She paused giving enough time to make it seem like she was considering her schedule. “I don’t have any plans,” she finally responded, fighting the uncontrollable silly grin contorting her features.

“Do you want to hang out?”

She nodded. “I thought you’d never ask.”

*****

Friday night Lexi found herself pacing her tiny dorm room twining her dark curls around her fingers. The room was nothing special, but she and Jennifer made it look the best they could with the space provided.

Two beds were lofted on opposite sides of the room. A black futon rested under Lexi’s; two mini fridges and a tiny tube television sat under her roommate’s. A red and black print rug covered the tile floor and red curtains blocked out the view of the other high-rise dorms surrounding them. Lexi’s side of the wrap-around metal desk held her black laptop and a selection of her favorite books and textbooks. The wall adjacent her desk held a collage of photographs neatly arranged. Jennifer’s desk was a mess of multi-colored paper clips, geometrically shaped Post-It notes, and furry-topped pens. The walls were lined with sorority initiation paraphernalia that made Lexi roll her eyes every time she glanced over there.

“Jen, do you think I look okay?”

Jennifer gave her a once-over. Lexi wore black, slightly-worn, skinny jeans, a pale green camisole with lace-trim and black thong sandals that strapped around her ankle. Her hair was pulled up into a high ponytail with the dark bouncing curls streaming out of the rubber band. A light coat of black mascara brushed her eyelashes and a hint of shimmer lip gloss adorned her lips. “Mmm,” Jennifer murmured tilting her head to the side before turning back to her Latin homework spread out across the futon.

Lexi placed her hands on her hip exasperated. “What does mmm mean?”

Jennifer shrugged. “You should probably pull your hair down, run a straightener through it, and put on a cute dress,” she said as a matter-of-fact. She hadn’t even glanced up from her five-subject notebook. “I have this perfect purple ensemble that will do wonders to detract from your plain brown eyes.”

Lexi was starting to get used to this behavior. Jennifer was remarkably honest, to a fault. But she was also incredibly judgmental which made her blatant honesty not as flattering. “I think we’re going to be outside though,” Lexi told her, turning to face the full-length mirror hanging on the back of their door.

“It’s like seventy degrees outside,” Jennifer said. Her gum smacked against the roof of her mouth as she spoke. “You can still wear a dress.”

Jennifer thought everyone should wear a dress, all the time, for every occasion, even when it was freezing. Lexi was pretty certain that the only time Jennifer went without a dress was when she showered. She was even lounging in a dress while studying Latin!

Both her parents came from old southern money dating back pre-Civil War. The Country Club, where they resided, played host to a number of stars. She had once complained about missing Halloween away from home, because that year a certain male rapper had actually answered the door to pass out candy.

“Well, it could be colder tonight,” Lexi grumbled snatching her cell phone off her desk and cramming it into her plum purse. “I’m going to see Olivia. Have fun studying.”

Lexi darted down the hall as her phone trilled inside her purse. Opening the cold metal clasp, she retrieved the cell and answered. “Hey, do you want me to come upstairs?” Jack asked from the other line.

“Nah. No point in making you try to get past security. I’ll be right down.” Lexi scrambled down the four flights of stairs as fast as she could, making it to the landing before the elevator dinged. Racing down the steep hill that led to the street below, Lexi recognized his little silver sports car waiting with the hazard lights blinking. She slipped her hand under the handle to pop the door open and slid smoothly onto the black leather seat. He let off the clutch and slung the car into gear as soon as he heard the latch click. “So, where are we going?” she asked relaxing back into the soft material.

“It’s a surprise,” he said, shifting gears as they picked up speed.

“Hmm...I like surprises.”

“I thought you might.” He glanced at her briefly before turning left.

Lexi hadn’t been sure whether or not to treat this as if it were a date. He had asked her out, but when they talked on the phone, he had acted as if it was no big deal. She didn’t care to agonize over it though. She didn’t know him yet, so as far as she was concerned the status of their relationship, if you could even call it that, was hardly relevant. One step at a time.

John Mayer’s acoustic cover of Free Fallin’ filled the silence as Jack drove them away from the center of town. Jack tapped his fingers against the steering wheel in time with the guitar chords. “Do you play,” she asked watching how well his fingers moved.

“A little,” he said with a sexy smirk.

“Oh yeah? What instruments?”

“Just guitar, bass, piano, saxophone, and some drums, but I’m really rusty.”

“Jesus! All I can do is sing.”

“Oh, and I sing,” he smirked as he hit the break at a red light.

“Well don’t you seem to be good at everything,” Lexi said staring up at him through thick dark lashes.

She could tell that he was watching her out of the corner of his eye. “You just wait and see.”

“I look forward to it.” She giggled turning back to the road. Something about Jack seemed to just fit. The flirting, the desirous looks, the uncomplicated conversation was all so easy between them.

Lexi’s eyes widened as they turned onto a stretch of university property that until now had been empty fields. Instead, a bright twirling Ferris wheel had been erected in the center of the field with an array of carnival rides and booths displayed around the centerpiece. “I didn’t know a carnival was coming through town!”

“One night only,” he said wiggling his eyebrows up and down. “The university sets up celebrations like this throughout the year. Since you’re new, I thought I’d take you to the first one of the year.”

A plump older man in an orange vest holding a light stick directed them into a makeshift parking spot on the lawn.

The couple trekked across the muddy terrain towards the vinyl ticket booth. Handing over their student identification cards, the student association representative slid the cards through a reader. The machine dinged each time authorizing their authenticity. “Have a good time and don’t forget to grab a complimentary t-shirt on your way out,” the woman said handing them back their cards with one hand and gesturing to a display of boxes containing hundreds of bright green tees.

“Thanks,” Jack said grabbing Lexi’s arm and racing through the entrance.

They made it only a dozen feet before unexpectedly running into Jack’s roommates, Seth, Luke, and Michael, who were with two of their other friends, Clark and Hunter. Each looked more excited than the next. Between them they were counting out what looked like several hundred orange paper tickets like little kids in Chuck E. Cheese.

Seth snatched up a handful out of Clark’s palm and deposited them in his pocket. “Hey, what the fuck are you doing?” Clark cried launching himself onto Seth.

Seth chuckled as he sidestepped Clark’s advances. “You don’t need all of those,” he said tauntingly.

“You took all of my goddamn tickets, jackass,” Clark yelled grabbing at Seth’s pocket as the rest of the guys burst out laughing.

Seth threw his hands up. “Geez, Clark, you’re very forward. I feel like we’ve just met. At least take me to dinner first.”

“Ha. Ha,” Clark said sarcastically, placing his tickets firmly back into his own pocket.