by S. J. West
“About time you made it, girl,” Tara said as I sat down in the seat next to her at the table. “This here is Nora and Michelle.”
“Tara says y’all know Will Kilpatrick,” Nora said with one of those almost fake- sounding southern accents, like some actors use in the movies. For a moment, I thought she might swoon out of her seat as Will’s name squeezed out between her glossy pink lips.
“What about him?” I asked more curtly than I had intended. It wasn’t this poor girl’s fault she touched a sore spot with me so early on in our acquaintance.
Nora looked over at Michelle a bit uncertainly, like she was afraid to talk about Will now.
“Oh, it’s just that Michelle and I noticed him at the freshman picnic. He was in charge of it.”
“Oh. Yeah.”
And that was the exact reason Tara and I didn’t go to the picnic meant to welcome the new class of students to Southeastern, but I didn’t tell them that. Why should I? I hardly knew these two girls. Plus, I wasn’t sure I wanted to know them any further if all they wanted to do was talk about Will.
“Well, he wasn’t the only one we noticed,” Michelle chimed in to break the noticeable tension I had caused.
Michelle was a bit of a mousy girl, short and thin with board-straight brown hair and plain brown eyes hidden behind a pair of silver wire-rimmed glasses, which only made her eyes disappear even further. She was a stark contrast to Norah who was blonde and beautiful, with a seemingly-perky demeanor.
“Have you guys seen Brandon Cole yet?” Michelle asked breathlessly.
“I don’t think so,” I said, slowly opening my pack of nabs, feeling my defenses slacken a little with the change of subject. “What’s he look like?”
“Oh, you’d know if you saw him,” Nora said. “The proverbial tall, dark, and handsome, except not so dark really. He has the palest skin, but it’s so beautiful, like porcelain, Adonis in the flesh.” Nora cupped her chin in one hand with her head tilted to the side, as if ogling this Brandon Cole with her mind’s eye.
I really wasn’t warming up to Nora very much. Michelle seemed ok, like someone I might like to hang out with outside of class, but Nora was quickly setting my nerves on edge.
“Well, I like my men a little bit darker,” Tara said taking a bite of her pizza. “Y’all can fight over the white meat.”
I scowled at Tara, but she didn’t seem to take any notice, as usual.
Thankfully lunch was short. I soon discovered Michelle and I had the next class together… Physics I. I breathed a quiet sigh of relief, having found a lab partner who might actually be a great contributor to our projects.
After we took our seats in the lecture hall where our physics class was held, I heard Michelle take in a sharp breath, like someone had just punched her in the gut.
“Are you ok?” I asked, worried she might become physically ill.
“That’s Brandon Cole,” she said in a wispy voice, like she was having trouble breathing. She discreetly pointed to the boy who had just walked into the room.
I followed the direction of her gaze and felt the earth beneath me give way, or at least that’s the message my brain was sending to the other parts of my body. Nora had been right. Brandon Cole was Adonis in the flesh--tall, at least 6’1”. He had perfect, glowing white skin, like he had a permanent spotlight on him, short, wavy, dark brown hair, and was achingly handsome. Well, that didn’t really seem to be enough of an adjective to describe him. He didn’t look eighteen. If I had to guess, I would say he was in his early or mid-twenties instead. He must have sensed me staring at him because, just before he took the seat right in front of me, his eyes locked with mine. He had the most beautiful grey eyes, with silver flecks that seemed to absorb the light around them and illuminate his entire face. When his gaze met mine, I wanted to look away, but just couldn’t. All I could do was smile, like a child who had guiltily put her hand in the cookie jar one too many times and had just been caught by her parents.
“Hello,” he said sitting down in the seat in front of me and turning around to face me. Holding a hand out, he introduced himself, “I’m Brand.”
Thankfully, all my years of southern hospitality kicked in, and I had the sense to shake his hand and make my own introduction. “Lilly.”
