Across The Hall (8 page)

Chinese before being adopted she liked to use little endearments she looked up on the internet.

“Bring it, tough guy. You are so going down.” Reed continued to taunt him, grabbing the pizza box as they walked out the door.

“What was that al about?” I asked Kerri as I took a bite of my already cold pizza.

“I’m not sure. Those two have been acting weird al afternoon.” Kerri rol ed her eyes. “So, tel us about Beau.” I was surprised that she asked

before Kai did. I glanced over at Kai and she was bouncing in the chair with giddiness, waiting to hear about it.

“I don’t know. It was alright.” I didn’t want to real y say too much because he hadn’t cal ed me back yet or anything. Not that I expected him to cal

this soon, but I thought maybe a text or something.

“Come on Sylvia,” Kai tril ed impatiently. “We want the details. The good details. You promised.”

I laughed at her ardent interest. “Wel , he picked me up on his motorcycle. And yes, he looked just as hot as he did that first night.”

“I didn’t think he was hot.” Kerri added dryly as she flipped her dark hair back behind her shoulder.

Kai gave her a “shut the hel up it’s Sylvia’s turn” look.

“We drove for a long time before we stopped to eat.” I took a sip of my mojito. I didn’t real y want to tel them about the place he took me.

Sometimes the two of them can be judgmental, and I didn’t want them kil ing my buzz about the night.

“Where did you eat?” Of course Kai would ask that.

I hesitated “Um, I’m not sure the name of it.”

“Was it around here?” I could see Kai mental y flipping through al the restaurants around here.

“No, I’m not actual y sure where we were. I didn’t recognize anything around there.” At least that was truthful.

“Oh. Then what? I know you didn’t get home until after eleven.” Kai was so matter of fact.

“Were you watching out your window for me?”

She pursed her lips and looked at the ceiling. She glanced to Kerri, but Kerri just shook her head. “Of course she was. She saw you leave and

come home. That’s why your phone rang as soon as Beau left. Do you real y think we would have let her interrupt you?”

“So tel us about him.” Kai couldn’t hold back.

“He’s a good pool player. We went to a bar and played pool after we ate. He spent some time teaching me how.” I said as I blushed. Both Kai

and Kerri smirked. Kai “needed Sloane” to help her play our first year too even though she was probably better at it than he was to begin with.

“Did it work?” Kerri asked. I felt myself redden even more. “I guess from that blush we can assume it did.”

“Let’s just say if we hadn’t have been interrupted, Kai wouldn’t have seen him leaving.” I scrunched eyes up and covered my face with my hands.

Kai and Kerri both freely shared their exploits but I was stil bashful gossiping about mine.

There was a lot of squealing and Kai was clapping. Then she stopped dead and looked at me. “Wait, did Quinn interrupt you?”

“No, I haven’t thought about him when I kissed a guy in a long time.” Okay I lied but she didn’t need to know that. “It wasn’t the thought of Quinn that

stopped me anyway it was the neighb...oh.” I looked up at her sharply. “You meant my new neighbor, Quinn right?” I took a deep breath. There are

lots of people named with names that could be shortened to Quinn; Quinton, Quincy, Joaquin, it wasn’t him. It couldn’t be him.

Both Kai and Kerri were staring at me now wide-eyed. They both knew that Quinn was the name of my ex. “Was it him?” Kerri whispered.

“I don’t think so, but I only saw his back.”

Kerri turned to Kai. “You met him today. Is it him?”

“Wait, what? Kai, you met him? I thought you were waiting for me to go with.” I wasn’t real y upset, I just kind of thought we were going to do that

together.

“I was. He stopped in with Reed and Sloane after playing basketbal with them.”

Basketbal ? I let out a big breath in relief and laughed. “What? The guys play al the time.” Kerri asked.

“Yes, they do but my...” wait, I about referred to him as my Quinn. “But the Quinn I knew wouldn’t. I don’t think he knew what one was unless maybe

he was hit with one in gym.” That was one thing I had in common with Quinn in high school...a mutual hatred of anything related to participating in

sports.

