The Art of Life by Sarah Carter Page A

too.”
                    “Well
then, let me escort you there.”   Eric
waves his hand forward.
                    I
start to walk and he follows next to me.   “I have never been here before,” I state.
                    “We
come here every other Saturday, sort of a sibling night.   Do you have any brothers or sisters?”
                    Trying
not to laugh, I say, “No.”
                    “Growing
up sometimes I wished I was an only child.   My sister and I didn’t get along until we got older.   My poor parents had their hands full.”
                    “It
must be nice that you guys can do stuff like this.”
                    Eric
nods.   “Yeah, it is nice.   My sister is pregnant, so I will be an uncle
soon.”
                    “Congratulations,”
I exclaim.   “That’s great!”
                    “Yeah,
I think so.”
                    We
come to the bathrooms, and I turn to Eric.   “Well, obviously we need to part ways.”
                    With
a chuckle, he agrees.   “That’s probably a
good idea.   I may get into trouble going
into the ladies room.”
                    “Just
a little,” I laugh.   “Well, it was nice
seeing you.”
                    “You
too,” he replies, nodding.
                    I
enter the bathroom and shut the door behind me.   Seeing that no one is in here with me, I jump and down.   He talked to me!   Eric actually talked to me!   I can’t believe this!   This is great!   Quickly, I go to the bathroom.   I can’t help but smile as I wash my hands.
                    When
I open the door to the bathroom, I find Jeremy leaning against the wall.   “You would be surprised who I just saw,” he
says.
                    Hushing
him, I say, “Shut up.”
                    “He
is already back at his table.   Don’t worry,” Jeremy says, bending over.   “Eric can’t hear us.”
                    “I
am starting to think that you are evil!”
                    Jeremy
just chuckles.   He drapes his arm over my
shoulders and pulls me away from the bathroom.   “So, did your heart go pitter pat?”
                    “Oh
stop it,” I snap.   “I am surprised you
wondered where I was.   I figured you
would have had Vicky on your lap.”
                    Getting
a huge grin on his face, Jeremy says, “I will get her number later.”
                    “Is
it that easy for you?” I ask.
                    The
smile of his gets bigger.   “Usually.”
                    “You
are ridiculous,” I state.   “I mean, how
many girlfriends have you had in the last year?”
                    “Well,”
Jeremy says, looking up.   “Do you mean
how many girls have I gone on dates with or how many girlfriends have I had?”
                    I
roll my eyes.   “Both.”
                    “I
have had two girlfriends and probably have gone out with like…I don’t know,
eight girls besides that.”
                    Shocked,
I exclaim, “Jeremy!”
                    He
laughs.   “What?”
                    “And
you find this fulfilling?”
                    We
get back to the table and Jeremy slides into his chair.   “I didn’t say that.”
                    “Then
why date so many girls?” I inquire, curious.
                    “Why not?” He retorts, almost sharply.
                    Fidgeting
with my fork, I say, “I guess I don’t have a reason why not.”
                    “I…”
he starts, “ Well, I just like having