Taboo by Roxy Queen

Debbie?”
    “Who?”
    She slaps her face. “Bikini Mom! Don’t be that desperate mother hitting on a boy young enough to be her son. Willing to ruin her marriage for a piece of ass.”
    Betsy’s rambling and I think she may be close to her own nervous breakdown. “What are you talking about?”
    “Ruthie,” she takes my hands in hers. “If you love him go for it. If you’re even moderately attracted, go for it. And if he wants to have sex with you, forget your hang-ups because that is what you’ll regret one day. You’ll regret the opportunities lost.”
    “So you think I should see him…”
    She laughs and raises her wine glass up in a mock toast. “I think you should find him and fuck the ever-loving sense of him. And then do it again. You have plenty of years to be old, but only so much time to be young.”
     
    *
    I’m pretty sure Betsy has had a midlife crisis , so I’m wary about her advice. One thing sticks with me though, and that’s the idea of regretting opportunities lost. I already had my opportunity to rock Carter’s world, but I’ve passed up the chance to be his friend, and this is my new mission.
    “Hi,” I say to him in line for coffee. “Fancy seeing you here.”
    “Oh, hey,” his eyes light up just a bit but they’re guarded. I don’t blame him. I’m going off script. “I’ve never seen you here before.”
    “I used to go to that shitty hole-in-the-wall off campus but last week I saw a rat behind the counter so, I’m strictly corporate coffee now.” Most of this is a fabrication, well the rat part isn’t but I’ve been stalking Carter for a week trying to gather the courage to approach him. It only took me a couple of days to figure out his routine. He leaves the frat house at eight every day and then heads to the gym for a swim. Gym, coffee then class.
    “No rats here,” he says. “Well, other than the human kind, I guess.”
    We pay for our coffee and linger around one another, neither sure what to do. How do you say goodbye to someone you’ve already said goodbye to?
    I see his pool bag, the one he carried everyday with him over the summer and ask, “Have you been swimming?”
    “Yeah , I try to go in the mornings. After all those years, it’s a habit I can’t shake.”
    I think about him in the water, his other home and it makes me smile. “I’m glad. Swimming makes you happy. It’s good to keep happy things in your life, don’t you think?”
    He pushes open the door and we both walk out into a beautiful, blue-skied spring day. “Yeah, I do.”
    “Bye, Carter,” I say walking in the opposite direc tion of his next class.
    I leave him there, bewildered, with the cutest, most confused grin on his face. It makes me happy.

 
    Chapter 22
     
    “You need somewhere to sit?”
    The campus café is packed and I’m standing in the middle of the room holding my tray. I must have passed Carter three times, not even realizing he was there.
    “Yes!” He takes my tray and I hang my backpack from the chair. “Thank you. I thought I was going to have to eat on the floor or something.”
    “You looked a little lost.”
    “And you came to my rescue. Typical,” I laugh, picking up my sandwich.
    “What do you mean?”
    My face heats and I wrinkle my nose.
    “What?” he asks again.
    “Remember how Finley and I used to call you Aqua-Man?” I don’t know why I’m so embarrassed about this. “He’s a superhero. And you rescued me.”
    “Aqua-Man wears green tights.”
    “All superheroes wear tights.”
    He makes a face and says, “But his are green.”
    “He has to blend in!”
    Carter leans back in his seat, arms crossed. I try to keep my eyes off his forearms but it’s impossible. “He’s like the lamest of all the superheroes.”
    “Not true.” I argue, but he’s smiling anyway. He loves it.
    “So you guys talked about me, huh?”
    I roll my eyes. “Of course. What else did we have to do all day?” He raises an eyebrow and my blush rushes back.