Dream Date (15 page)

“Which are your favorites?”

“Right now, I was reading
The Road Not Taken
by Robert Frost. But my favorite poems are from Emily Dickinson.”

“I remember Frost a bit. We studied almost the same stuff when I was in English class.”

Judith laughed.

“What grade are you in?” she asked.

“I’m in my third year here.”

“Really? I’m just a freshman.”

“Are you? So, you’re not yet of legal age to drink?” Ashton asked with a smile.

“That’s right. All in good time, though. It’s not like I’m in a hurry.”

A student walked downstairs past them. Ashton read the time on the guy’s wristwatch.

“Have you got any classes left?” Judith asked.

“Just one more. Then I’m off.”

“Me, too. It’s this one, in fact.”

Ashton arched an eyebrow.

“You don’t like English?”

“What? No, I like it just fine. Why?”

“Most students schedule their least favorite class at the end of the day.”

“I’m not most students. The class I dislike most is science, and it’s the second one in my schedule.”

“Science?”

“Yeah. I mean, it sounds interesting, but I just don’t like it. I guess I haven’t got the mind of a scientist.”

“Me neither.”

Judith stood up. She put away her book inside her backpack.

“It was nice talking to you, Ashton.”

“Same. See you later?”

“Tomorrow,” Judith said, tucking a lock of her hair behind her ear. She smiled, and then walked down the stairs. Ashton watched her go.

Damn, this woman’s so attractive. I wish I could have taken her to my dorm tonight
.

While Hughes drove Amanda back to her apartment, she placed a phone call for Marissa.

After a few rings, the other line picked up.

“Hello. This is Marissa Velásquez.”

“Good afternoon, Marissa. This is Amanda Tilley.”

There was a gasp on the other end.

“Amanda! What a pleasure to have you call. What can I help you with?”

“I didn’t interrupt you in class, did I?”

“No, I’m in my apartment.”

“Good. I was looking forward to talk to you. Nathan gave me your number.”

Marissa sounded excited to have received a phone call from Amanda.

“What would you like to talk about?”

“I’ve heard about your talents in fashion design. Clark Rhodes is a good acquaintance of mine, and he speaks highly of you.”

“I’m flattered.”

“When I heard about you at New York Fashion Week, I became interested in seeing your work. Clark showed me one of your designs, and I felt interested in trying it on.”

Marissa gasped in delight.

“It’s great to hear that from you.”

“It’s obvious that you have great talent. I’m also calling you because I thought you’ll find some of my contacts useful. I know a lot of important people in the fashion industry.”

“I look forward to hearing about that. How about we meet?”

“I’m flying to Manhattan this weekend to see my talent agent. I can drop by your place on the way.”

“That would be great,”
said Marissa, and gave Amanda her address.

“I’ll call you later to tell you when I’ll be there.”

“Okay. I’ll see you on Saturday.”

“See you, Marissa. Have a good day.”

“Bye,”
Marissa said, and Amanda hung up. She looked up to see that she was already outside her apartment. Hughes opened her door, and she stepped out.

“Thank you,” Amanda said as Hughes closed the door behind her. He then led her up to the elevator. On the ride up, Amanda thought of something.

“Hughes?”

“Yes, Ms. Tilley?”

Amanda thought her words with care before she spoke.

“I…I’ve been going through this in my head, and I think it’s time for me to learn something new.”

“What is it?”

Amanda looked at Hughes.

“The last time those goons jumped on us, they would have taken me if Nathan hadn’t been there. I can fight a little, but I’m not much against those guys.”

“I can’t help you,” Hughes said, knowing where she was going.

“Hughes, I want you to train me. I want to learn how to handle weapons.”

Hughes shook his head, looking determined.

“I’m sorry, Ms. Tilley, but I refuse your request. Simple self-defense basics are enough for you.”

“Are you afraid you’ll lose your job? It’s not like I want to be fully mission-capable. I’ll never reach the level of skill you and Grayson have.”

“That’s got nothing to do with my reasons. I just won’t teach you how to use guns. Just no,” said Hughes as the elevator door opened into Amanda’s apartment. She saw that his jaw was set.

