Cassie silently prayed that she wouldn't bring up the night in the parking lot. After all, she’d never even decided if it was him or not. The gods must have been listening because Jenna said nothing else.
"You're Kyler?" Cassie said, feeling a rogue blush heat her cheeks. "I'm Cassie." She felt unaccountably shy. And up close her intuition that he was attractive was confirmed. She didn't know how they could have thought his face was blank, it looked very friendly now.
"Nice to meet you," he said, reaching his hand out to shake hers. She took it, but her hand was shaking so she quickly dropped his.
Paul, watching them and how nervous she became, pursed his lips regretfully. He’d been the one who had invited Kyler.
"Hey Cassie, you gonna eat some of the ice cream I brought for you?" Paul asked. She looked away from Kyler's face for the first time.
"Yeah. Great. Thanks." She said in confusion. She shook her head for a moment, trying to regain equilibrium. Then she grinned at Paul, "Cookies and cream is the best, I don't know what they were thinking."
"Hey, they're your friends,” Paul said, smiling back.
Cassie looked around and noticed everyone was talking to someone. Chris with Hannah. And Ron and John were both talking to the other three girls. She smiled to herself.
"We brought two movies, we should get them going! Everyone get ice cream?" Hannah asked.
"Yep! Let's get this party started!" Ron, the short one said. He sat down next to Kari on the ground. They all crowded around the TV on two blankets. Somehow Cassie ended up with Paul and Kyler on either side of her. She couldn't focus on the movie. She had dated a lot of guys. She had kissed a lot of them, but she had never been more aware of a boy than she was of Kyler sitting right next to her. Her reaction was making her even more nervous.
"So what do you do around here?" Paul asked her quietly.
"I go to the University,” she answered, trying to be loud enough to include Kyler in the discussion. “Do you go there?"
"Yeah, actually. We all do. Are you girls roommates?" He asked.
"Sort of. We've lived in the same building for a while. We live in the upper classmen dorms on the south side. We've been there since the beginning of last year,” she answered, wondering if Kyler was listening. From the corner of her eye he appeared to be very absorbed in the movie. "Have you ever seen this movie?"
"Nope."
"Me neither,” she said. He took the hint and stopped conversing.
There was friendly banter and commentary throughout the movie. Cassie was quieter than normal. She kept trying to come up with clever things to say to get Kyler to notice her. It didn’t seem to work on him, but by the end of the first movie Paul had moved in close to her. Feeling uncomfortable, she stood up.
"I'm just gonna stretch my legs. I'll be right back."
"I'll come with you,” Kyler interrupted Paul as he'd been about to offer.
"Sure!" Cassie squeaked. What was wrong with her? She cleared her throat and tried to relax. They walked toward the playground of the park. It was dark, but the lights surrounding the kids play area were still on. “So, you’re at the University, too?”
"I wanted to come talk to you when I saw you in the food court. You just looked upset about something,” Kyler said suddenly, ignoring her question.
"Oh. Uh, no. I just thought I recognized you,” she smiled. "But now that I see you up close I realize that I was wrong."
“I see.” He was quiet for a while. Then, because apparently abrupt questions were his thing, he asked, “How old are you, Cass?"
"Twenty one. Why?" She said, unsettled by the familiar name.
"Just curious. Where’re you from?"
"Virginia."
"Really? You lived there long?" He casually strolled over to the swings and offered her a seat.
"Yeah, all my life," she said as she sat down. "Where are you from?"
"Oh. Uh, I've lived all over. I was even in Virginia for a few months when I was young." He stood behind her and started pushing her.
She laughed. She'd never been pushed in a swing. At least not that she knew.
"How long have you been at school?" She asked as she swung back towards him.
"Not long,” he said with a chuckle. "Actually, I just came here from Europe."
"You’re a transfer student? That's awesome! But Pennsylvania over Europe! Are you crazy? What made you decide to come here?"