“Nice to meet you, Lilly.”
The way he pronounced my name actually did make me think of the delicate flower I had been named after. As if he needed more added to the list of his perfections, he had the one thing that is every American girl’s kryptonite… a British accent.
I heard a small squeak come from Michelle beside me, which was the only way my attention was going to be drawn away from Brand.
“This is Michelle,” I told him before Michelle had a chance to make a complete fool out of herself.
“Hi!” she chirped, raising a nervously excited hand at him in greeting, like a fan meeting her favorite actor or rock star.
Brand didn’t seem to mind Michelle’s odd behavior and extended his hand to her. “It’s nice to meet you, Michelle. Have you had a good first day so far?”
“Yes,” Michelle said, her nerves seeming to prevent her from saying anything else to Brand.
“And how about you, Lilly?” Brand asked, returning his undivided attention to me. “How has your first day been?”
“Well, I sort of missed my first class. Couldn’t find the room,” I shrugged. “By the time I figured out my biology class met on the basement floor of the science building, class had already been dismissed.”
“Lilly Nightingale?” Brand asked with a soft laugh and glint of amusement in his eyes.
“Yes,” I said hesitantly, confused by his knowledge of my last name. “How did you know that?”
“I’m in that class, too,” Brand said with an easy grin. “Dr. Floyd asked us to keep an eye out for you in our other classes so we could tell you where the room is.”
I literally hung my head in shame. “Well, that’s just great; now everyone in that class is going to think I’m a complete idiot.”
Brand chuckled. “No, no one’s going to think that, especially not after you ace the first test in there.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
“I have a feeling about you.” Brand granted me one of his smiles. For some unfathomable reason, I actually did feel like I could do anything, be anyone, and conquer the world! Ok, so I was completely taken by Brand in those few, short minutes. Who wouldn’t have been?
I was only human.
At the end of class, Brand asked, “Can I walk you to your next lecture, Lilly?”
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see a look of envy on Michelle’s face. It wasn’t a malicious envy, though. It was more like a ‘why can’t I be her right now’ jealousy. I couldn’t blame her. If the situation were reversed, I’d probably have the same expression on my face.
“I don’t actually have a class next period,” I told Brand. “I have to go to Dr. Barry’s office. I’m her teacher’s aide this semester.”
“I know where that is, if you’d like an escort.”
“Sure,” I tried to sound enthusiastic without sounding too enthusiastic.
In reality, my heart was doing flips inside my chest at the thought of walking around with my own Adonis. Who would have thought I’d be of interest to someone like Brandon Cole? He could probably have any girl on campus. Why was he interested in spending time with me? It wasn’t like I had boys beating down my door to ask me out.
“So, tell me about yourself,” he said as we walked up the stairs of the chemistry building. Unfortunately, this was going to be a short walk. Dr. Barry’s office was just up the stairs and down the hall from our physics class.
“Not a lot to tell, really,” I shrugged. “I’ve lived in Reeve all my life, went to South Clark High School, and now I’m here. My best friend and I are renting an apartment off-campus.”
After we made it up to the second floor, we slowly started to walk the short distance to my
destination.
“There has to be more to you than that. Why don’t you come out with me tonight? I’d really like to get to know you better.”
I suddenly felt like my stomach was full of knots. Before my hormones overruled my common sense, I regrettably said, “I can’t do that.”
Because of the surprised expression on his face, it was instantly obvious Brand wasn’t used to being turned down..
“May I ask why?”
“Well, I know this might sound old-fashioned, but I just met you, and I know absolutely nothing about you. It just wouldn’t feel proper to go out with someone I hardly know.”
Brand smiled as if he was proud I was trying to protect myself.
“I completely understand,” he said without a trace of condescension. “What about lunch tomorrow in the Commons? There’ll be plenty of witnesses around to make sure I remain a perfect gentleman.”
I couldn’t help but smile. “That would work.”