I’m pretty sure both of them picked up on my slip but they let it go. “Wel , Kai what did you learn about him? I’m sure you gril ed him thoroughly.”

Kerri and I both smirked.

Kai looked indignant. “I was just getting to know him.”

“You need to write a book on the ‘Kai-ying Adams meet and greet method.’ I’m sure it would come in handy during Government Interrogation

training.”

“Do you want to hear about him or not?” Kai pouted. Like she wasn’t dying to tel us al about him.

I ignored her and hoped Kerri would catch on. “So Kerri, I don’t think Jason is coming to the picnic.”

Kerri shifted in a way that Kai couldn’t see her face and winked at me. “Why? I thought he was going to bring that one kid from home. That other

friend of yours that we haven’t met yet. He is starting here this year, right?”

“Colby is starting here. In fact he moved in this week. Jase said since he’s off-campus this year. A couple of the guys from back home are

coming up Saturday. They have plans to initiate Colby to life without parents. I was surprised Reed didn’t say anything. I would have thought Jason

would have invited him and Sloane.” At first Jason didn’t like Reed and Sloane. I think he was jealous of the time I spent with them. But after he hung

around us and saw just how devoted they both were to Kerri and Kai, he began to loosen up around them. Soon he was doing stuff with them al the

time. It was only Kerri he seemed to not get along with. I never have been able to figure that one out. Sure, Kerri could be a bitch. But it was mutual. I

didn’t know how anyone could not like Jase. He was just so warm and fun loving.

“Good, then he won’t be screwing up the picnic,” Kerri said with a huff. If Kerri and Reed weren’t so perfect together I would swear there was

sexual tension between her and Jason.

“About Quinn...” Kai cut in. I knew she wouldn’t last.

I turned to her with a grin. “Did you want to tel us something, Kai?” I said, as innocently as I could.

She didn’t buy it and stuck her tongue out at me before she started. “I shouldn’t tel you anything and just let you wait. Then, after you run into him

wearing something like that,” she said pointing at my baggy t-shirt and sweats. “And you’l come complaining to me because I didn’t warn you that

you had someone that hot living across the hal from you and I wil just laugh. Maybe then you would throw out al that old stuff anyway.”

I looked down at my faded gray t-shirt. Yes, it was old. It was one from our senior class trip, but it was so comfortable. I loved wearing it. I just

glowered back at her.

“Fine. Quinn was very charming. I didn’t catch his last name and Sloane said he didn’t remember what he’d said it was either. He’s from here in

Minneapolis and his dad wants him to finish med school here. He’s happy to be back close to home. He opted not to live with his parents so he

could be closer to campus. This is also the first time he’s lived alone.” Kai said al of that with barely taking a breath.

I just blinked at her. Kerri asked, “Okay, that’s good. But what did he look like?” Of course she would think of looks first.

“He was tal and real y toned. They hadn’t put their shirts on after playing bal so I got a good look.” She grinned suggestively at us. “I think you

would approve, Kerri. He had real y dark sexy hair, but that could be because they were stil sweaty from playing bal .”

Okay. Tal - check. Dark hair - check. Toned body? Nope not him. Not that my Quinn didn’t have a nice body, it just wasn’t what one would

describe as toned. It was just the body you would expect a nonathletic teenage boy to have. It was a body Kerri would definitely not have approved

of. I was feeling good that it wasn’t him. I had just one last question. “Did he have glasses?”

“No.” Kai looked at me and I could see the relief from her eyes too as she figured out what I was getting at. “He’s not yours, is he?” She stated

that more than asked it. So she did remember him from his picture. I had only shown it to her once, when she went home with me for a long

weekend.

They were both looking at me expectantly. “No. I admit, I was worried that it was him. Just because that would be my luck. The one guy I never

want to see again would move into my building.” So why did my heart just twinge a little when Kai said it wasn’t him? “Besides I’m done with it. I’m

not going to let thoughts of him in anymore.” I stated it matter-of-factly. I changed the topic, giving them the hint to let it drop. “I’m going to ask Beau

to the picnic Saturday.” This would definitely get their attention.

“Real y? So why haven’t you yet?” Kai, of course, took the bait.

