Love Left Behind (60 page)

"Hey,
I do the dishes!" Grant protested. "I don't know why they need to be
done the same day as I use them."

"Or
the same week," Marcus deadpanned.

Simon
laughed. "I really want to get my stuff out of storage and have my own
space. I really appreciate Grant and Marcus putting me up, but I'm sure they
want full use of their couch."

"If
it ever gets too crowded, one of you can stay at our place," Sarah said,
winking at Grant. Grant grinned in return. Although he never seemed to actively
encourage Sarah's flirtation, he seemed to enjoy the attention.

"Sure,"
I said dryly. "You'll just have permanent back injuries from our
couch." Our couch was a futon and was well worn. Although it was
comfortable enough to sit on, sleeping on it was a different matter. There were
a few strategically placed springs that jutted out, ensuring anyone who slept
there an impending spinal injury.

"No
kidding," Jenny concurred. "I've tried it and I don't recommend it if
you value your back."

Janice
came back and plunked a glass of soda in front of Jenny. "Someone looking
for an apartment?" she asked.

"I
am," Simon answered. "You know of anything?"

Janice
was a valuable source of information since she overheard everything at the East
End. She seemed to know more than anyone else about the lives of Maxwell
students.

"Sherry
Campbell is moving out of her place," Janice informed us. "She's
flunking out and her parents are yanking her back home to go to school there.
She only came back this year on a trial basis and she's already messin' up so
she's gone."

"That's
right on our street!" Sarah squealed. "Perfect!"

Sherry
Campbell lived down the street from us on Martin Street. She was a nice girl
but she partied way too hard. She came from a very affluent family in Boston
and it didn't seem as though she took school very seriously. Even though she
was only a sophomore, she had lived in an off-campus apartment since her
freshman year, somehow circumventing the rule that first year students had to
live in campus housing. I'm sure her parents' money had something to do with
it. We had gotten to know her since we had started living on Martin Street at
the same time, but she was a bit too much of a hardcore party girl for me.

"Do
you know when she's moving out?" Simon asked.

"End
of the month," Janice replied. "Her parents are looking for someone
to sublet for the rest of the school year."

"Have
you guys ever been to her apartment?" Simon asked, but looking directly at
me.

"Yeah,
we've been there for a couple of parties," I replied. "It's really
nice. Probably the nicest apartment on our block. It's a two bedroom but she's
lived there alone since her roommate transferred last year after the first
semester. It has a killer kitchen too."

Simon
smiled. "Maybe you can make your garbage cookies for me there."

I
coughed mid-sip of my beer. "Uh, let's see if you actually get the
apartment first."

"Here,
let me give you Sherry's number," Sarah said, scrolling through her cell
phone. "I have it saved."

Simon
pulled out his cell phone and took the number that Sarah dictated.

"I'll
give you my phone number too, in case you need it," Sarah offered. She
then smiled mischievously. "Let me give you Caitlin's too. You never know
when you'll need her."

I
placed my glass loudly on the table. "Since when is my phone number public
knowledge?" I asked accusingly.

"Caitlin,"
Sarah lectured. "We have to make Simon feel welcome. And it's hard
adjusting to a new school." She smiled wickedly. "Besides, maybe
you'll
need to contact him someday. You
should take his number too. You can never have enough strong men at your beck
and call."

"Oh
my God," I muttered. "Whatever. Fine. Just write my number on the
bathroom wall and be done with it."

"I
wouldn't want that to happen," Simon said smiling, but his blue eyes were
looking at me a little too seriously. "You're too special to have your
name plastered in the guy's bathroom. And too many guys would be calling you
then."

I
cleared my throat, not knowing what to say as I felt warmth creeping up my
face.

"Okay,"
Sarah said. "Here it is."

I
sat stupidly while Sarah gave Simon all of our numbers, including Jenny's and
Sherry Campbell's. I didn't even say a word when Sarah grabbed my phone and
programmed Simon's number into it. I felt someone kick my leg and I looked over
at Jenny since it seemed to come from her direction. She was wiggling her
eyebrows like she was possessed and grinning like a madman.

I
rolled my eyes and looked away. I needed to establish the friendship boundary
sooner rather than later. It wasn't as if this was something new. When a guy
was interested, I would smoothly transition him to friend mode with ease. But
no one had affected me like Simon before. He was making me feel nervous and
clumsy. My attempts at being funny seemed a little too sharp but he didn't seem
to take offense. I convinced myself that I was reacting differently to Simon
because he had been in my vision.

"I'll
give her a call tomorrow," Simon said. "It would be a pretty lucky
break if I was able to snag her apartment."

"Hi
guys!" a voice called out brightly. I looked over and saw Samantha Barre
walking over to our table and groaned inwardly. Samantha oozed sexuality as she
walked over in a tight miniskirt and form-hugging tank top. She seemed
oblivious to the fact that it was the middle of October and frigid outside.
While Samantha and I got along outwardly, she had always held some resentment
towards me since the Jonathan situation.

Jonathan
had been a year ahead of us and had taken a dogged interest in me last year
that had been hard to divert. Not because I was interested in him but because
he was so determined. Samantha and Jonathan had gone out on a couple of dates
but nothing came out of it, much to Samantha's disappointment. I think she was
convinced that something more would have happened between them if Jonathan
hadn't gotten caught up in pursuing me. Fortunately, Jonathan had graduated last
year and was no longer at Maxwell.

Jonathan
graduating had relieved me of the awkward position of repeatedly turning him
down, but I still had Samantha to contend with. She never outright said
anything rude to me because she knew that even though I tended to be more
reserved, I wasn't someone that would back down from a challenge. But I could
tell from the way I caught her looking at me sometimes that she was not happy
to be around me.