"I just have the travel bug. I hate staying in one place too long." He had a nice smile, it transformed his face. "But I think I can stay here for a while."
They were quiet for a minute as he pushed her. When she dragged her feet on the ground he stopped pushing her and instead came to sit beside her.
"What are you doing with your life, Cass?" He asked.
"Just going to school. I'm trying to finish soon."
“And you’re just twenty one?”
“Yeah, I’ve been doing classes through the summers.”
He chuckled slightly to himself, “You certainly are ambitious.”
“Maybe. School is just something that comes naturally to me,” Cassie explained. She truly wasn’t trying to brag. It was rare for a concept to seem new to her. “I guess most everything I’m learning just makes sense to me.”
Kyler nodded understanding. “And after school? What then?”
“Well I’ve got my eye on a couple of grad programs. I haven’t really made up my mind though.” Feeling self-conscious, she changed the subject. “What about you? What are you doing?"
He was quiet. When he did speak, he chose his words carefully. "I've been... moving around a lot lately. My time hasn't really been my own. Once it is again, I’ll have no idea what to do. You're lucky you have a path in mind. Are you happy about it?"
“I guess.” She thought about what he said before asking, "What have you been doing? Working for the military?"
He laughed. "Not at all. But it's not worth telling just now."
She got off the swing and they began walking again. She lost her footing and stumbled into him. He caught and steadied her. She took in a quick breath. When he touched her she had the strangest sensation. It felt…familiar.
"You okay?" He asked with half a smile.
"Yeah. Fine." She smiled back a trifle uncertainly. "How long have you known those goons?"
He positively grinned, "Oh, just a couple of months. Since I got here. We all live in the same apartment complex. You know where Harrison is?”
“Sure.”
“That’s us.”
"I guess we'd better not keep them waiting to start the next movie,” she said reluctantly.
"Nah. I'll text Ron to go ahead." He pulled his phone out.
"Yeah, but what will he think we're doing?" She said with a fake worried smile.
"I assure you I shall be a complete gentleman," he said with a slight bow. He chuckled slightly as he got a response. “It seems they started already.”
"Want to climb on the jungle gym?"
"Naturally! What else would two college students do at a park!" He smiled playfully.
"Especially if they're done swinging," Cassie said. "And now I’d like to ask some questions about you."
He looked nervous.
“Is that okay?” Cassie laughed. “I don’t have to.”
"Probably,” he said slowly.
"They're not too probing. Just tell me one thing about your family."
He looked at her suddenly, his mouth open, “What?”
"Sorry. You don't have to if you don't want to!" She said again. She felt awkward, bewildered by his reaction to her nonchalant question. She liked to question people about things to get to know them, but she intentionally left them open-ended. She hated fielding awkward questions, and open-ended ones let people discuss details they were comfortable with. Kyler seemed uncomfortable with any questions.
He looked a little shaken, but he cleared the expression and responded haltingly, "No, it’s okay. But will you answer one fir
st?" She nodded. "Tell me one thing about your childhood,” he said with a soft smile.
"Well,” she thought for a moment. “My team won a softball tournament when I was 16.”
"I was going for something earlier. How about an elementary school memory?"
She shook her head.
"No?" He asked, sounding relieved.
"It's just a hard question for me. Your turn. Something about your family." Cassie hoped he'd drop it. “Or maybe your favorite place?”
"Okay. I have one sister. Paris." He looked into the night for a couple of seconds before turning back. "And as for a childhood story, I taught my sister how to swim. Your turn."
"About my family?" She thought for a moment. "My father died two years ago."
"Your father!" He said it like it had slipped, and then stopped himself. "That's really sad. I'm sorry."
"It's okay. It was terrible, but I've had two years." She said it, but there was pain behind her eyes. She looked up and saw Kyler looking at her in confusion. She moved on, "Okay, tell me one thing about your past or present love life,” she said, and then wished she hadn’t. It was one of her favorite questions, and she normally didn’t feel awkward asking it. But she did now. And on top of feeling awkward, she hoped he’d have a specific answer. She wasn’t used to that.
