Just one moment

by Poppy J. Anderson

  “Thanks to your improved map, I made it to my first lecture on time and without any problems today,” she declared with a satisfied grin. “Here’s hoping that I’ve moved past the days of pointless wandering.”

  “And there you have it: economics students are good for something,” he declared.

  “Oh, my brother’s an economics major too, so I think in general you’re a nice enough bunch. A little overbearing maybe,” she added with a smirk, “but nice enough.”

  “Phew.” He wiped his brow in a show of relief. “Am I glad to hear that.”

  “You should be.” Barbara pressed her lips together. “And to answer your question: When I’m not reading about blood and gore, or running back and forth across campus, I enjoy playing sports.”

  “Ah.” He gave her a curious look. “So you’re the athletic type.”

  “I guess you could put it that way.”

  Was he imagining it, or was she blushing under his interested gaze?

  “Don’t leave me hanging here,” James teased good-naturedly. “What kinds of sports do you play?”

  Barbara lifted her chin and squinted at him. “You’re sort of nosy.”

  “Hey.” He turned his head in all directions. “We’re sitting here in the middle of what’s probably the most beautiful campus on the West Coast, enjoying wonderful weather. A little tasteful conversation is the least I can do, considering I’m trying to ease you into Stanford life.”

  “Ooh. First you play tour guide, and now you’re promoting ‘tasteful conversation’?” Barbara let out an appreciative whistle. “I’m beginning to suspect you’re up to mischief.” She smiled. “I play tennis, I ski, and I like to hike.”

  James squinted right back at her. “Would you believe me if I told you those are my favorite things to do, too?”

  Her laughter was like a high, clear bell, and it invaded every inch of James’s body.

  “Actually, James, I don’t believe a single word you say.”

  He grinned, unfazed. “Tell me when and where, and I’ll challenge you to a tennis match.”

  “A match?”

  “Or two, if you want,” James said casually, and then he felt a strange giddiness at the sight of the faint blush on her cheeks.

  Chapter 3

  “Let me guess, Barb—you’re going out with James again. Am I right?”

  Barbara rolled her eyes and put her pearl earrings on, the ones her grandmother had given her as a graduation present. She was standing in front of the mirror in the bedroom, ignoring her roommate, Lily, who was lying on her own bed, eating cookies. Barbara studied herself in the mirror, smoothing down the turquoise dress and wondering whether the neckline was too low, too revealing.

  She would have liked to ask her roommate for her opinion on the cleavage issue, but since Lily had a rather unorthodox way of dressing, Barbara thought it better not to get Lily’s input.

  Although Lily and Barbara had only been sharing the room for three weeks so far—Lily had moved in the day after Barbara met James—the two women had become friends in record time. Luckily. Because sharing a small dorm room could be rather suffocating. But living with Lily was utterly uncomplicated. Which made Barbara wonder what had happened between Lily and her first roommate to cause Lily to be reassigned to another room so quickly. A lot must have happened to culminate in such an altercation in one week, Barbara guessed. But, so far, she’d only ever seen an approachable, reasonable, and utterly considerate Lily. When Barbara was studying, Lily put on headphones to listen to her music or took a walk so she wouldn’t disturb Barbara. What was even better was they had the same taste in movies, which had already led to a few cozy movie nights. Just like in high school, they’d lain in their beds in pajamas, munching on pizza and staring at the small TV set that Lily had brought from home.

  Only three weeks ago, Barbara had been extremely frustrated with how lonely she felt without a roommate and with how difficult it was to make friends. But then Lily had invaded her room.

  And then there was James. After their magical encounter three weeks ago, she’d seen him every day, and tonight they were going on a real date.

  Staring anxiously at her reflection, she brushed back a strand of her dark-brown hair. She didn’t want to admit to Lily that she was nervous, because it seemed ridiculous even to her, for she saw James every day anyway. Only yesterday afternoon, they’d crossed paths in the library and had gone on to share a table, where they’d sat in quiet harmony, each studying for their respective classes. And the day before that, they’d gone to the football game together, sitting side by side in the stands, arguing cheerfully about whether the team’s offense or defense had better players. After the game, James had walked her home, and the entire way, Barbara had waited for James to finally kiss her.

