Chapter 3

I can't tell you why, but the non-kissing incident continued to gnaw at me. Looking back, I think it was that I didn't like being characterized as not nice. That's really what he had accused me of.

Nobody had ever accused me of that before, but maybe that was because they were afraid to say something unflattering to me. I hadn't thought of myself that way, but I guess I could understand how he could.

The next afternoon I called Jennifer.

"Did he say anything about me, about what happened?"

"First, he would never say anything about what happened between you. He would consider that your business. He doesn't tell tales.

"Second, even if he somehow slipped, I would never repeat it. I respect him too much to do that. He did make a general comment about you and that I can repeat. He said you were complicated."

"Complicated?"

"Yes."

"I have no idea how to take that."

It was better than other things he could have said. Maybe it was like saying, "Your baby looks intelligent," instead of, "What an ugly kid."

"Ask him. He'll tell you."

"Can you tell me some stuff about him?"

"It depends on what you want to know."

"He seems pretty smart. No, he seems very smart. He talked about some courses he skipped. And he seems to know about a lot of things. He helped me with my accounting. He says he helps you with your courses. How smart is this guy?"

"Well, Ashley, he's probably the smartest guy you'll ever meet. He placed out of two years of French and Spanish. That's all the tests cover. But they evaluated his skills and placed him in graduate level courses in both.

"He was put in the advanced courses in math, chemistry, biology and physics. He's here on a National Merit Scholarship. If I didn't know him, I would think he was just an urban legend."

"Damn. You know he wasn't even taking notes when we studied. What's up with that?"

"He has something like a photographic memory. I don't understand it, really, but he says it has something to do with organizing facts. He doesn't just remember the facts. He understands them and that's how he remembers them, or something like that."

"Gee, that's clear. How did you find all this out?"

"Mostly from him. It was like pulling fucking teeth. If I were half that smart, I'd be bragging all over the place. He doesn't even want to talk about it."

"Yeah, I noticed he is really good at changing the subject."

"So, are you going to see him again?"

"I don't know. I haven't decided. Something about him disturbs me. Maybe it's that he takes me so far out of my comfort zone. Is he going to call me?"

"I don't know. He didn't ask for your number."

"Shit. I can't believe I'm going to have to call him. Give me his number in case I decide to. And you can't tell anyone about this."

"If you don't want me to, I won't."

I was interested in him. I can't tell you why. Maybe I was drawn to him like many girls are drawn to bad boys. Maybe he represented danger and excitement. Maybe I was just bored.

I have been in the position to ask a guy to take me to some event where nobody who was invited was an acceptable date for me. But I had never just invited a guy out on a date.

What if he said no? Was that possible? If I had a nickel for every time I had said no, I would never have to work. He hadn't completely blown me off.

Was this what guys felt every time they had to call a girl for a date? It sucked.