Chapter 2

The ensuing week did not start out well for Gabi.

She was disappointed that Tom had put her off, and she had to admit that she'd set her heart on showing off for him. She was anything but focused in practice, and realized how much she was out of it when she heard Coach Thomasson yell "Gabi, where is your head at?"

"Yeah, girl, get a grip," Chantelle whispered to her as they stood side-by-side, sweat dripping off their lean bodies. "I'll bet I know where you're head's at."

"Shut it!" Gabi warned through clenched teeth.

Chantelle grinned and shook her head. "I've got to find out about this guy."

But the week finished on a high note. Gabi impressed Professor Thompson during class discussion with her grasp of the latest reading assignment in Philosophy, while most of her classmates appeared catatonic, likely the result of scheduling the class at 8 a.m. Later that evening, she regained her form on the court and Central took apart Penn State. And Chantelle had the tact not to bring up Tom again until the Shakedown was well under way, and neither was feeling much pain.

Fifteen minutes of Gabi talking in a dreamy way about all of Tom's qualities was about all Chantelle could take, so she brought the conversation back to the key issues.

"So, you like this guy?"

Gabi grinned and nodded.

"But you've seen him a total of two times, and really don't know him all that well?"

"Well..."

"And neither time was what you could call a social occasion?"

"No, not really." Gabi frowned. Chantelle was right, she'd just been filling in a lot of the blanks in her mind, and needed to really get to know Tom. Asking him out on a date was the logical answer, but she'd never asked a man out. There had always seemed to be plenty of men interested in doing the asking themselves.

As if reading Gabi's mind, Chantelle said "Here. Next week."

"What?"

"The Shakedown, girl! It's perfect. It's casual, no awkward silences ... and best of all, you'll be with your friends, have your whole support base right with you."

"I don't know, Chantelle. It kind of sounds like an ambush."

"Well, of course it is," Chantelle said, grinning. "We've got to make sure he's good enough for our Gabi."

Gabi sighed and rolled her eyes.

By Monday, as Gabi found herself back in what was becoming her favorite chair, gazing with dewy eyes at Tom as he expounded on economic theory, the idea sounded pretty good. That thought, and the fact that Tom did indeed seem periodically distracted by her low-cut blouse, brought a smile to Gabi's lips.

But first things first...

"Okay, now you promised," Gabi said as she pushed the strip of cardboard into Tom's hand, hoping that he would be impressed enough with the ticket to Thursday's match against Florida State that he wouldn't realize that students were admitted at no charge.

"Hmmmm," he said, smiling. "So you expect me to go stag?"

Gabi's jaw dropped. Why had it never occurred to her that he might have a girlfriend?

"It's okay," Tom reassured her, touching her shoulder. "I just thought that maybe Brendan ought to come along to explain the finer points to me."

She visibly relaxed. "Well, it just so happens I have another ticket in my backpack..."

Three days later, as Central prepared to go to battle again, Gabi found herself craning her neck, looking into the stands for a particular face.

"So, which one is he?" Chantelle asked. "The short one with the Central State 'No. 1' foam finger?"

"Nooooo," said Gabi, suppressing a smile. "He's the cute taller guy next to him. The short guy is his roommate."

"Does he know that this is his first date with you?"

Gabi gave Chantelle a mock glare. "You know you're killing me, don't you?"

"Hey, this wasn't my idea. I said you should bring him to the Shakedown."

Gabi smiled and hugged her arms to her chest as Tom smiled in her direction and waved to her. "Well, that's the next step..."

Tom, meanwhile, had a bewildered look on his face. "Do you think," he asked Brendan, "that their shorts could be any shorter or tighter?"

"You didn't think that I came here for the volleyball, did you?" Brendan said, laughing.

Maybe Tom's presence inspired her. Or maybe the stars were just aligned properly. Whatever the case, Gabi personally orchestrated the destruction of Florida State. Whether it was diving to pick a hard shot off the floor, or making the perfect set for one of Chantelle's monster slams, she was the center of everything happening on the court. Her teammates mobbed her following Central's sweep of the Seminoles, but she disappointedly noted that Tom hadn't hung around with other well wishers after the game.

"He's not going to get away that easily," she thought.

When Tom and Brendan arrived back at their apartment, the message light was blinking on their answering machine.

"Tom? This is Gabi. I need to talk to you. Please call me as soon as you get this, okay?"

"Told you we should have said 'Hi' after the game," said Brendan, smirking. "You know, she really likes you."

"Right," said Tom. "Did it occur to you that she might only be setting up her tutoring appointment for next week?"

"Well, you already told me she was coming next Monday. I'll bet she's going to ask you out."

Tom shook his head, dialed the number Gabi had left, glanced at Brendan and walked out of the room. When he returned, he looked puzzled.

"Well?"

"I think she just asked me out."

Brendan laughed. "Oh, yeah?"

"Actually, we're both invited. Some kind of party at Hannigan's tomorrow night?"

"You're kidding? The Shakedown?"

"The what?"

Brendan shook his head. "How long have you been on this campus?"