“Does eleven-thirty sound all right?”
“Yes, that’s fine.”
“Ok, see you then,” he winked at me before he turned to leave.
I have to admit that he looked just as good walking away, and every girl in the hallway seemed to agree with me.
Tara pounced on me as soon as I walked into our apartment, when I came home after work that evening.
“How could you not call me?” she demanded excitedly. “I had to hear from some strangers that this Brandon Cole guy asked you out! Tell me everything, girl.”
I filled her in on what little there was to tell.
“Well, I’m glad you kept your head,” Tara said with a nod of her own. “We don’t know enough about him yet.”
I just rolled my eyes at her and went to the kitchen to make a sandwich for supper.
The next day I did actually find my World Civilization and College Algebra classes all on my own. Unfortunately, Brand wasn’t in either one of them. By the time eleven-thirty rolled around, I had completely stressed myself out over what to say to him during our lunch together. I had no idea how much of myself I should reveal to him on our first unofficial date. It wasn’t like I’d experienced many of those. I decided to take a page out of my mother’s playbook and just go with the flow. What else was I going to do? It wasn’t like a test I could study for.
It wasn’t hard to find Brand when I entered the Commons at lunchtime. He was sitting at a table by himself in the middle of the room, but almost every female in there was as close to his table as they could possibly get, without actually sitting in his lap. If I hadn’t been so nervous, I would have laughed at the absurdity of their behavior. It was like he was literally a babe-magnet.
When Brand saw me enter, he immediately stood from his chair, almost like he was relieved by my presence, and walked towards me.
“You look lovely today, Lilly,” he said, taking one of my hands and kissing the top of it lightly. I could have sworn I heard audible sighs come from our attentive audience.
“Would you mind if we ate out on the terrace? It’s a bit more private out there, but you won’t be completely alone with me. It just seems a bit…overcrowded in here today.”
The expression on Brand’s face seemed odd to me. It was almost like he was experiencing physical pain by having to be in a room full of willing female adorers. Most of the guys I knew would pay good money to have so many girls fawning over them, but Brand’s expression told me he desperately wanted to get outside as quickly as possible.
“That’s fine,” I replied. “More privacy would be nice.”
I happened to glance behind Brand and caught sight of Nora. I swear, if her eyes could have shot daggers, I would be have been dead where I stood.
Brand took my books from me and put a guiding hand on my elbow to escort me outside.
There were only a man and a woman sitting at one of the two tables on the terrace. The terrace faced the rose garden in front of the Commons building. In the middle of a Mississippi August, most people prefer to be inside with the air conditioning blasting cold air in their faces, but I didn’t mind sitting out under the awning. The atmosphere was definitely not as estrogen-driven.
“Do you always have that effect on the female population wherever you go?” I asked jokingly, but quite interested in the answer.
“Usually.”
Brand said it so matter-of-factly, I couldn’t tell if he was making a joke or being totally serious.
“But they’re not why I’m here today,” he continued, easily capturing my undivided attention with his eyes. “I’m here to learn more about you and hopefully tell you a little about me so you feel comfortable enough to go out on a proper date.”
It was then I realized I hadn’t grabbed anything to eat for lunch. I dug around in my small shoulder bag to find some change for the vending machine.
“What are you doing?” Brand asked, watching me with an eyebrow lifted, clearly curious about my scrounging for coins.
“I totally forgot to grab something to eat on the way in.”
Brand reached over and quieted my hands. “Do you really think I would ask you to lunch and not provide one for you?”
“Oh,” I said, slightly confused, looking at the empty table. “Did you want to go back in and get something?”
“No, that won’t be necessary.”
Brand made a hand motion to someone behind me.
Apparently, the other couple on the balcony was situated there for a reason. The man pulled out a picnic basket from underneath their table while the woman unfolded a tablecloth and produced two wine glasses and a bottle of sparkling apple cider from a cooler. In a matter of moments, we had a table set for two with roasted chicken, pesto pasta, salad, and buttered French bread. There was even a small floral arrangement of daisies and pink roses placed in the center of it all.