"That's extremely easy. I've only ever been in love with one girl." He wasn't looking at her.
"Still in love?" She said in a carefree tone, but her stomach clenched.
“That’s a heady question for just meeting you. Perhaps you can ask me it again some other time.” He smiled charmingly at her and she nodded, though her gut sank. Couldn’t he just say no?
“Fair enough. Any other questions?” She asked.
They were standing in front of the jungle gym. “I think I’m done for now. Unless you’ve thought of a good early memory.”
Blast, she thought. She climbed the jungle gym to give herself time to think.
“Still no?” He asked softly from below.
Cassie decided to go with a hearsay memory, and said the first one that came to her, “I did a report on the Louvre when I was little.”
“Really?” He sounded surprised again, “Was it a good one?”
“Uh…. Yes.” She said it with confidence after a moment of thought. She figured if she still remembered the artwork, her report must have been thorough. “Anyway, I’m not finished questioning you. Tell me one of your favorite books.”
“Fiction or nonfiction?” He queried.
“How about one of each.”
He thought for a moment. “Gulliver’s Travels and SAS Wilderness Survival.”
“You’re a traveler. That makes sense.” She thought for a moment, and then patted the bar next to her with half a smile, “Do you want to come up and join me?”
He looked back at her thoughtfully. He appeared to deliberate for a moment before climbing up and sitting next to her.
“It’s not because he’s a traveler. It’s more the descriptions of the people throughout the story. Sometimes I feel like I’m surrounded by yahoos.”
She grinned, remembering the book from high school. “Don’t forget you’re a yahoo, yourself.”
They were quiet for a moment; Cassie gripped the bars around her. She felt a little unsure of herself again.
“You finished?” He asked.
“Not at all. I don’t know you yet!” She thought for a moment, then remembering he traveled, asked, “Tell me the best place you’ve ever been.”
“Paris,” he said with confidence.
“Paris, really?” She thought of her French dreams. “I’d really like to go there. Do you speak French?”
“Only a little. I was only there for a couple months, visiting my sister,” he answered. “But it was an amazing trip. What a city….” A painful expression flashed across his face, but then it disappeared. Cassie decided it was too dark to try to decipher facial expressions.
“What are you doing tomorrow?” Kyler asked with his typical hastiness.
“Not much. I have some homework.” Her stomach jumped, and then abruptly sunk. “Oh yeah, I have a date.” Her disappointment was audible.
“Ah. Of course. Well we should get back. I bet the movie is almost over,” he said, looking the other direction, but his voice sounded off.
“I’m going to see The Scarlet Pimpernel at eight with a friend. The university is putting it on.” She said, trying to emphasize that it was just with a friend, and that it wasn’t until eight.
He looked at her curiously, trying to decipher her thoughts.
“It’s at eight?” He asked, head cocked, eyebrows raised. She nodded. “Do you think you can get your homework done by three?”
“Definitely.”
“How about I pick you up at three, then?”
“Sounds perfect. Should I eat?”
“No.” He grinned, “We’ll be eating.”
“Alright. But I do think we should be getting back, I can’t hear the movie anymore.” Cassie said as she jumped down into the wood chips.
“Hey!” They heard a shout, “Are you two planning on spending the night out here?” It was Paul, clearly annoyed that they had never come back from their short walk to “stretch legs.” Then they heard Jenna’s voice.
“Cass? You still alive?” She laughed, but Cassie thought she detected a true note of worry.
“We’re coming!” She called. Then she turned back to Kyler, “You probably need to know where I live!”
“Of course!” He grinned. She gave her address and phone number to him as they walked back. She did it quickly before they were close enough for Paul to overhear. He was nice and she normally wouldn’t have minded giving him her phone number as well, but she hated the thought of giving it to someone in front of Kyler.
“There you are. What were you doing, man?” Chris said, grinning.
