“Oh, there he is!” Jessie yelled excitedly. “Brian! Hi! How are you today?”
“Jessie!” I hissed. “Shut the hell up, would you? Jeez, he’s supposed to be stealth!”
“Oh, I’m sorry. My bad,” Jessie looked genuinely contrite as she took another sip of her soda and then lay back down with her face toward the late morning sun.
“You’re a piece of work, you know that, don’t you?” I laughed. No one could stay made at Jessie for long.
“Hey, did you do any studying last night?” Lara asked.
“Um, no, not really,” I stammered. “I was…um…a little busy.”
“With the hottie bodyguard?” Jessie piped up.
“My God, would you drop it with the hottie bodyguard thing?” I said in exasperation. “I mean, seriously!”
“Sorry, Ava,” Jessie again offered her requisite apologetic pout.
“So, is it all okay, then?” Lara asked.
“Yeah, he’s fine,” I replied as I turned and looked to see where Brian was stationed. He was sitting on a bench not too far away from where the girls were sprawled out. He looked like he was just another college student enjoying the sunny day, but I could see him constantly scanning the area as he made sure I wasn’t in any danger. “He’s kind of growing on me, you know?”
“Sure, sure,” Lara said as she stared at Brian. “Maybe my dad will hire him to follow me around next! I’d love to have him protecting my assets!”
“Lara!” I scolded as I laughed at her horrible euphemism. “You’re terrible!”
“I know,” she shrugged. “But it’s so much fun! Now, let’s get on with this study guide, shall we?”
The three of us settled in and quizzed each other for over an hour. By the end of the study session, I felt like I had a pretty good handle on the exam material, and was confident that I’d pass with at least a B. As we packed up our books, I over at Brian just in time to see an attractive coed in super short shorts approach him and began to flirt. He smiled and chatted with her for a moment, but then made an excuse and moved away as if he saw someone he knew. I followed his line of sight, and for a moment, my breath caught in my throat. Dominic?
Brian walked by the guy and then turned and shook his head enough for me to be able to exhale. He really was looking out for me on so many levels I wasn’t aware of, and although it had only been one day, I was now acutely aware of his presence. And I actually kind of liked it, but I wasn’t about to tell him that.
“Do you want to go grab some lunch?” Jessie was asking as I came back to earth.
“No, I’m really tired. I did a late night run last night, and then I didn’t sleep very well,” I said, only half-lying. “I’m going to go grab a nap.”
“Okay, well, don’t forget about the Chem study group tonight,” Lara reminded me.
“Oh crap, that’s right!” I’d forgotten all about it, partly because of the drama with Dominic, but partly because I already had an A in the class and wasn’t too worried about passing the exam. “I’ll see how I feel later. I might not make it if I’m too tired.”
“Mmmmm hmmm,” Lara said as she raised an eyebrow. “Too tired for Chem? That’s a new one.”
“Oh Lara, will you please shut up about the bodyguard?” I laughed, but in the back of my mind I was wondering about him, too.
*****
Brian maintained his distance on the walk back to my dorm room, but my brain was racing as I tried to think of what I could say to bridge the distance that I’d created. I knew he had been genuinely trying to help when he’d brought up the issue of abuse, but I didn’t think of myself as the typical abused woman —as if there was one in the first place. I just thought of my problems with Dominic as the problems that most couples faced, and when Brian shed light on them, my sense of who I was and who I’d become had been shaken. As we walked, I recited in my head what I would say once we were back in my dorm room.
“Come on in,” I said as I unlocked the door and pushed it open.
“Nah, I’ll just hang out here in the hallway,” Brian casually replied as he glanced down at his phone.
“Seriously?” Exasperation tinged my voice. “Just come inside and hang out. I’m not going to do anything except study, and hanging out in the hall will just creep out my floormates.”
“Fine,” he grumbled as he entered the room and dropped down in the big chair by the window.
I looked at him for a moment, and then rolled my eyes before I sat down at my desk and pulled out my books. The room was so silent that I could hear my thoughts much too clearly, and after 15 minutes I gave up on the books and turned toward Brian.
“Look, I’m sorry about this morning,” I started.