Tempting Fate (3 page)

He was leaned back against the tree, reading a book. As much as she knew she needed to get back to her history book, she couldn’t stop watching him flip from page to page reading. From time to time he made a note in the book. He was left handed, and even from the fourth floor and half way across the courtyard, she could see his hands perfectly. Something about them gave her butterflies in her stomach. When he looked up and around at her building’s windows her heart dropped and she stepped back quickly. Did he feel like he was being watched? What if he saw her there? Would he think she was watching him?

When he stretched and changed his position, Abby wondered if he was going to leave. Unmoving she watched as he removed the hoodie from his head. His bright blond hair was revealed, and her breath caught in her throat. He rested his elbow on his crossed legs and his chin in his right hand.

It seemed like forever that Abby stayed in the window and watched him. Even afraid he would see her, she was not able to look away. Abby watched everything about him. It was like she could not pull herself away even if she tried. She wondered about the book he was reading, it didn’t look like a textbook but it was thick. What was it he was so into that at times he would not move at all but to turn the page?

When he shut the book and set it beside him, Abby frowned. He started to stretch and she found herself not wanting him to leave. It was like he heard her silent wish and pulled his hoodie back on and moved over to lay on his back and stare up at the sky. Trying to see the details of his face, Abby looked at him even closer. Her eyes only left him to look up at the clouds herself. When he stood up Abby felt her stomach drop.

She didn’t even know him, why was he so intriguing to her? Why could she not pull herself from the window? She watched him until he walked out of sight between two buildings on the other side of the courtyard.

Abby glanced across the room toward her alarm clock as she went back to her desk. Two hours she had spent watching him there! Was she crazy? It was lunchtime now but she felt more tired than hungry. She took her history book over to her bed to read. The truth was she was really only thinking of him. Her mind replaying every movement he made. Abby soon drifted off to sleep with a small smile on her face and a couple butterflies still lingering in her stomach.

Three and a half hours later a ringing phone woke her up from her nap. On the third ring she gave a little grunt as she reached for it, “Hello.”

“Abby, how is your day going? Did you get your books yet? What have you been doing today?”

“Missa, one question at a time please. You know you make me crazy when you fire off questions faster than I can answer them. Not to mention I was sleeping.”

“I know I do, but you still love me. Something exciting is going to happen for you this semester! So no more napping, you might miss it. I could feel it this morning when I woke up.”

“I was taking a nap because Mel woke me up very early to go with her to get books. She had so many I helped her lug a couple back as well as my own. Trust me, I'm sure I didn't miss anything.” Her yawn was so deep she was surprised her aunt didn’t ask her to repeat herself.

“When I have a date you will be the first to know I promise.” Abby rolled her eyes as she said it. It should be an easy enough promise to keep; she wasn’t going to have one. “Rach is having a few people over tonight and when Mel gets home we are going to head over there for a couple hours. Nothing very exciting at all just talking to people about their break I’m sure.”

“Ok, well I have to get back to the band; we are practicing a new song that Jimmy wrote. I’ll call you tomorrow night before I go on stage. Please try to have some fun tonight will ya, Sugar?”

“When are you going to quit that band and get a day job?”

“Never! Are you crazy? I love this! I have a great life, besides what other job would let me dress in tight jeans every night?” Melissa was laughing. Even her laugh somehow had a thick southern twang to it. Abby had one herself but it had never been as thick as her aunt’s.

“Bye, Missa.”

“Bye, Sugar. I’ll call ya tomorrow.”

As Abby put the phone back on the side table, her stomach growled loudly. It was clearly time for some food, but what kind was the question. She got up slowly and went to the bathroom to splash some water on her face. She was still so tired she decided to take a hot shower to wake herself up. Later in the cafeteria she couldn’t find anything that looked good. After walking around three times, she grabbed a couple small things and found a seat near the window.