“Just playing on the playground,” Cassie said. She ignored the hisses that came from John, Chris and Ron as they intentionally misinterpreted her answer. Paul scowled. She changed the subject. “How was the movie?”
“Pretty good. We were just getting ready to leave. That okay with you?” Hannah asked with a not-so-subtle glance at Kyler.
“Yes. I’m ready.” Cass rolled her eyes. They parted ways, everyone saying their good nights.
Paul approached her, “Hey Cassie, it was great to meet you!”
Cassie glanced over and saw Kyler looking at them intently.
“I was wondering,” Paul started, and then stopped. “Good night.” He turned abruptly and walked away. Cassie watched him in relieved confusion. She looked at Kyler again. He wasn’t watching her. He was looking at Paul, laughing to himself. He followed Paul into the car.
“Good night,” Cassie said quietly to herself, wondering what changed Paul’s mind.
“Hey Cass!” Kari shouted from the car. “You coming?”
Cassie jogged over and hopped into the car. They all looked at her.
“Wow, Cass! You won both the tall, dark and handsome ones!” Hannah laughed
“Oh, shut up. We were just talking. I didn’t get anyone.” Cassie didn’t like their assumptions that he liked her. She wasn’t sure he did. She was afraid she had offended him at least once, what with the crazy way he looked at her.
“So you don’t have a date?” Jenna asked.
“Well... yes. We do,” Cassie admitted reluctantly.
“So what did you really do?” Hannah asked. Hannah didn’t even consider a boy a friend unless they had at least kissed. “Anything... fun?”
“Not in the way you’re thinking. We played on the playground.” She rolled her eyes as they, too, intentionally misinterpreted “played”.
“Oooo!” Hannah and Kari said together.
“Oh come on, he pushed me on the swings! Honestly, we just talked. He’s a nice guy.”
“Where’s he from?” Kari asked.
“I don’t know,” Cassie answered. The other girls exchange
d meaningful looks. “What?”
“You ‘talked’ for an hour and a half, and you don’t know where he’s from?” Hannah asked belligerently. “What’s his last name?”
“I don’t know that, either,” Cassie said, defeated.
“Dang, we can’t even look him up,” Jenna said.
“I’m glad I don’t know it if you are going to stalk him,” Cassie said annoyed. Jenna wasn’t normally like that.
“We’re only curious,” Jenna said defensively, giving Cassie a meaningful glance that she tried not to understand.
“Yeah. Chris didn’t have any answers about him, so I thought I’d ask you,” Hannah said.
“Chris doesn’t know him well?” Cassie asked.
“Not at all. He’d never even seen him before. He doesn’t know why Paul invited him. Even Paul didn’t seem to know him very well,” Hannah giggled, “I bet he regrets having invited him now.”
Cassie ignored the latter comment, “Well he lives in their complex, and he evened up the numbers.”
After parking at their dorm, Emily helped Kari with the TV and Cassie headed up to her room. She was thinking about the night and Kyler’s bizarre reactions to her, and didn’t notice Jenna following closely behind. As soon as she closed her door, Jenna jumped up onto the bed, making Cassie jump.
“So was it him?” Jenna asked excitedly.
“What?” Cassie asked, distracted.
“Kyler? Was it him who pulled into the parking lot?” She asked slowly, like Cassie was obtuse.
“Oh. I don’t know. I mean, that’s not something I wanted to bring up. If it was him, I didn’t want him thinking about what I may have been doing all alone with a boy in a parking lot at night.” She shuddered at the thought that it might have been Kyler. She knew what he would think she’d been doing. “And even if it wasn’t him, that’s not something I want to explain.”
“Oh alright. But tell me about your date. Aren’t you going to The Scarlet Pimpernel with Zach tomorrow?” Jenna asked worriedly. She knew it would upset Zach to be put off for another guy, like he wasn’t as important.
“Yeah, I’m having an early date with Kyler,” Cassie was still distracted and didn’t supply any more information.
Jenna looked at her with judgment in her eyes.
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