Samantha
wasn't really a part of our group, but she was in the School of Education
alongside Marcus. They had a lot of classes together and had struck up a
friendship. Probably because Marcus was too nice to everyone. As a result, she
was an infrequent member of our group. Jenny and Sarah weren't crazy about her
either. They valued female friendships and Samantha was the type of girl who
only had guy friends. I think the closest female friends she had was us, which
wasn't saying much. But we put up with her because Marcus said she was okay and
meant no harm. Men were really clueless sometimes.

"Hi
Samantha," Marcus said in greeting. She came up between Marcus and Simon,
and looked at Simon as I imagined a wolf would look at a sheep.

"Who's
this?" she asked breathily, leaning towards Simon.

"That's
Simon, my cousin," Grant answered. "He just transferred here."

"Simon,"
Samantha cooed. "It's
so
nice to
meet you. I'm Samantha."

Simon
stood and smiled, nodding his head. "Hey. Nice to meet you." I guess
he really was a gentleman, standing up to greet her. I couldn't help but feel a
little twist in my stomach to realize his chivalry wasn't reserved just for me.

Samantha
grasped his outstretched hand, shaking it slowly. Simon politely extracted his
hand after a moment and sat back down, glancing over at my glass. "Looks
like you need a refill."

Samantha
pouted as she glanced over at me. She was used to getting a lot of attention
from men and Simon's lack of interest grated on her. I couldn't lie that it
didn't make me extremely happy.

I
covered the top of my glass with my hand as Simon picked up the pitcher.
"I still have a few sips left. Besides, early night, remember?"

Simon
grabbed the glass from beneath my hand before I could stop him. "Early
night means a couple of drinks. Couple of drinks means two. Besides, I'm trying
to impress you, remember? Maybe buying you two drinks instead of one will do
the job."

I
tried to suppress a smile, and then glanced up at Samantha, who was now glaring
at me.

"I
don't think beer is going to impress me but I'll take a second one. But that's
it." I tried to sound stern but I couldn't deny the little bubble of
giddiness I felt at Simon's attention.

Simon
passed the glass back to me, now full of beer. Marcus turned around to look up
at Samantha. "How'd you do on the developmental psych exam today?"
Marcus was getting a degree to become a teacher and the profession really
suited him. His gentleness and patience would make him an excellent teacher.

Samantha
pulled her gaze to Marcus. "Okay, I guess. Half the questions didn't even
make sense. After a while, I just started guessing."

Jenny
rolled her eyes. Even though Jenny claimed that she didn't feel anything
towards Marcus, I couldn't help but notice that she disliked Samantha more than
Sarah and I did. I think it had a little something to do with Samantha's friendship
with Marcus.

"Hey
Sammy!" a guy called out from across the bar. "Get your sweet ass
over here."

Samantha
giggled. "Excuse me, my prince awaits." She looked down at Simon.
"It was
so
nice meeting you, I'm
sure we'll bump into each other again."

Simon
smiled and nodded. "Sure. Nice meeting you."

Even
though Simon was just being polite, I couldn't help frowning. It wasn't nice to
meet her. Was it?

I
banished the dangerous thoughts bordering on jealousy from my head. Simon was
going to be a
friend.
Friends could
be interested in whomever they wanted. I told myself the only reason I was
concerned was because Simon deserved better than Samantha. I wondered if her
tight clothing cut off her circulation and that was the reason she was
unpleasant to be around. Although the unpleasant side of her only seemed to be
reserved for the female persuasion.

"God,
Marcus," Sarah groaned once Samantha was out of earshot. "Why do you
even like her?"

"She's
okay," Marcus said generously. "I don't think she has a lot of friends."

"Oh,
she has
friends
, alright," Jenny
said, her voice uncharacteristically dripping with sarcasm. Jenny was usually
as kind as Marcus but Samantha seemed to hit a sore spot. "She has lots of
friends.
All male."

Grant
laughed and drained his glass. "You girls are crazy. Girls make everything
so complicated."

"
We
don't make it complicated,"
Sarah defended. "
She
makes it
complicated. Ever since Jonathan started following Caitlin around-"

"Okay,
okay," I interrupted, waving my hands. "Enough talk about Samantha.
Who cares about Samantha."

Simon
looked over at me, a frown on his face. "Who's Jonathan?"

"He
was obsessed with Caitlin," Jenny breathed out dramatically, leaning
forward. "I mean, everywhere we would go - there he was. I swear, he was
like a stalker. Thank God he graduated last year. If not, he'd probably be here
hiding behind the bar, peering at her."

I
laughed awkwardly. "You'll have to excuse Jenny. She has a vivid
imagination." I glared at Jenny and kicked her under the table.

"Ow,"
Grant exclaimed, bending down to rub his shin. "That hurt."

Sarah
started laughing loudly. "Sorry," I muttered, taking a sip of my
beer. Apparently Jenny's aim was better than mine.

Sarah
led the topic onto the band's first performance next weekend, knowing that I
was feeling uncomfortable and having pity on me. Sarah knew me better than
anyone else, even if I was still hiding a few things from her. Like the fact
that I was having visions again.

As
the chatter carried on around me, I studiously avoided looking at Simon and
chimed in with comments when appropriate, although my heart really wasn't in
the conversation. I was too busy trying not to look in Simon's direction.

I
was successful until Marcus, who had been sitting to the left of me, got up to
go to the bathroom. Simon proceeded to move over and plop down onto his vacated
seat.

"So,"
he said conversationally. "Who's Jonathan?

I
gaped at him. Were we still on this? "Um, just some guy who graduated last
year."

"Did
you guys date?" Simon asked, casually laying his arm on the back of my
chair.