At around midnight I couldn’t read another word so I packed up and walked back to the dorm. Katie sent me a text saying that she was sleeping in Mike’s room but I should call her if I needed her. I actually was kind of grateful to have the room to myself so that I could be alone with my thoughts. I had to figure out what to do about Jonathan.
I walked up to the door of my dorm and slid my key card to buzz myself in and I dropped my card inside the door as it was closing. When I bent down to pick it up my purse decided to fall off of my shoulder and everything inside spilled onto the floor. Perfect. An exasperated sigh escaped my lips as I dropped my heavy book bag to the ground and started picking up my stuff.
“Need some help?”
The smooth, deep voice sent chills up my spine and for just a second, I was frozen. Go away. Jonathan didn’t wait for my response; he just got down on his knees and started helping me. I didn’t look at him as he handed me my lipstick and other items. It was hard being so close to him because my heart wanted to forgive him but my head wanted none of that. He picked up my pen, which was the last thing on the floor and we both stood up as he handed it to me, my eyes fixed on the pen.
“Skylar, look at me please.” His voice was gentle and my heart was pounding.
I slowly raised my eyes to his, my jaw set in defiance.
“What?” My voice was cold.
“Look, I know you’re mad at me but will you please let me explain what you thought you saw?”
I narrowed my eyes at him, my hand firmly placed on my hip. “What I thought I saw? Jonathan I am not stupid and I am not blind, I have perfect vision. I know what I saw. Listen, I’m not going to do this right now, I’m exhausted. I barely got any sleep last night and I have a paper to finish this week, so I’m going to bed.”
“Sky, we can’t leave it like this, please.” His eyes were pleading and I almost gave in…almost.
“I’m fine with things the way they are. I got to see your true colors sooner rather than later, which I guess I should thank you for.” I turned to walk away from him and he caught my arm, stopping me in my tracks.
“Will you just give me 15 minutes tomorrow? I promise that I will leave you alone after that if that’s what you want. Please?”
I thought about what he said and as much as I didn’t want to admit it, I wanted to hear what he had to say and I was so hoping that he had a good explanation.
“Okay, fine. What time and where?”
“Your last class tomorrow is over at 2:10, right?”
“Yes.”
“Let’s meet at the park by the refreshment stand at 3:00. Does that work for you?”
There was a gorgeous park across the street from campus and I had always wanted to just take a walk with Jonathan through that park, but we were both always so swamped with homework. Even though things weren’t good with us I had to admit that I was looking forward to meeting him in the park.
“Yes, 3:00 is fine.”
His smile did not reach his eyes. “Okay, I’ll see you then. Sleep well Sky.”
I didn’t answer him and I just walked away. We went our separate ways and, a few minutes later as I was lying in bed, I tried to figure out what he could possibly say to me to explain what happened. I was getting nowhere with that, so thankfully I eventually drifted off to sleep.
The next morning I met Jenn for breakfast and told her about my meeting with Jonathan that afternoon.
“Don’t let him weasel his way back in there,” she pointed to my heart, “unless you believe what he is saying 100 percent. What you saw seemed pretty self-explanatory to me so just be sure to listen to your head. I really hope he didn’t sleep with her Sky because you guys are so perfect together, I hope he’s the great guy he’s made everyone think he is.”
“You and me both.” I looked out the window and got lost in my thoughts for a few seconds and then I looked around the cafeteria at the different guys that were there. How many of them were cheaters? There was no way to tell. They all looked like they were really nice guys but if the opportunity presented itself to them the way that Barbi threw herself at Jonathan, would they take the bait?
A heavy sigh escaped my lips as I looked at Jenn, my elbow on the table and my chin resting on my hand. “Guys suck.”
“I couldn’t agree with you more. I wonder when we’ll be able to stop saying that. Maybe when we’re married because we’ve found the perfect guy.”
“Yeah, I hope so. Anyway, what’s going on with you? Any prospects yet?”
“I’ve kind of been talking to Kyle Bomer, do you know who he is?”
“Uh, do you mean the cute baseball player? Of course I know who he is! Wow, Jenn, good for you!”
“Yeah, he’s pretty awesome so far, but things are still new so we’ll see what happens.”
“Well, keep me posted.” I glanced at my watch and saw that it was almost 9:00. “We better get going, it’ almost time for class.”
We put away our trays and rushed off to our first class. I forced myself to focus in my classes that day and I was able to get lost in the lessons, absorbing as much information as I could. When my last class was over, the butterflies flew to my belly as I realized that I was going to see Jonathan in a few minutes. I stopped in the bathroom to freshen up, checked my hair and makeup and took a deep breath as I walked out.
It was a short walk to the park and with each step I began to feel more panicked. I wanted to hear what he had to say but I was afraid to hear it at the same time. As I got closer I could see Jonathan sitting on the bench waiting for me and he easily could have been posing for a picture in a magazine. He was wearing a dark wool coat, jeans, a light blue sweater, and his dark hair fell in perfect waves on his head. He was sitting on a bench under a huge tree whose leaves were a beautiful gold and red and he looked breathtakingly gorgeous.
My heart was thumping in my chest as I got closer and a big smile spread across his face as he stood up to greet me.
“Hi.” He looked genuinely happy to see me.
“Hey.”
“Thanks for meeting me Sky, it means a lot.”
“You’re welcome.” I quickly glanced at him and then looked away because the longing in his eyes was too much to take.