The last thing that Gabi wanted to appear to be doing was waiting anxiously for someone to arrive. Which is, of course, exactly what she was doing.

Her first beer at the Shakedown had gone down too quickly, and she was nursing the second one. She chatted with friends, but realized that every half minute she was turning to watch the door at Hannigan's.

Suddenly, she felt a pair of hands on her shoulders and a voice in her ear.

"Easy now, girl..."

She meant to think of a snappy comeback, but instead managed a weak smile. And she realized Chantelle wasn't trying to tease her. She was here in support. Gabi looked around the room, met the eyes of some of her teammates and got sly grins in return, words spoken between pairs of them with knowing looks in Gabi's direction. They all seemed to be invested in making this work for her. "Poor Tom," she thought. "This really is an ambush..."

Mostly what she was thinking, though, was how out of character she was acting. Boys, and then men, had never been this difficult. There had been no end of them interested in her. She chose some as friends, a few as lovers, and a very few could have been called out-and-out boyfriends. "But look at me now," she thought. Still, her friends had sensed something that she hadn't until this minute, her mood and actions betraying to them what she hadn't considered: that this one was particularly important to her.

She looked down at the outfit she'd carefully chosen, a baby blue knit top that hugged her trim figure and complemented her short blonde hair, and a pair of off-white slacks that looked like they'd been painted on. Of course she looked hot. There'd been men's eyes on her from the moment she stepped out of her apartment and headed for the bar, but it wasn't supposed to be this difficult. And she'd developed this bad habit of biting her lower lip when they were together, like some kind of little-girl come on, and oh, my God there he was!

Tom and Brendan had just walked in the front door and were heading toward the mass of humanity that was the weekly Shakedown. Brendan's eyes were bobbing around the room, but Tom had that look of cool calm that never seemed to leave him. "Damn him!" thought Gabi. Wasn't she supposed to be the one in a comfort zone tonight?

She felt a gentle push at her back, and looked over her shoulder to see Chantelle give a gesture with her head towards Tom, in effect saying "Well, what are you waiting for?"

Gabi walked out to meet them. "Hey, there."

"Hi, Gabrielle," said Tom, smiling.

"Hey, Gabi," said Brendan.

"Brendan," she said, nodding in recognition. "I'm glad you could come."

"Yeah, this is great," he said, pointing a thumb in Tom's direction. "Anything to get this guy out of the apartment."

There followed a few, but pointed, moments of silence. Brendan looked at both of them, caught a quick glance from Gabi, and then began to look around the rest of the room. "Well, I'm going to mingle. Catch you two later..."

Tom's eyes followed Brendan's departure. "It was a good idea to invite him along," he said. "He made sure that I'd get here."

She gave him a pout. "You didn't want to come?"

"Of course I did." He flashed that warm smile that always reduced her to a puddle. "Brendan's right. I've been a little too insular lately."

And with that, Gabi worked Tom into a corner, with every intention of monopolizing his company for the rest of the evening. For the next hour and a half they huddled, as she sought to learn everything she could about him. She discovered how his parents had divorced when he was very young, that he was close to his mother and that, like Gabi, he was an only child. She told him about her years growing up in a small but close family, how she'd rebelled against being treated like a princess and wanted most of all to make her way on her own merits. Like her, he was on scholarship at Central, although his was a patchwork of academic grants. He'd started as an English major, although, as she'd noted in his apartment, his studies were currently all over the map. Much like her own...

Seemingly by magic, their beer glasses were replaced when they became empty. Gabi was all the more appreciative of the network of friends who were helping her handle the situation.

He listened to every word she said. His clear blue eyes never left hers as she talked to him, and she felt more comfortable opening her heart to him than with any man she'd ever known. There was nothing predatory about him, nothing that made her feel that there was any danger in being open with him.

But maddeningly, there was nothing to indicate he was going to press his advantage.

His passions, not surprisingly, were reading and writing.

"I want to read something you've written," she said.

"Believe me, it's not worth your time. It's mostly just things I end up turning in for Creative Writing."

"I'll bet they're wonderful," she cooed, and he actually blushed. She so wanted to lean in, to kiss him, to wake him up to her, but he suddenly shattered the moment.

Tom stood, slipped out the corner of the room in which she'd pinned him, and said, "I guess I've been keeping you from all your other friends, haven't I?"

"I'd have said something if that was a problem."

He grinned at her. "You're too sweet, Gabrielle. But you don't have to babysit me. Despite what Brendan may think, I am capable of small talk."

She frowned. He smiled. "Don't worry, I'm not leaving."

He began to join with the sea of people, only to find that Chantelle had hooked his arm with her own and was guiding him to a different corner. Gabi couldn't help but laugh. The vetting process was about to begin.

Over the next hour, as she worked the room but kept an eye on Tom, she got a greater appreciation for the people who cared about her, and meant to protect her. Tom was skillfully passed from one teammate to another, apparently without him realizing it. She smiled as she watched him in deep discourse with Chantelle, in animated conversation with Marissa, sharing a laugh with Sarah...