“Um, he hasn’t cal ed back yet,” I mumbled.

“Don’t worry, Syl. He wil . Guy rules say he can’t cal you right away.” Kerri rol ed her eyes.

“Guys and their stupid games,” Kai giggled. “Like we don’t know what they’re doing.”

We spent more time laughing about stupid things guys do, and talked about our upcoming classes. Kai and Kerri had another shopping trip

planned for the next day. Kai promised to buy me something perfect for the picnic. I warned her that Beau wasn’t much of a dress-up kind of guy.

She just hushed me and told me to leave it al to her. She mentioned that she was going to ask Quinn to join us too since he was new and that the

guys seemed to get along with him.

At the end of the night I came home much less stressed than when I left. Kai and Kerri reassured me that Beau would cal and neither real y

questioned about where he took me. I did have to explain why we were not in my apartment and stil in the hal way when Quinn interrupted us, which

caused a round of teasing. Both said they wanted to get to know him better at the picnic. The most relief came from the knowledge that it wasn’t

Quinn Lobato across the hal . And even though I slept wel that night, I stil dreamt of dark chocolate eyes behind a pair of heavy glasses.

The next two days went by much like Wednesday had. Stupid customers in the morning, fol owed by an afternoon of reading. Jason and Colby

came over for a little while Friday evening. It was great to see the kid again. He was always so happy, but Friday he practical y rivaled Kai in energy

with the excitement of being away from home for the first time. They invited me over to Jason’s place Saturday night. I told them I wasn’t sure what

the plans for then were. I would have enjoyed their visit a lot more if I hadn’t been worrying about the fact that I stil had not heard from Beau.

I was real y starting to doubt that he was going to cal back. I wouldn’t be taking a date to the picnic after al . I wasn’t even going to get to meet the

hot new neighbor. Kai said she had Sloane ask, but he wasn’t able to go. I had yet to meet him. I asked Sloane and Reed about him. Reed just

leered at me and Sloane just shrugged and said Quinn was busy. Kai insisted that those two were up to something. When she went home

Wednesday night, they were talking on the couch. But when she walked in, they had quickly unpaused the game and acted like they were playing.

Of course both she and Kerri were hoping whatever they were up to involved engagement rings, even if neither of them would admit it.

I had a weird encounter with Sloane on Thursday. He came up with Kai when she brought over the new clothes she bought for me. When Kai left

to get the shoes she forgot, he asked me if I was real y doing okay. I have always felt that Sloane, above al the others, knew just how heartbroken I

had been before. I’d had some very insightful conversations with him over the years. Those were general y conversations I initiated. He always just

seemed to get me better than anyone else, even Jason. Jase made me happy and I’d had good times with him, but I could never real y talk to him

like I could to Sloane. Sloane let me talk if I needed to without asking questions like Kai tended to do. He was more sympathetic and understanding

than Kerri, who told me to suck it up and move on. And he was way more mature than Reed. I don’t think I’ve ever had a serious conversation with

Reed. In fact I don’t think Reed knew what serious was.

It just took me off guard when Sloane asked. I didn’t think I had let on to anything he would have cause to worry about. I reassured him that I was

fine and was over the past. I even let him know that I was more than hopeful that things would work out with Beau. Of course that was before three

days had passed and he stil hadn’t contacted me.

I didn’t know if I should be pissed or relieved when he final y did cal me around 1:30 AM Saturday morning. He told me he had been out on a job

and couldn’t cal me until then. He was back in Minneapolis and wanted to see me again over the weekend.

I invited him to the picnic. He hesitated but final y agreed to go. I smiled and did a little victory dance even though I was in bed.

We talked some more about our week. If I hadn’t been so tired I could have listened to his voice al night. I don’t know if he was trying not to wake

others at his place or if it was just the fact that it was night, but he kept his voice low for the whole cal . The low, rough baritone of his voice left me

wet and needy when he told me that he was looking forward to picking up where we left off last time. He ended the cal not long after that, promising

to meet me at my house around one the next afternoon. I rol ed back over after he hung up and smiled into the dark. Tomorrow was going to be a