Chapter 1

Lester stalked into his dorm room, shutting the door loudly behind him. He flopped, face-down onto his bed.

"Les?" his roommate asked. "Something wrong?"

"Leave me alone."

"What happened?"

"I said, leave me the fuck alone!" He drew in a breath. "Lori dumped me, okay?"

"She dumped you?"

"Yeah..."

"Did she give you a reason why?"

"Yeah ... she said it wasn't going to work out." He let out an exasperated groan. "I thought she was the one, Jon. I really did."

"She's a pretty girl," Jon remarked. "Tall, slim, redhead with sapphire-blue eyes..."

"Don't rub it in."

" ... figure like a model's and long, sweet legs ... How far did you get with her? First base even?"

"Shut the fuck up, will you?"

"What are you going to do?"

"Give her a while to cool off and then give her a call."

"Good luck with that. You will need it."

Les stepped into an empty study room on his dorm floor and closed the door. He pulled his cell phone from his pocket and brought up his address book. Les stared at the screen for a long moment; then he selected Lori's number and initiated a call. He could hear the ring signal.

Hello, Les...

"Lori ... I ... I was hoping ... Lori -- I want us to be back together. Look -- if it was something I did..."

Les -- it wasn't you. It's me ... I didn't make this decision lightly, Les. But, it is final.

"I see..."

Les -- there's a girl on my floor. Her name is Donna -- Donna Logan. She's a nice girl and she hasn't had luck with any of the guys over here. She's wanted to meet someone from Tech but doesn't know anyone. I thought maybe you'd like to meet her...

"Lori -- I dunno..."

I think you'll like her. She likes the same sort of stuff you do, Les ... books and films and such. I'll text you her number...

"Do what you want, Lori."

Can I tell her to expect your call? He was silent for a long moment. I'm sorry, Les but this is how it has to be. Will you call her?

"I'll think about it."

Thanks, Les. I'm really sorry.

"Yeah ... Me, too. Goodbye, Lori..." He cancelled the call, headed back to his room and threw himself onto his bed.

"How did your call to Lori go?" his roommate asked.

"How do you think it went?"

"By the looks of you I think it went as I expected it would go," Jon replied. "Don't be so glum. There are other girls out there."

"Yeah ... The ones here are all either taken, ugly or fat."

"There are plenty over at State."

"As a matter of fact Lori gave me the number of one of her friends over there ... a Donna someone."

"You gonna call her?"

"A blind date? I don't think so."

"Why the hell not?" Jon asked. "What's the harm? The more your name circulates over there the better your chances."

"I'm not interested in anyone other than Lori," Les replied. "She's ... special. I remember taking that bus ride home and we got caught in the snowstorm and were stuck on that off-ramp for two hours ... We talked and talked like we'd known each other for years."

"Lots of times these things don't last, Les. Do you know what the odds are of any random relationship enduring?"'

"No. What are the odds?"

"Well, I don't know, either. But it has to be pretty small."

"Easy for you to say. Lexie is wearing your ring."

"Okay -- maybe I'm luckier than most. If it's really the splits for you and Lori -- what's the harm in giving Donna a shot?"

"It's a blind date, Jon."

"So what?"

"I don't do blind dates. I want to know what I'm getting into before committing to an evening's block of time."

"Look at it this way: Best case scenario is she's drop-dead gorgeous ... makes Lori look like the dog's breakfast. She's your soul mate and you have a lifetime of happiness together. Worst-case scenario -- she's fat and ugly with hairy legs and a laugh like a hyena. You say, nice meeting you and never call her again."

"No -- worst case scenario is she's fat and ugly with hairy legs and a laugh like a hyena who turns out to be one of those stalkers they profile on 48 Hours. She makes my life miserable and I need to take out a restraining order."

"What are the odds of that?" Jon asked.

"About the same as the odds she's my drop-dead gorgeous soul-mate."

"So, you're not going to call her?"

"No, I am not."

Les punched in the number Lori had texted him. It rang.

Hello?"

"Donna? My name is Les ... Lester young. Lori gave me your number."

Yes ... She said you might call.

"I know it's short notice but ... tonight the Tech cinema society is showing a film I've been wanting to see. I was wondering if you'd like to see it, too."

Sure...

"The film starts at seven. How about we meet at your dorm at six-thirty?"

Okay. Fine. I'll be looking for you.

"See you then." Les cancelled the call.

"Well?" Jon asked. "Was that really so painful?"

"If I end up needing a restraining order, you're paying the attorney's fees. Let's go get some dinner."

Lester made the hike from his dorm, across the river, through town and to a corner. Ahead was the Tech academic campus and to his right, about another ten minutes away, was Sate. He crossed the street, turned and headed in that direction. Soon he was in the lobby of the dormitory in which Lori had her room.

He pulled his cell phone from his pocket, punched in Donna's number and sent a text:

Donna its Les. Im in the lobby.

A reply was forthcoming. B rite down.

Lester paced in the lobby. The door to one of the residence wings swung open and two young women approached him. One was tall, standing nearly six feet. She was slender with her bushy red hair pulled back into a ponytail. She had brilliant blue eyes, an oval face with high cheekbones and a cute, turned-up nose with a scattering of freckles on either side.

"Hi, Lori," he said.

"Les," she replied cordially, "this is my friend Donna Logan. Donna -- this is Les Young."

He regarded Lori's companion. Donna was on the high end of petite, about a five-foot four brunette. Her dark brown hair fell below her shoulders in an informal shag. She had brown eyes, a round face with a strong nose that had a hint of a bump near the bridge. Donna was large-framed, curvaceous and slightly overweight.

"Nice to meet you, Les," she said.

"The film starts in half an hour," he replied. "We should have plenty of time." He turned to Lori. "Nice seeing you again."

"Have a good time," Lori said and then turned toward the door leading to the residence wing.

Donna accompanied him as he headed back toward his own territory. "Where is this film showing?" she asked.

"One of the lecture halls. Our cinema society is screening it. It's free for me and only a couple of bucks to get you in. They also sell popcorn, candy and sodas."

"What can you tell me about this film?"

"It's Week End by Jean-Luc Godard. He was a member of the Nouvelle Vague or the..."

"The new wave," she said.

"Right -- the New Wave. Do you know about that?"

"No ... but I know what nouvelle vague means."

"Ah ... You speak French."

"Oui," she replied.

"Well ... I don't. Godard was a bit of the bad boy of the New Wave. His films have an edge, an anarchy beyond those of his compatriots."

"Les ... Les ... Can we slow down? I'm having trouble keeping up."

"I'm sorry." Les slowed and shortened his strides. "I'm accustomed to walking. Our dorms are a mile away from the classrooms."

"You have to walk a mile and back every day?" she asked.

"Twice a day if I want lunch in the cafeteria. You get used to it. I can make the walk in twelve minutes if I have to. You wouldn't save much time driving, with the lights and the traffic and cruising around looking for parking -- maybe five minutes, tops. Sometimes I make the trip three or four times a day."

"Well ... I'm not used to it and I don't think I'm wearing the right shoes."

"We're almost there."

Lester led her into one of the lecture halls. By the entrance students had set up a card table. He presented his student ID and handed over two dollars for Donna's ticket. "Popcorn?" he asked.