When Abby returned to her room, it was time to get ready for the party at Rachel’s. There was no need to dress up really, but she put on her jean skirt and a turquoise sweater that she had received as a Christmas present. The sweater was a little risky for her taste, but Rachel would like it. She went into the bathroom to mess with her hair. Her emerald eyes stared back at her in the mirror, as if they were saying, “Really? You’re going to wear that?”

As she ran the brush through her long blond hair, she found herself thinking of the man in the courtyard. Would he like this simple looking girl? Could she talk to him if he showed up at the party tonight? Chances were if Rachel saw him she would have jumped at the chance to talk to him and invite him. She was just like that; she would have introduced herself right away. Abby was just sitting back watching him like a crazed stalker.

Abby pulled her hair back into a long braid, for lack of anything better to do with it. As she went back into her room to look for some shoes, she heard Melanie’s door open. “Hey, Mel. How was your day?”

“Great, I’ll be ready in five.”

Abby pulled her black cowboy boots out of her closet and was pulling them up as Mel came into the bathroom. “Wow that may be the shortest skirt I have ever seen Mel. Wearing it for Jamal?”

Mel shrugged and placed a smile on her face. “Maybe. If that were the case, what would be wrong with that? My legs are my best feature you know.” Melanie stretched out her legs making her toned calves more muscular than they already were.

“Mel you are going to drive that boy nuts, and yes we all know they are your best feature. I could never wear a skirt that short.”

“Sure you can, it’s all about the attitude you wear with it.” Melanie started swishing her hips from side to side. “You have to know you look good. By the way, you do. Nice boots!”

“Thanks, gift from my Mom. I like my old worn in pair better but I thought these would look good with the skirt.” Abby’s skirt looked even less dressy next to Melanie’s mini. The length coved her legs with a slit on the sides that went up past her knees. For her this was a lot of skin to show off when it wasn’t even summer yet. Shorts in the summer were one thing but even her smallest pair would cover more than what was covered on Melanie for the night.

“They do, here put on a little lip gloss.” She tossed the small tube at Abby and almost hit her in the head. “If you’re going to do it, do it right!”

“Fine, but just the gloss.”

Once they were in the car, it only took five minutes to get to Rachel’s off campus apartment. As they walked up the stairs, Abby wondered if she had made a mistake wearing the skirt. The door was wide open and they walked right in. It wasn’t even nine yet and the place was already jammed with well over 30 people.

Melanie looked at Abby and laughed at the sight of all the people. “Guess word got out about the party.”

Abby rolled her eyes and headed toward the kitchen to look for Rachel with Melanie right behind her. The counters were covered with food and drinks like always. Rachel was sitting by the sink flirting with a guy. It only took a second for Abby to catch her eye and she jumped down and crossed the room quickly to greet them.

“Abby, Mel! Great party huh? I think I need a bigger apartment though.”

“Yeah, great party, but please don’t let us keep you from your friend over there.”

“I’m so glad you could make it Melanie. The two of you are looking hot tonight. Are we on the hunt for a man? I knew I would rub off on you two at some point.” Rachel glanced over her shoulder to the guy that was still watching her. “As for the boy he will follow or find a new girl, no worries. I have plenty more options in my place tonight." The smile on her face was devious.

Together the three of them walked to the living room laughing and sat down on the couch. They talked until Jamal showed up and joined them. After fifteen minutes, Rachel winked at Abby and grabbed her arm pulling her into the kitchen, leaving Melanie alone with Jamal on the couch. “I think they need some alone time, don’t you?”

“Yes, good idea. I have a feeling though that you had that all planned out.”

“Who me? Of course I did.” Rachel and Abby started laughing again as they got a can of soda from the fridge. Abby relaxed and enjoyed the rest of the night with friends. Only a few times did she catch herself looking around for her mystery man.

It was much later than Abby and Melanie had planned on when they got back to the dorm. Neither of them were surprised to find Paul at the desk when they walked in. A “Hi Paul, night Paul” was all either of them could say between yawns and giggles.

