2. Elliot #2
Elliot hesitated. Surely, any friend would help her with her report, right? Dominic would want his friends to watch out for his little sister. “I could have a look, if you wanted. I’ve taken quite a few statistics classes.”
“Really?” Lucy’s eyes brightened. “That would be so great. Thank you. But not tonight. I’m exhausted, and I need to sleep.”
“Fair enough. How about tomorrow?”
“Great.” Lucy beamed at him. “Thank you so much.”
“Hey, I haven’t helped you yet. Save your thanks until you see if I’m any good.” Elliot paused. “If you were in the library late, does that mean you haven’t eaten?”
Lucy shook her head. “No, but I might not.” She yawned. “I’m just so tired.”
“Don’t make the mistake of studying instead of eating.” With a hand on her elbow, Elliot guided her down a different path towards the dining hall. “Come on. You can get a quick bite to eat, and then I’ll walk you home.”
“Isn’t the dining hall closed?” Lucy asked.
“Most of it is, but the made-to-order counter is still open. You can get a sandwich or salad or something.”
They stepped through the double doors into the brightly lit dining hall.
Most of the large round tables were empty, but a few small groups were enjoying late dinners or studying with cups of tea or coffee.
Elliot led Lucy to the made-to-order counter, where she asked for a grilled cheese with a slice of tomato and French fries.
“We’re out of bread, unfortunately,” the attendant said. “But I can make your sandwich on a bagel.”
“That would be great. Thanks.” Before Lucy could scan her meal card, Elliot quickly held out his own.
“I have lots of extra points,” he told her. Plus, if Lucy was anything like Dominic, she probably hated refilling her meal card and would rather not eat than spend the money.
“Thanks.” Lucy smiled up at him. “That’s really kind of you.”
“Come on, let’s sit.” They found an empty table near one of the floor-to-ceiling windows, and Elliot sat.
Lucy put her backpack on one of the empty chairs and leaned back, stretching.
Her sweatshirt lifted slightly to reveal the curve of her waist before she tugged it down with a small smile and sat across from Elliot.
“How are your first few weeks going?” she asked. “I know it’s your senior year, so you must be busy.”
“I am, but it isn’t too terrible.” Elliot absentmindedly traced a water ring on the table’s smooth surface. “And seniors get plenty of perks around here. I have my own special cubicle in the library, you know.”
“Fancy.” Lucy grinned. “Although the library is still pretty empty, so I’m not sure how much you need it.”
“Just wait for finals.” Elliot shook his head. “It’ll be impossible to find a seat anywhere, you’ll see.”
“Fun.” Lucy wrinkled her nose. “Anyway. I know a few things about you from Dominic, but tell me more.”
Just then, the attendant called her to pick up her sandwich. Lucy got up and hurried over, returning a few minutes later with a hard plastic basket containing her sandwich and fries. Elliot immediately stole one of her fries, and Lucy playfully whacked the back of his hand.
“You should have gotten your own if you wanted some.”
“I don’t want my own. I want yours.” Elliot reached for another fry, and Lucy gave him another light whack.
“You’d better not touch my bagel.” She picked it up with both hands. “Now, tell me more about you.”
“First, I’d like to know what Dominic has already told you.” Elliot went for another fry just as Lucy took a large bite out of her sandwich, and he managed to pop it in his mouth before Lucy could stop him.
“Well, Dominic didn’t mention that you were a no-good French fry thief,” Lucy said, pointedly nodding at her quickly diminishing pile of fries.
“Guilty as charged. Continue.”
“Let’s see. He told me that you grew up on the West Coast somewhere — San Diego, I think. You’re a business major, like him, and you play basketball, which you’ve also told me.” She hesitated, then shook her head. “That’s about it.”
“Well, all that is correct. What else do you want to know?”
“Well, you’ve seen me with Dominic. Do you have siblings?”
“Nope, I’m an only child. Dominic likes to joke that he’s adopted me as a sibling, too, so that I can experience the joys of having a brother.”
“Oof. I wouldn’t call it a joy.” But Lucy was smiling, as she always did when she spoke about Dominic.
“I have to know.” Elliot leaned forward. “What’s it actually like, having him as a brother?”
“It’s mostly great. I mean, he’s wonderful, very supportive, and so much fun. He can be a teensy little bit overprotective, though.” Lucy held two fingers an inch apart to demonstrate.
“I can imagine. In what way is he overprotective?”
“Oh, you know.” Lucy blushed. “Just brother stuff. Like telling me not to stay out too late or reminding me to do my homework.”
“Sure.” But Elliot suspected there was something else Lucy wasn’t telling him. “He does the same stuff with us.”
“Still, you have no idea. As his little sister, I get all his worrying.”
She finished her sandwich a few minutes later, and they both stood.
She put her basket back on the counter, then followed Elliot out into the chilly September night.
Shivering slightly, she wrapped her arms around her stomach, and Elliot fought the urge to shrug off his light jacket and drape it around her shoulders.
That would be way too first-date , and this wasn’t a date.
This was just a guy helping his best friend’s sister get safely back to her dorm and eat enough calories to survive.
“This is me,” Lucy said, stopping in front of one of the older buildings, which was built with brick, unlike the newer wooden ones. She hooked a thumb at the doorway. “Genty Hall.”
“Genty, Genty, since eighteen twenty,” Elliot said.
Lucy wrinkled her nose, grinning. “What?”
“Haven’t you heard that? It’s the unofficial theme song of your hall. Since it’s so old, it looks like it was built in eighteen twenty.”
“I thought all the dorms were this old. Are the stairs not supposed to creak like a haunted mansion whenever you climb them?”
“Shockingly, no.”
Lucy chuckled. “Have you ever lived here?”
“Yes, sophomore year. It was either this or Hollis Hall, which is like a twenty-minute walk from most classes. I was roommates with Dominic then. We were half convinced there was a ghost living in the wardrobe on his side.”
Lucy’s eyes widened. Half-joking and half-serious, she said, “I hope not.”
“Don’t worry.” Elliot smiled at her. “I’ll keep you safe.
” The moment stretched as Lucy looked up at him, her blue eyes wide, one of her pink lips tucked between her teeth.
A few images he should definitely not have of his best friend’s sister flashed through Elliot’s mind before he quickly added, “Dominic would have my hide if I let a ghost kill his sister.”
“Right!” Lucy laughed and took a step back. “Of course. Thanks for walking me home. Good night, Elliot. See you tomorrow night. How’s seven?”
“Perfect.”
With that, she disappeared into her dorm.
Elliot walked back to his own building, his steps slow, memories of his evening with Lucy replaying in his mind.
It had been easy enough to ignore how he felt when she was just one person in a group, but when they were alone, it was harder.
Tomorrow’s study session would be a challenge.