“My what – huh?
Sorry, I didn’t catch that.” Mmm-hmm, I’d been focusing on his lips and totally
missed his last word.
He looked at me strangely,
repeating each word slowly, “What’s…your…favorite…book?”
“Oh right,
sorry.” I smiled. “That’s a loaded question, because I have several.” Good, my
voice was strong, indicating I was clearly back in the game.
“Your top three
or four then,” he prompted.
“Inquisitive
aren’t you?” I squinted, and he nodded. “Okay,” I began, “
Pride and
Prejudice
well, anything by Jane Austen
, The Odyssey, Lord of the Rings
,
and…probably
Les Miserables
. But I only stop there, because otherwise
we’d be here all day.”
He laughed,
appearing completely at ease. “I’d listen, but of course I’d be prepared to
make excuses for a quick getaway if things got too dull,” he said.
“Very funny.” I
tossed a French fry at him. He caught it and popped it in his mouth. “How about
your
favorite book?” I asked.
“Like you, I
have several.” Scanning the courtyard, he appeared to be giving some thought to
his answer. We both watched as three guys pounced on the table next to us even
before the two teen lovebirds could clear out of the way. Jason laughed and
looked at me. “I’d have to say
The Great Gatsby, The Call of the Wild, 1984,
and the
Lord of the Rings
trilogy. And like you, I could go on and
on and on…” He winked.
My heart melted.
Well-read, literate men were scarce. Well-read, literate men that were also
wickedly sexy were a rarity, indeed. Add in a wink, and we’re talking a field
goal from 50 yards out. For the first time in a long, long time I found myself
completely taken in. He was intriguing and intelligent, and he made my pulse race.
This relaxed and conversational side of his was enjoyable.
“You mentioned
you’re new to Bellingham. Here to attend Western?” When I nodded in
affirmation, he said, “Have you been here long or chosen a major yet?” He
pushed his empty basket aside and rested his elbows on the table.
“I moved from
Tacoma more than a month ago with my best friend Ally and her fiancé Ben. Ally
always wanted to be a teacher like her mom, and we’ve both been accepted into
the Education program but…”
“Wait,” he
interrupted, “you didn’t say that
you
always wanted to be a teacher.”
I looked at him
with a frown. “Yes. No. Oh, I don’t know,” I said with exasperation and pressed
my hands against my cheeks. “I guess Ally has always been the driving force.
Once she knows what she wants, she goes after it. Her future is all mapped out,
and while I do admire her tenacity, I’m more indecisive. When she insisted we
fill out applications together for Woodring College of Education, I figured I’d
let fate decide. She was ecstatic when we got the news.”
“But you
weren’t?”
“I wouldn’t say
that exactly. I just…now that I’ve had more time to think about it, I’m not
certain of anything anymore.”
“Hmm. Sounds
like maybe you need to have this discussion with Ally. If she’s your best
friend, I’m sure she’ll understand that you might want to consider other career
options. Like maybe you should be a doctor; you’re good at saving people.” He
reached for my basket. “Are you gonna share these, or what?”
My eyes widened
but I nodded. What was it with this guy? It was like he’d suddenly appeared in
my life to remind me of my ability to help people. He grabbed a couple fries
and dipped them in my ketchup before swirling them around in my tartar sauce –
just the way I did. Weird; he had personal space issues but wasn’t afraid of
double dipping from my plate? “Why don’t you tell me about you since I’ve
divulged more than enough about myself,” I suggested and shoved the basket
towards him.
“Fine, I’ll be
fair and share.” Drumming his fingers on the table, he launched into a couple
stories about growing up in Bellingham and discussed his last couple years
attending Western. He’d decided to focus on a dual major of Environmental
Studies and Business Science.
When I noticed
he’d stopped talking, I said, “Tell me about your family.”
“Well, I have an
older sister and brother. My sister works for the San Juan County Sheriff’s
Office. She and her husband are expecting their first baby in a few months. She
had to take an early leave from work due to a few complications, but thank
goodness she’s fine now. They live out in the islands. Last year my brother
moved to Bangor, Maine where he’s attending Husson University. And my mom and
dad still live here in Bellingham. Dad’s a firefighter and mom works for the
Bellingham PD.” A strange expression crossed his face, and he shook his head
slightly.