“Why? Because I’m a woman?”

“No,” Hughes replied, growing exasperated. He was avoiding her gaze.

“Then why?” she asked as they walked forward.

“Look, Ms. Tilley. I am sworn to protect you with my life. What happened that day won’t happen again. I will protect you with my life.”

Amanda frowned, dissatisfied.

“If you want to make yourself a harder target, I’ll go as far as teaching you how to use Tasers and bear gas. Guns, knives, that sort of deadly weapons? They’re completely out of the question.”

Amanda nodded, knowing she wouldn’t convince him. She let out a sigh.

“I’ll get you a Taser, okay? Now, if you have any more questions, I’ll be close by,” Hughes said, disappearing into one of the rooms. Amanda went to the kitchen.

Hughes sat in his bed, thinking.

I can’t let you use real guns and knives,
he thought,
because you are too pure and sweet to use deadly force against another human.

The last day of the week arrived. Ashton and Nathan walked together to Rogan’s Corner.

“Did you find your girl yesterday?” Nathan asked.

“Yeah. I ran into Judith on my way to my last class. We talked a bit.”

Nathan’s eyebrows rose.

“You what?”

“We talked. Why are you so surprised?”

“We all know you don’t talk to women unless they’re friends. You hit on them and turn on the charm so they end up following you back to your dorm.”

“That’s funny.”

Nathan laughed.

“So, you and Judith haven’t…?”

Ashton blinked, and then understood.

“I wish I’d slept with Judith yesterday. I just didn’t get the chance. But today, I will.”

“And lock your room.”

“Hell no, I’m gonna lock the entire dorm. Judith is going to have the night of her life.”

Nathan squinted at Ashton in amused anger.

“And where am I going to go when I come back?”

“Don’t be coy. As if you didn’t like staying at Kayla’s dorm. I hope you put that time to good use. What do you two do in there, research international affairs?”

Ashton laughed at his own joke. Nathan shook his head, chuckling.

They both stopped talking when they approached the Starbucks. They walked in.

“
Look, Claire’s here. Let’s sit with her.”

“
I’ll order for you,” Ashton said, and Nathan nodded. He went to sit with Claire.

“
Morning, Nathan.”

“
Hi, Claire. Where’s Oswald?”

“
I just texted him. He’s on his way.”

Nathan nodded, looking towards the order line. He saw that Kayla was there, too. She had lined up behind Ashton. When she spotted Nathan, she waved her hand. He waved back.

When Nathan looked back at Claire, she was grinning at him. He arched his eyebrows.

“What?”

“You love Kayla.”

The corners of Nathan’s lips rose.

“Yeah.”

Claire said nothing more as she looked towards the entrance. Oswald got in line four people behind Kayla. Claire blew him a kiss. He winked at her.

Kayla sat down next to Nathan as usual.

“Hi,” she said.

“Hello, beautiful,” Nathan replied, leaning forward to give her a quick kiss. She giggled when he pulled back.

“So, there’ll a baseball game next week,” Ashton announced. “Cornell will play against Harvard. I was wondering if any of you guys wanted to go.”

Kayla and Nathan looked at each other.

“I’d like to go to a game,” Kayla said. “I haven’t been to a sports event in my life. I could use the experience for my writing.”

“You’ve never been to a game?” Claire asked, looking amazed.

“Yeah, I have. I attended a few football games when I was in high school. I liked seeing my team win.”

“This baseball game’s going to be next week, if you’d like to go,” Ashton told Kayla.

“Where can I buy the tickets?”

“I know where,” Nathan said. “I can take you.”

“Thanks.”

“You’re new here, aren’t you? I forget,” Ashton asked Kayla, who nodded.

“I’m unfamiliar with college sports around here.”

“It’s bigger than you’d think,” Oswald told her. “This is an Ivy League school, after all.”

“I didn’t know about Cornell until Nathan told me about it,” said Kayla. “And I researched Ivy League universities for my writing.”

“And for real life?” Claire asked.

“No. I associate Ivy League colleges with high tuition. It’s thanks to my success as an author that I was able to follow Nathan here.”

“That’s sweet!”

Oswald and Ashton laughed.