  But it hadn’t happened. Instead, he’d asked her out to dinner tonight.

  There was no need for her to be anxious. She’d gotten to know James rather well, and she felt very comfortable in his presence. And yet …

  She pressed her lips together and thought for a moment—before jolting upright and checking if she’d smeared her lipstick. Nope. Everything was as it should be.

  Staring into the green eyes of her reflection, she coyly asked herself whether she should tell Lily that this was her first real date.

  Of course, she’d gone out with boys in high school, but those had been boys, and they’d taken her to the movies, or the mall, or classmates’ parties. She’d never gone out to a fancy restaurant with any of them.

  Plus, there was the fact that though James was only a year older than her, he appeared much more grown-up and mature than her former dates. She was also irritated that he still hadn’t kissed her. The boys in high school had been so impatient to make out with her in the car on the way home and maybe slip their hands under her shirt. If it hadn’t been for the way James kept studying her, giving her his undivided attention, Barbara might have suspected he didn’t find her attractive at all.

  But, no, Barbara knew he was interested, otherwise he wouldn’t have asked her on this date. It was not knowing what he expected from her that made her nervous.

  Maybe he expected her to sleep with him on the first date.

  That thought not only served to make her blush, she also shifted her weight uncomfortably. She was sure she wasn’t the only Stanford student who was still a virgin at nineteen, but she didn’t want to advertise that fact. If you dared to tell anyone you were a romantic who just wanted to wait for the right person to experience your first time with, they’d call you old-fashioned. These days, people were quick to label you a prude if you graduated from high school still a virgin. Heck, Barbara was the only one of her high school girlfriends who hadn’t lost her virginity on prom night—at the latest.

  But Barbara’s prom date had been Tyler Peterson, a boy she’d been friends with since kindergarten, and who was scared to death of her big brother. It would have been impossible to sleep with him that night—since he’d kept her at arm’s length, even when they’d danced. If she’d wanted to sleep with him—which she hadn’t—her skittish date would probably have run away screaming.

  “What’s going on in that head of yours?”

  Barbara’s gaze flicked back to the mirror, and she met Lily’s inquisitive eyes.

  “Nothing,” she assured her roommate quickly, before grabbing her lipstick and stuffing it in her small evening purse.

  “Are you nervous, or what?”

  “Of course not.” Barbara frowned, fumbling with the clasp. “Why would I be nervous?”

  “That’s what I’m wondering,” Lily said. “You’ve been spending more time with James than your books lately, so what could you have to be nervous about? But you seem awfully … well … anxious … Maybe excited?”

  Barbara took a deep breath and threw Lily a slightly annoyed look over her shoulder. “First of all, I do not spend more time with James than my books. And second of all, I’m not anxious.”

  “Of co
urse not,” Lily said with obvious amusement. She stuffed a pillow behind her back and crossed her hands behind her head. “So tell me what’s going on.”

  “Nothing.” Barbara shrugged one shoulder to show she was taking it lightly. “I’m just a little pressed for time. I don’t want to make him wait when he gets here …”

  “Okay, let’s ignore the rule that men should always be made to wait a few minutes when picking you up for a date—and jump right to the fact that your dream guy isn’t due for fifteen minutes. You still have loads of time to stare in the mirror like a doomed mink at a fur farm.”

  “Wonderful image. Thank you,” Barbara mumbled. “And he’s not my dream guy.”

  “Oh, please!” Lily uttered another amused laugh, which added to Barbara’s irritation. “Every time you look at him with that dreamy expression, I hear a Disney song in my head.”

  Barbara threw her purse on her bed and turned around to face her roommate. “You’re not helping at all.”

  “Aha! Sounds like there is something going on!” Lily waggled her eyebrows, apparently thrilled to be on the right track. “Already trouble in paradise?”