“Wow! Quite the
family. Sounds like they’re all in the business of saving people – for real.”
He offered a winning smile and nodded, which prompted me to ask another
question before I lost my train of thought. “Are you working and going to
school?”
“Yes…” He closed
his eyes and rubbed them. “I’m working…” He stopped and started blinking his
eyes. “I’m working right up the street at the grocery store…”
“What?” I said,
totally surprised. The store down the street was part of the local chain I
worked for. Noticing that he was massaging his temples, I asked him if he was
okay, but he didn’t seem to hear me.
His cell phone
started ringing, and he grabbed it out of his pocket. “Hello?” he said gruffly.
After listening for a few seconds he said impatiently, “Fine, fine. I’m coming.
Give me five.” He stood up, his eyes darting nervously between me and the
street like he was expecting something big to happen. “Alex, I need to go. I
need to go right now.” His tone was solemn, and he winced again. “I’m sorry.
I’m not…I’m always on the go and not very reliable…”
“Is everything
okay?”
“We probably
shouldn’t have…” he started to say, but cringed and jerked his head again.
“Goodbye, Alex.” He bit his lower lip, and after one last pensive glance, he
dashed out to the sidewalk and raced down the street.
I sat there in
stunned silence for several minutes. I couldn’t believe it. Just when he was
showing his potential as a first rate receiver he’d fumbled the ball in the
final seconds and lost the game. When I noticed a family searching for a table,
I offered mine and walked up to the bus to throw the trash.
“Thank you
sweetie,” the lady behind the counter said and motioned me towards her.
“You’re welcome,”
I said, as I approached the empty counter.
“Now darlin’,”
she drawled, “I want you to know that Jason is a really nice young man. He’s
been a regular here for a long time. Nevertheless,” she tapped her cheek, “he
is peculiar at times. Anyways, I couldn’t help but notice how he up and
disappeared on you. Well, truth be told, I’m kinda nosy, but I just thought you
should know I think he’s a great catch.” She laughed at her own joke. “You
might be interested in knowing you’re the first girl he’s ever brought here. In
my opinion, I think that says a lot about his feelings for you.” She gave me
one big nod and tapped my hand.
I didn’t feel
any heat from her touch, and she didn’t act like I had some kind of disease, so
I automatically warmed to her. “Thank you,” I said as someone inside the
kitchen called her away.
As I walked
home, I wondered about Jason’s abrupt departure and then instantly scolded
myself for getting involved in the first place.
On
the other hand, there was just something about him….
More than that,
he had me rethinking why I’d surrendered so easily – why I was willing to give
up on life and just let go? He believed every day was a miracle, and at one
time I’d thought the same thing. Could I again?
I was certain
about one thing – I definitely wanted to see him again.
Pulling into my
parking spot alongside Ally’s car, I slammed on the brakes just in time to
avoid hitting the florescent green motorcycle parked horizontally across the
front of my spot. “What the heck?” I muttered to myself. Backing up a bit, I
left the tail end of my car hanging in the street. Not overly happy, I cursed
under my breath.
We had company,
and by the looks of the tricked out bike, this company had a flashy ego to
match. The word
Ninja
jumped out at me in bold black letters. This
machine had male testosterone written all over it and all but screamed, “I am a
speed demon.” I shook my head, half with disgust and half with admiration.
I grabbed the
bouquets of flowers out of my front passenger seat and carefully made my way to
the front door. I jiggled the handle, but my hands were so full I couldn’t get
enough leverage to open it. Suddenly, it flew open, and I tumbled across the
threshold right into a guy I’d never seen before.
He peered at me through
all the flowers and greenery and laughed loudly. “Great entrance,” he said.
“I’ve been looking for a cute girl, and here one just falls into my arms like
this. Coincidence or fate? What do ya think?” Beneath arched eyebrows, a pair
of strangely iridescent, greenish eyes danced with amusement.
“I…um,” I was
speechless.
Ben came to my
rescue. Sort of. From over on the couch he called out, “Hey Lexi, meet Ash.
Ash, that’s Lexi.”