“Thank you, Rose Marie and Carl,” Brand told the couple. “Now, if you wouldn’t mind standing by the door to ensure our privacy, I would very much appreciate it.”
“Of course, Mr. Cole,” Rose Marie replied, with a slight bow of her head in Brand’s direction.
Before she left the tableside, I saw her shoot me a glance filled with loathing, which made me instantly nervous. What had I done to deserve such a look from a total stranger? Regardless of what her feelings were towards me, she and the man did exactly as Brand asked.
“Do they work for you?” I whispered.
“Yes,” he whispered back, a grin playing at the corners of his mouth. “Why are we whispering about it? I think they know this already.”
I couldn’t help but smile sheepishly at him. “I’m sorry. I just didn’t expect this,” I said, looking down at the table. “Are you rich or something?”
“Yes, filthy. Does that bother you?”
“No,” I said hesitantly.
“You don’t sound so sure,” he prodded gently.
“It’s just that you’re the first rich person I’ve ever met.”
He smiled at me like I’d said something amusing, and I couldn’t help but smile back.
“I hope my having money isn’t going to be a negative against me.”
“Rich, poor; it really doesn’t matter to me.”
Brand contemplated my answer and finally said, “No, I guess it doesn’t.”
“You sound surprised by that.”
He leaned back in his seat and looked at me for a moment before responding.
“Most girls like to know a guy can afford to take them out and buy them things. It’s just rare to find someone who truly doesn’t care one way or the other.”
“Oh, I don’t think I’m that unusual. I’ve known a lot of girls who don’t care about how much money a guy has.”
“Some women may say that and want to mean it, but deep down most of them want the reassurance of being provided for.”
“And how would you know that?” I asked, thinking I was the expert at the table on how other women thought.
“I guess you could say I have a
built-in lie detector,” he grinned and tapped his head with an index finger. “I always know if someone is telling me a lie or the truth.”
“Really?” I asked, thinking he was teasing me. “And it’s never failed?”
“Not yet.”
“Well, I don’t usually lie anyway. I’m terrible at it. My mom says you can read what I’m thinking just by my facial expressions.”
“What does your mother do for a living?”
“Varies,” I shrugged. “She’s never been someone to stay at one job for very long. She’s worked in retail mostly, but she’s also taught some yoga classes at the YMCA, cleaned houses, and things like that. What about you? What do your parents do?”
“They’re dead.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” I lowered my eyes to the plate in front of me, hoping I hadn’t inadvertently ruined our first lunch together.
“It’s nothing for you to be sorry about,” he reassured. “It’s just something that happened. Why don’t you try the chicken? Rose Marie is a wonderful cook.”
While we ate our lunch, I learned Brand had lived all over the world in his short life.
“Why on earth would you settle down in Lakewood?” I asked. It was unimaginable to me why someone who had lived in Paris and London would want to stay in a small, inconsequential town like Lakewood.
Brand shrugged. “I was passing through and thought it seemed like a nice place to live.”
I got the feeling he wasn’t telling the whole truth, but I didn’t know him well enough to call him out on it.
“So you just stayed and decided to go to college here?”
“Yes. I bought a house on Lake Serenity.”
“You bought a house?”
Was he serious? Just how much money did he have? I knew the lake houses started at half a million dollars, easy.
“I’d love for you to see it one day, when you’re more comfortable being alone with me of course,” he said with a smile.
How could someone have a smile like that? Charming, disarming, and irresistible.
“Will you be in physics lab tonight?” I asked him.
Our first physics lab started at 5pm and lasted until we got through with our work. At first, I wasn’t completely thrilled with the idea of having a night lab, but now that I knew it would present another opportunity to see Brand, I wasn’t complaining at all.