  “Lily!” Barbara shook her head and slowly sat on the edge of her bed.

  “What?” Lily raised a nonchalant hand. “You guys are so perfect together, it’s scary. James is the ambitious student with perfect hair—not to forget his impressive pedigree—and you’re not only the prettiest girl on campus, but also something like the Princess of Connecticut. Every time I see you two together, I automatically think of Jackie and John F. Kennedy.”

  Barbara felt a blush invade her cheeks. “Stop …”

  “I wouldn’t be surprised if your fathers were sitting in an old-fashioned parlor somewhere, negotiating a marriage contract for the two of you.”

  Barbara was beginning to get truly frustrated with Lily’s chatter. “James and I are not a couple, and you know it!”

  “Oh, come on, Barb.” Lily wrinkled her nose. “You spend all your time together, James accompanies you right to this door every single night, and now he’s invited you to dinner at this totally posh place where they charge a small fortune for a bowl of soup. Of course you guys are a couple.”

  Barbara crossed her arms, feeling insecure. “I don’t know.”

  “What do you mean? What is it that you don’t know?”

  She took a hesitant breath. “I don’t know if we’re together.”

  Lily shook her head. “Why do you say that?”

  Barbara stared at the ceiling as she shyly confessed, “James hasn’t … erm … He hasn’t asked to be exclusive yet.”

  “He hasn’t asked to be exclusive yet?” Lily echoed with a chuckle. “Jesus, Barb! Is that what people do in your circles? Ask to be exclusive? Do they get down on one knee, too?”

  Embarrassed, Barbara shook her head furiously. “Oh, forget it!”

  “Aw, don’t be like that,” Lily continued in a much more sympathetic, patient voice. “It’s obvious to me that you guys are an item. Nobody needs to ask to be exclusive to make it so.”

  Barbara licked her lips and gave Lily a dubious look. “We’ve only known each other three weeks.”

  “So?” Lily gave her a wide grin. “I formally predict you’re going to end up as Mr. and Mrs. James Campbell one day.”

  Barbara rolled her eyes. “I’m nineteen, Lily!” She groaned. “Isn’t it a little early to be thinking about marriage?”

  Lily shrugged. “I have no idea how it works in high society, but movies tell me the daughters of rich barons are often married off at that age.”

  Barbara grabbed a pillow and flung it across the room. It landed on the side of Lily’s head. She grabbed it and hugged it to her chest with a giggle.

  “You’ve been reading too many of those old Victorian romance novels,” Barbara chastised her roommate. “My dad wouldn’t think of marrying me off to anyone, and my mom would disown me if I got married at nineteen.”

  Still giggling, Lily said, “Okay, I forgot what our problem was again …”

  “The problem,” Barbara snapped, “is that I have no idea what James expects from me!”

  Lily wrinkled her nose. “What do you mean expects? He wants to constantly be where you are, he’s invited you to a fancy restaurant, and he only has eyes for you, Barbara. It’s obvious he’s fallen for you.” In a sarcastic tone, she added, “And I don’t mean he stumbled and fell on his face, so don’t even try to play dumb.”

  Barbara didn’t reply but lowered her head and absently studied her suede peep-toe heels while in her stomach butterflies did happy somersaults.

  “I really don’t see why you’re so concerned,” Lily said, stretching out on her bed. She put another cookie in her mouth and mumbled through the crumbs: “The guy who’s going to knock on that door in a few minutes is super nice, damned good-looking, and has a great ass—”

  “Lily!”

  “What?” Lily rolled her eyes. “Even a blind gal couldn’t miss that. Plus, I’m sure your parents will be beside themselves when they meet your charming boyfriend, whose father just so happens to be one of the most eminent people in Virginia.”

  “I don’t care one bit whether James’s dad has money or not.” Barbara sighed, fed up with always hearing about how high-society her roommate thought she was. “That’s not what matters.”

  “Right.” Lily tucked a strand of her red hair behind her ear and gave Barbara a confidential wink. “What matters is whether you like James, if he worships the ground you walk on, and whether he’s good in bed.”

