can track me down if I don't pay up."

I handed him a dollar.