“God, I hope not. That’s freakin’ weird,” he said, and she giggled. “Wanna hang out today?”
She thought for a moment, then placed the cap on her head. “Sure. I’m Cadence.”
“I’m Michael.” He lightly smacked the bill of the baseball cap, and she swatted his arm. He patted her head, and she rolled her eyes.
“You’re not gonna do that,” she demanded.
“I can’t help it. You’re so little. Lemme pat your head one more time.”
“Don’t be condescending!” she cried, jumping back to avoid his hand.
“Sorry, Cay.”
“Cay? My name is Cadence.”
Michael smirked. “Yeah . . . no. You’re Cay.”
“Only people close to me can call me Cay.”
He studied her face. “All right then, Cay.”
Cadence tensed. He flashed her a toothy smile, and she relaxed. She wanted to tell him she had a boyfriend, then thought that might be too presumptuous.
“You have a boyfriend?” Michael asked.
“Whoa.”
“Calm down. I don’t even know if I’m interested in you yet,” Michael replied. He watched her shuffle uneasily from foot to foot. “So?”
“Yes, I do,” she answered.
“That’s it. I want my hat back,” Michael said, reaching for his cap.
Cadence said nothing as he ripped it off her head. He paused and smiled at her again.
“I’m kidding!” He shoved it back on her head. “God, you’re too easy.”
“What do you mean?”
Michael shook his head—a patronizing gesture that irked her.
“Don’t—”
“Oh, just take it easy,” Michael interrupted in an equally patronizing tone. “See that chick over there?” He pointed to a brunette in a group of four girls.
Cadence nodded.
“She lives on my hall. And she’s gorgeous. And I’m totally into her.”
“Makes sense,” Cadence replied. “The gorgeous ones usually win out.” She adjusted the hat.
Michael looked at her thoughtfully. “Yeah. Which is why you’re already taken.”
Cadence blushed with flattery. And then she thought it was the most inappropriate conversation she could be having with someone of the opposite sex. She couldn’t hang out with Michael today. Or ever.
“Uh . . . maybe you oughta go over there and talk to her,” Cadence suggested. “I mean, maybe you oughta hang out with her today.”
Michael eyed her suspiciously. “You’re trying to get rid of me, aren’t you?”
“No! Not at all. It’s just—” She decided to tell the truth. “—the flirting.”
Michael burst out laughing. “I flirt with everyone.”
“Oh.”
He bent down, hands on his knees, and looked her in the face.
“I won’t flirt with you anymore if it makes you uncomfortable. I know you have a boyfriend. I respect that. But I still think you’re cute, and I’d like us to be friends.”
The side of Cadence’s mouth turned up.
“So you wanna be friends because you think I’m cute?”
“Hold up. That’s called a logical fallacy, my dear. You being cute is not the reason I wanna be friends. You were making a false deduction based on two seemingly related things I said that aren’t relatable at all, actually.”
“Oh, and he’s a nerd, too,” Cadence replied, smiling.
Michael laughed. “You got that right. And you’ll be nerding it up with me big time during study sessions.”
“We’re having study sessions together? When did we plan that?”
Michael sighed patiently. “That’s what you do when you’re friends with someone. You study with them.”
“Ohhh, I see.” Cadence giggled, then walked with Michael to a large group of students who were congregated around an orientation leader. College had officially begun, she thought, and she didn’t know what to make of her first day.
“I’ll steal a kiss from you eventually,” Michael whispered in her ear.
She tensed, then shot him a warning glance.
“Don’t do that. Don’t ruin it.” She was dead serious, and he sensed it, so he stopped flirting. If he really didn’t care about knowing her at all, he would have continued teasing her. But he did want to know her. And he couldn’t explain it. So he decided to keep up the false pretense of liking the brunette. He’d never seen her before in his life. But he’d have Cadence believe it if it meant he could be her friend.
***
“I made a friend today,” Cadence said. She plopped her bag on the dining room table and walked over to Mark. He turned his face to her and let her peck his cheek. “It’s a guy. Is that wrong?”
Mark thought for a moment. “Are you asking me as your boyfriend or as one really chill hipster?”
“Both.”
“All right then. I don’t trust guys. Because I am one.”
Cadence rolled her eyes. “He likes this other girl. He pointed her out at orientation today.”
“Doesn’t know her.”
“Huh?”
“He never saw that chick before in his life,” Mark explained.
Cadence shook her head. “You’re crazy. AND jealous.”
“Am I? I don’t think I’m giving off a jealous vibe at all. I’m just telling you what I know.”
“Fine. Continue.”
Mark looked up from his paperwork.
“Did he approach you?”
“Yes.”
“Did he flirt with you?”
“Well, sort of.”