  Barbara jumped. “Lily, you … Do you have to say stuff like that all the time?” She grabbed her purse in agitation.

  “For heaven’s sake,” Lily groaned. “Don’t take everything so seriously, Barb. I didn’t say you have to tell me whether he’s good in bed, did I? You’d obviously not be up for that. Message received.”

  Barbara looked away, taking a deep breath. She was hesitant about whether to discuss this with her loud-mouthed friend, but she couldn’t hold in her agitation anymore. “Can I tell you something?” she asked. “But you have to promise not to make a big deal of it.”

  “Ugh, I can’t promise you that, but I can try.”

  “Lily, please! I’m serious!”

  Her roommate raised her hands defensively, already giggling away. “Alright, okay. I’ll be serious from now on. Okay?”

  Barbara swallowed hard. “He hasn’t kissed me yet,” she confided.

  “What?” Lily looked at her like she’d just declared she was going to shave her head and join the convent. “What do you mean he hasn’t kissed you yet?”

  “You said you wouldn’t make a big deal of it,” Barbara reminded her, already regretting bringing it up.

  “Does that mean you haven’t slept with him yet?”

  Barbara squinted at her roommate. “What do you think?” She ran a hand across her forehead.

  Speechless, Lily stared at her. After a minute, she shook her head. “What is going on with you two?”

  “What do you think is going on?” she barked at her friend, feeling suddenly defensive. “We’re getting to know each other!”

  “The best way to get to know each other is to make out and then see each other naked,” Lily said matter-of-factly.

  “Sometimes I ask myself why I don’t smother you with your own pillow one night,” Barbara murmured.

  “Well that’s because you like me, because I brought a TV, and because I give the best advice for your love life.”

  “I really like James,” Barbara insisted, ignoring her friend’s jokes. “I don’t want to rush it.”

  “You wouldn’t be rushing anything making out, Barb,” Lily said, her voice unusually sympathetic. “If I were you, I’d make out with him all the damn time.”

  “Thanks, I feel so much better now”, Barbara grumbled.

  “You’re welcome.”

  Thankfully, before Barbara could be tempted to confess to her roommate that no boy had ever
seen her naked, there was a knock on the door.

  ***

  Barbara looked up from her menu and studied James across from her. Their table in the elegant restaurant was set beautifully, and he was focused on his menu, which gave her the opportunity to study him without him noticing how enraptured she was by him tonight.

  Befitting the occasion, he was wearing a white shirt with a dark sports coat over it, and his hair was artfully tousled. The drive to Half Moon Bay had taken half an hour in his BMW, and now they were sitting here in this exquisite Italian restaurant right beside the sea, enjoying the view and a beautiful sunset, faced with a selection of delicacies that all sounded fantastic.

  She couldn’t think of a more perfect date, and yet Barbara had to force herself not to fidget in her chair. Lily’s words kept echoing in her head.

  “Do you have any idea what you want?”

  When he looked up, Barbara lowered her own gaze in record time, dropping them to the menu in her hands with ostensible cool. She didn’t want him to notice she’d been studying him as if he were a tempting slice of exceptionally rich cake.

  “Mm … Everything sounds delicious.” She looked up slowly and met his eyes. “Do you know what you’re having?”

  He blinked and put down his menu. “Do you always answer a question with a question? Or are you doing it to confuse me?”

  Perplexed, Barbara lowered her menu as well, letting her left hand fidget with her glass of water as she blinked at him. “I’m confusing you?”

  The dimple in his chin deepened as he grinned. “And another question for an answer.”

  Barbara blushed. “James …”

  He leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table. “I think I’ll have the swordfish, if you must know. And I’m not just confused by your question-answers. I’m also flummoxed by the fact that I almost hit the guardrail several times on the way here, all because I couldn’t stop staring at you.”

  Her eyes widened, and she felt her lips part to form an “oh.”

  His blue eyes sparkled with admiration. “You know full well that you always look amazing, but this dress …” He left the sentence unfinished.