“Hmm…Lexi. That
should do; although, since you’re easy on the eyes, your name doesn’t really
matter,” he teased.
“Ash?” I
repeated, rolling it around on my tongue like a bitter taste. I couldn’t
believe his audacity and found myself responding rather snidely, “What kind of
name is that?”
“A damn good
one,” he replied arrogantly. “And Lexi would be short for…?” He cocked his head
sideways.
“Alexandria,” I
shot back. Tilting my nose in the air, I added, “Literally, it means defender
of mankind. Back in ancient times Alexandria was a famous city in Egypt founded
by Alexander the Great. It was also home to the Great Library, thus making
Alexandria an intellectual capital of the world. A bit more interesting than
being named after a tree, wouldn’t you say?”
“Ouch! Break it
up already. The sparks are likely to catch the carpet on fire.” Ben laughed.
Grabbing a
bouquet of flowers from my hands, Ally said pleasantly to Ash, “Don’t let her
scare you. She’ll use big words and historical knowledge to make you feel
inferior. It’s not intentional. It’s just a social skill she needs to work on.”
“Excuse me, I
happen to…” I retorted but was drowned out by Ash’s laughter.
“Oh, I’m not
scared,” he said haughtily. “I’m amused.”
Burying her face
in the red roses, Ally said, “Wow, what’s the deal with all the flowers? And
what are those beauties you’re carrying?” she asked before turning and making
her way to the kitchen.
“Calla Lilies,”
I said. Stepping back from Ash, I found myself unable to look away from his
strange eyes. An abundance of hazel spots clustered around the center, and the
hues of green seemed to change depending on the angle from which I viewed them.
With a look of
pure mischief, he smiled at Ally and had the effrontery to say, “She’s
obviously smart, buts what’s even better is the way she can’t seem to take her
eyes off me.” Turning towards me, he winked playfully. My mouth fell open and I
stomped around him, ignoring him altogether. Ben and another guy, who looked
vaguely familiar, were actively engaged with the PS3 in the living room.
Ben said, “Hey
Lexi, do you remember Kai? He graduated a couple years before us.”
Kai put his
controller on the coffee table and walked towards me with a friendly smile
before politely shaking my hand. “Hi, Lexi. I think we met at one of Ben’s
famous parties back in high school.” His tone was a good deal more respectful
then his friend’s.
“That’s right I
remember now, but it’s been a long time.” I shook his hand warmly. His hazel
eyes stood out against his darker skin and crew-cut, jet black hair. Now it was
coming back…he was Hawaiian, just like Ben, and some where back in the day
their grandmothers had known each other or something.
“You’ll have to
ignore my roommate’s obnoxious behavior,” Kai said, scowling at Ash who’d just
walked up to us. “He’s rather blunt and tends to speak before thinking…”
“Yeah, yeah,”
Ash said. “I call it like it is, and I’m honest to a fault, but I’m a good
guy.”
I rolled my
eyes, as Kai added, “True. Once you get used to his outright frankness, he’s
not so bad. I keep him around for the entertainment value.” Ash blew on his
knuckles and rubbed them on his chest. I couldn’t help but grunt. Kai
continued, “Lexi, it’s good to see ya or meet ya again.” He glanced over at Ben
and pointed. “I was surprised when I ran into Ben tossin’ apples around in the
produce department. I hear you’re working at the store, too?” When I nodded, he
added, “That’s cool. I work at the Starbucks in that same center.”
I smiled and
shifted the flowers to my other hand. “Are you up here going to Western?”
He nodded and
sighed. “Yeah. Two years now, and I still haven’t picked a major, but…”
“See Ally,” Ben
interrupted jovially from across the room, “not
everyone
has their life
all planned out when they’re 12 years old. Some of us just don’t know what we
want to be when we grow up. We need time to consider the possibilities before
jumping into a career we might not like.”
“Ben,” Ally said
as she stepped out of the kitchen and placed her hands on her hips, “that’s the
whole point. You haven’t grown up yet, and you don’t seem to have any plans of
doing so anytime soon. I don’t expect you to necessarily have your career all
figured out, but a little maturity would be nice once in awhile.” With a shake
of her head, she walked back over to the stove. The aroma of taco seasoning
drifted into the room.