seeing her again.
I notice the time on the screen. I have to go. I can’t wait for Nyelle any longer. When I start for the door, Tess walks in. My shoulders relax, thinking Nyelle is about to walk in after her. But Tess is alone.
“Hi, Cal,” she says with a bright smile.
“Hey. Nyelle with you?”
Her smile falters as she shakes her head. “I don’t know where she went this morning. She was gone before I woke up.”
“Okay,” I say, then add because there isn’t another option, “There’s a house party on Lincoln Street Saturday night if you and Nyelle want to meet up with us.”
Her smile reemerges, exactly what I was afraid of. “Really? That sounds great.” She reaches in her purse. “Here, let me get your number and I can text you.”
After exchanging numbers, I leave for class, hoping Tess didn’t get the wrong impression and that she’ll convince Nyelle to go to the party.
I hate not knowing where Nyelle is or when she’ll show up. I expect her to jump in front of me at any moment, but she never does. Each time I’m with her makes it harder to let her go, because it kills me to have to wait until the next time—fearing there might not be one.
I keep playing back Sunday morning over in my head, not sure if I did something or said anything that would’ve freaked her out. It makes me crazy that I still can’t get in touch with her. Where the hell is she and why is she avoiding me?
* * *
“Hey!” Rae calls out when she enters the apartment. I exit my room and stop short. Rae drops her bag by the door, scanning the apartment. “Not bad. It’s very… college.”
Then she notices I’m staring at her, speechless. “What?”
“Uh… that’s quite the look you’ve got goin’ on,” I say, eyeing the torn skintight black pants and the oversized shirt with a provocative pierced tongue printed on it. Her dark round eyes are dramatically lined in more makeup than I’ve ever seen her wear in her entire life. But it’s the shaved bright pink hair that’s really throwing me off. That and the loop through her eyebrow and the stud above her lip. She already had a nose ring and metal lining each earlobe. “Aren’t you a little old to be going through your rebellious stage?”
“Fuck you,” she bites halfheartedly. “It’s my new image. Blond hair and freckles weren’t working for an all-girl punk band.”
“You still have freckles,” I tease. This is going to take some getting used to.
“I like it,” Eric chimes in. “It’s badass.”
It would be badass if she weren’t barely five feet tall. Although she does have the skinny rocker look going for her.
“Want a beer?” Eric asks from the fridge.
I shake my head. “I have a paper to finish for tomorrow.”
Rae holds out her hand. “I’ll take one—or three.” Eric laughs and hands her a can. She takes it and flops down on the couch.
“Eric, thanks for picking her up,” I say. “That midterm sucked.” I might have done better if I’d been able to concentrate.
“Cal, did you realize I’ve never actually met Eric before today?” Rae pops the beer can open.
“What? Of course you have…” The sentence drifts away when I realize she’s right.
Eric and I were roommates last year in the dorms. He’s met my entire family. My brothers, when they visited during homecoming for the football games. Jules and my parents, when they came out for parents’ weekend. But both times Rae visited last year, he wasn’t around. We never met up with him either time because of the asinine things he had to do while pledging for Delta Ep.
“I never thought of that,” I finally say. “I guess I talk about you guys so much, it felt like you already knew each other.”
“I mean, it does seem like I know her,” Eric agrees, sitting in the beat-up recliner. “That’s why I didn’t mind getting her. But then on my way to the airport, I realized I had no idea what she looked like.”
“I don’t think my
I notice the time on the screen. I have to go. I can’t wait for Nyelle any longer. When I start for the door, Tess walks in. My shoulders relax, thinking Nyelle is about to walk in after her. But Tess is alone.
“Hi, Cal,” she says with a bright smile.
“Hey. Nyelle with you?”
Her smile falters as she shakes her head. “I don’t know where she went this morning. She was gone before I woke up.”
“Okay,” I say, then add because there isn’t another option, “There’s a house party on Lincoln Street Saturday night if you and Nyelle want to meet up with us.”
Her smile reemerges, exactly what I was afraid of. “Really? That sounds great.” She reaches in her purse. “Here, let me get your number and I can text you.”
After exchanging numbers, I leave for class, hoping Tess didn’t get the wrong impression and that she’ll convince Nyelle to go to the party.
I hate not knowing where Nyelle is or when she’ll show up. I expect her to jump in front of me at any moment, but she never does. Each time I’m with her makes it harder to let her go, because it kills me to have to wait until the next time—fearing there might not be one.
I keep playing back Sunday morning over in my head, not sure if I did something or said anything that would’ve freaked her out. It makes me crazy that I still can’t get in touch with her. Where the hell is she and why is she avoiding me?
* * *
“Hey!” Rae calls out when she enters the apartment. I exit my room and stop short. Rae drops her bag by the door, scanning the apartment. “Not bad. It’s very… college.”
Then she notices I’m staring at her, speechless. “What?”
“Uh… that’s quite the look you’ve got goin’ on,” I say, eyeing the torn skintight black pants and the oversized shirt with a provocative pierced tongue printed on it. Her dark round eyes are dramatically lined in more makeup than I’ve ever seen her wear in her entire life. But it’s the shaved bright pink hair that’s really throwing me off. That and the loop through her eyebrow and the stud above her lip. She already had a nose ring and metal lining each earlobe. “Aren’t you a little old to be going through your rebellious stage?”
“Fuck you,” she bites halfheartedly. “It’s my new image. Blond hair and freckles weren’t working for an all-girl punk band.”
“You still have freckles,” I tease. This is going to take some getting used to.
“I like it,” Eric chimes in. “It’s badass.”
It would be badass if she weren’t barely five feet tall. Although she does have the skinny rocker look going for her.
“Want a beer?” Eric asks from the fridge.
I shake my head. “I have a paper to finish for tomorrow.”
Rae holds out her hand. “I’ll take one—or three.” Eric laughs and hands her a can. She takes it and flops down on the couch.
“Eric, thanks for picking her up,” I say. “That midterm sucked.” I might have done better if I’d been able to concentrate.
“Cal, did you realize I’ve never actually met Eric before today?” Rae pops the beer can open.
“What? Of course you have…” The sentence drifts away when I realize she’s right.
Eric and I were roommates last year in the dorms. He’s met my entire family. My brothers, when they visited during homecoming for the football games. Jules and my parents, when they came out for parents’ weekend. But both times Rae visited last year, he wasn’t around. We never met up with him either time because of the asinine things he had to do while pledging for Delta Ep.
“I never thought of that,” I finally say. “I guess I talk about you guys so much, it felt like you already knew each other.”
“I mean, it does seem like I know her,” Eric agrees, sitting in the beat-up recliner. “That’s why I didn’t mind getting her. But then on my way to the airport, I realized I had no idea what she looked like.”
“I don’t think my
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