Friday afternoon came with an invitation Damian hadn’t expected.
He was leaving his last lecture when his phone buzzed.
Emily:
We’re grabbing food after class.
A second message followed.
Emily:
You should come.
Damian smiled.
Damian:
Who is "we"?
Three dots appeared.
Then disappeared.
Then appeared again.
Emily:
Me and some people from the entrepreneurship club.
Damian considered it.
He had planned to go back to his apartment and finish an assignment.
But he hadn’t spent much time with Emily outside their usual routine lately.
Damian:
Fine.
Emily:
Wow. That was easy.
Damian:
Don’t get excited.
Emily:
Too late.
Damian put his phone away.
He had started noticing something lately.
He didn’t mind when Emily invited him places.
Actually, he was beginning to look forward to it.
That thought stayed with him as he walked across campus.
The restaurant near the student center was already busy when Damian arrived.
Emily spotted him first.
"You came."
"You invited me."
"I know. I’m still surprised."
Damian pulled out a chair.
There were four other students at the table, most of them people he’d seen around the entrepreneurship club.
Claire was there too.
She raised her drink.
"Look who decided to socialize."
"I’ve been socializing."
"Talking to Ethan doesn’t count."
Damian sat down.
"I disagree."
"Of course you do."
Everyone laughed.
The conversation moved between the upcoming entrepreneurship event, classes, and a professor who apparently had a talent for assigning work at the worst possible time.
Damian relaxed.
This was different from the meetings with Westbridge.
There was no business decision to make.
No numbers to analyze.
No reason to carefully consider every sentence.
He could just sit there.
Then someone pulled out a chair at the end of the table.
"Hope I’m not late."
Damian looked up.
Adrian.
Emily smiled.
"You made it."
"Barely."
Adrian sat down.
Damian said nothing.
Adrian greeted the others and joined the conversation naturally.
He wasn’t trying too hard.
That was probably what made him effective.
He knew how to talk to people.
He knew when to joke, when to listen, and when to let someone else speak.
Damian watched him for a moment.
He’s good at this.
It was easy to understand why people liked him.
Adrian turned toward Damian.
"You’re quiet today."
"Just listening."
"You do that a lot."
"Depends on the conversation."
Adrian smiled.
"Fair."
The discussion eventually shifted to the university entrepreneurship competition coming up later in the semester.
One of the students complained about the amount of preparation required.
Adrian laughed.
"That’s the point."
"Easy for you to say."
"Why?"
"You already have a business background."
Adrian leaned back.
"My family does."
The distinction seemed important to him.
Damian noticed.
Adrian continued.
"But that doesn’t mean I know everything."
Claire looked at him.
"Are you entering?"
"Probably."
"Probably?"
"I haven’t decided what I want to submit."
Someone across the table looked at Damian.
"What about you?"
Damian shrugged.
"I haven’t thought about it."
"You should."
"Why?"
"You’re good at this stuff."
Damian almost laughed.
"I’ve attended a few meetings."
"And you keep giving good ideas."
Claire nodded.
"He’s not wrong."
Damian looked at her.
"You’re both making this sound more impressive than it is."
Adrian smiled.
"Maybe."
There was something in the way he said it.
Not mocking.
Not friendly.
A challenge waiting for an answer.
After everyone finished eating, the group began discussing where to go next.
A few students wanted coffee.
Others had classes.
Emily checked the time.
"I’ve got about an hour."
Adrian looked at her.
"There’s a new café near the library. Want to check it out?"
Emily hesitated.
Before she could answer, Claire spoke.
"I’ve got to head back to the club office anyway."
The others began splitting up.
Damian stood.
"I should go too."
Emily looked at him.
"You’re leaving?"
"I’ve got work."
"What work?"
"Assignment."
"You always have an assignment."
"That’s because this university doesn’t believe in mercy."
She laughed.
Adrian glanced between them.
"I’m heading toward the library anyway."
Damian looked at him.
Adrian smiled.
"Don’t worry. I’m not following you."
Damian gave him a flat look.
"I wasn’t worried."
Adrian laughed.
"Good."
Emily shook her head.
"You two are weird."
Damian walked with Emily toward the library.
Adrian went in the opposite direction.
For several minutes, neither Damian nor Emily spoke.
Then Emily broke the silence.
"You and Adrian."
Damian glanced at her.
"What about us?"
"You don’t like each other."
"I barely know him."
"That’s not what I asked."
Damian thought about it.
"He’s competitive."
"So are you."
"Maybe."
Emily smiled.
"That’s why it’s funny."
"What’s funny?"
"You both act like you don’t care."
Damian looked ahead.
"I don’t."
Emily raised an eyebrow.
"Sure."
Damian laughed.
"Seriously."
He wasn’t lying.
At least, he didn’t think he was.
Adrian wasn’t someone Damian had any reason to dislike.
But there was something about him that made Damian pay attention.
Maybe because Adrian seemed to be doing the same thing.
Across campus, Adrian sat alone at the café he’d mentioned earlier.
He hadn’t actually been going there with anyone.
He’d chosen it because he knew several students from the entrepreneurship club liked the place.
He stared at his phone without really reading anything.
His friend Marcus sat across from him.
"You’re thinking too much."
Adrian looked up.
"About what?"
"You know what."
Adrian sighed.
"It’s nothing."
"It’s Emily?"
Adrian didn’t answer.
Marcus leaned back.
"You’ve liked her for months."
"I know."
"And now there’s a guy."
"It’s not like that."
Marcus gave him a look.
Adrian looked out the window.
He knew it was more complicated than simply wanting to ask Emily out.
Emily hadn’t given him a reason to think she disliked him.
But she hadn’t given him much more than that either.
And Damian...
Adrian frowned.
What exactly is his deal?
Damian didn’t act impressed by money.
He didn’t seem interested in social status.
He didn’t compete for attention.
And yet Emily was comfortable around him.
That bothered Adrian more than it should have.
Not because Damian had done anything wrong.
Because Adrian couldn’t figure him out.
Marcus interrupted his thoughts.
"So what are you going to do?"
Adrian looked at him.
"Nothing."
Marcus laughed.
"You expect me to believe that?"
"For now."
Adrian picked up his drink.
He wasn’t going to make a scene.
He wasn’t going to start some childish feud.
If he wanted Emily’s attention, he would have to earn it.
And if Damian happened to be in the way...
Adrian wasn’t going to pretend he hadn’t noticed.
That evening, Damian sat at his desk working through his assignment.
His phone buzzed.
Ethan:
Football tomorrow.
Damian:
I know.
Ethan:
You’re coming?
Damian:
Yes.
Ethan:
Good. I need someone to witness me scoring.
Damian:
You’ve never scored.
Ethan:
It’s gonna be a Historic moment.
Damian laughed.
Another notification appeared.
This time, it was from Emily.
Emily:
Today was fun.
Damian looked at the message.
He typed.
Damian:
Yeah. It was.
A moment later:
Emily:
We should do it again sometime.
Damian smiled.
Damian:
Definitely.
He put the phone down.
Then picked it up again.
He stared at Emily’s last message.
We should do it again sometime.
It wasn’t a big deal.
Friends did that.
Still...
Damian couldn’t stop himself from smiling.
He returned to his assignment.
Across town, Adrian stood by his bedroom window, looking at the lights outside.
His phone was still in his hand.
Emily hadn’t replied to his earlier message.
He wasn’t angry.
He wasn’t going to be.
But he had made a decision.
Next time, he wouldn’t leave the opportunity to chance.
He would ask her properly.
And this time, he wanted to know the answer.