“Night girls.”

When they got in the elevator, Melanie told Abby she had to get up in six hours for class. Abby yawned talking back to her, making it almost inaudible, which made Melanie laugh.

“Sorry, what I was trying to say was thanks for coming with me Mel; I hope you had some fun tonight.”

“I did thanks. It might be a while before I can just hang out like that again. Night Abby, sleep well.”

"You too, and please lock your door." Abby was fast asleep in her bed as soon as she crawled into it and pulled up the covers.

Chapter 3

When the alarm went off the next morning, Abby rolled out of bed slowly. The first day of classes was always long, but at least her day was broken up into two segments three days a week. Last semester they were spread throughout the day all throughout the week. She felt like she never got any actual studying done. American History was going to be her last class of the day, but she was already worrying about it. Getting ready Abby decided she really needed to stop fretting over the history class for now and go at it head-on later.

The shower was hot, just how she liked it. It was one thing she loved about living in the dorms - the never-ending amounts of hot water. She always seemed to get stuck with a cold shower back home. If she was lucky enough to get in before anyone else, she was always being told to hurry. This morning she stayed in too long and had to rush to finish getting ready. She grabbed the first pair of jeans her hands touched and quickly pulled on an old high school hoodie before sliding on her backless tennis shoes.

She was happy her first two classes were going to be exciting: Intro to Architecture and History of Architectural Design 1. At least
that
history class wouldn’t be boring. Well she hoped so anyway, it was history after all. She knew most of her eras and what styles were common when already. It was exact dates that always messed her up. If it were not for her calendar, she wouldn’t remember the date of anything including the birthdays of her family and friends.

Abby packed her books into her bag and headed out the door for her first two classes of the day. It was a nice morning; the sun was out even though it was very cold. She had put her wet hair in a bun and was now hoping it wouldn’t freeze. Luckily it was a short walk across the small campus to her class. As she passed the mystery man’s building, she slowed down wishing she would run into him. Maybe she should be more like Rachel, just walk right up to him and introduce herself. She could even start flirting with him. Just the thought of flirting was enough to make her blush. She had no clue how to flirt.

Her first two classes flew by and were everything that she had hoped they would be. Really all they did in both classes was go over the semester and what they would be studying. Abby was so anxious that she finished reading her syllabus before the teacher was halfway through reading it to the class. Each week was going to get better and better as far as she was concerned. There would be more work, harder work, but she was going to love it. She already had a paper due in two weeks for History of Architecture. Her professors were just what she would have expected, men in their late fifties that talked in a way that said they knew what they would teach inside and out already. You could hear the love of the subject in their voices but not a love for teaching it over and over for so many years.

She grabbed some lunch on her way back to her room so she could start getting organized between classes. On her way up she made a quick stop at the front desk to ask if there was any mail, not that she got that much. Paul was there again, as always. “Paul, are you taking any classes at all this semester?”

“Yeah but only three and they’re very early. They were the only ones that were available for my major. I don’t mind so much really and I should be able to take my last two this summer. That’s if they are not canceled for lack of interest. If they are, I will have to wait to take them in the fall and hope they don’t fill up fast.”

“Well good luck. Your last two classes that must be exciting to you! Then it’s out into the big world you go.”

“It’s no big deal, it really means back home with the rents to look for a job if I can’t get one before I graduate.”

“You’ll find one; I know it. Look you’re too smart and any company would be very lucky to have you. Hey, maybe this summer you should look for an internship at a local accounting firm.”

“Thanks Abby, you’re the sweetest person around here.” Paul placed his hands around hers and gave them a little squeeze. “I hadn’t thought about that, but you did push me to try and be a Resident Adviser and that worked out.” He was not letting her hands go and Abby pulled them out of his grip slowly. She pretended to look for her keys, hoping she didn’t offend him as he went on. “Maybe you’re a good luck charm for me”