“Um, lemme get this straight: Hanging out with my mother and her friends was fantastic? I’m just not sure I heard you right.”
“You heard me right. Fantastic.”
Mark shook his head and chuckled. “All right then.”
“They’re funny,” Cadence explained. “Plus, they’re sweet.”
“I notice you gravitate towards older people,” Mark said.
“Do I?”
“Well, you made friends with Fanny,” he replied. “Avery is no typical nineteen-year-old. I mean sure, she’s still incredibly immature in some ways, but for the most part, she acts older than her years.”
Cadence nodded, listening.
“You wanted to meet my mother’s friends. Regardless of how scared you were, you still wanted to hang out with them.”
Cadence screwed up her face. “You’re right. Why do I like hanging with older people?”
Mark was quiet for a moment. And then he lightly smacked her thigh once realization dawned. “I know.”
“Share.”
“You’re curious. You constantly want to learn things. I think you’re hoping that if you spend your time with older people, they’ll teach you stuff. You’re like a sponge,” he said.
“Hmm, I never thought of it like that,” Cadence said.
“I like you that way,” Mark went on. “If you weren’t curious about things or didn’t care to learn, I don’t think I could be with you.”
“I don’t think I’d like myself very much,” Cadence added. “But you’re wrong about one thing.”
“And what’s that?”
“I’m not a sponge with everything,” she said. “Remember calculus? I think I stared off into space more than I paid attention in class.”
Mark chuckled. “Well, that’s because you knew I’d go out of my way to help you. Get you caught up.”
“Not at first I didn’t,” Cadence pointed out. She took his hand.
“Well, maybe not at first. But Cadence, come on. When I think back to it, my feelings for you were blatantly obvious.”
“No, they weren’t,” she argued.
“Really?”
“Yes. Really.”
“Hmm. Well, how are they now?” he asked.
“Blatantly obvious.”
He smiled.
“I gravitated to you as well,” Cadence said. “You didn’t include yourself in that list.”
“You’re right. I forgot all about me.”
“I think I’ve learned a lot from you,” she went on. “I know I’m much younger than you, but I hope that maybe you’ve learned some things from me.”
“You have no idea the things I learn from you. It’s constant. Every day. How to love better. Being more open-minded about certain things.”
“Certain things like what?”
“Your taste in books, for one.”
“Go on.”
“Well, I prefer darker literature. I like dystopian reads. But I pulled one of yours the other day and have been reading it between my classes.”
Cadence grinned. “Which one?”
“The Magic of Ordinary Days,” he replied.
She smacked his arm. “Get out! That’s, like, a total chick book!”
“I know. But I saw you reading it a few weeks ago and thought I’d give it a try. Only fair. I make you listen to my music.”
“What do you think about the book?”
“I think—” He paused, deciding how best to say it. “—it’s very fitting for what’s going on in your life right now. Did you read it on purpose?”
She nodded.
“That’s what I love so much about you,” Mark said. “Everything you do is thoughtful. Because I think you’re just one of those people who constantly yearns for understanding, and you’ll keep seeking it until you find it. You do that with your books. You do that with the people you surround yourself with. You’re a lifelong learner, I’d say.”
“There’s a lot to discover.”
He laughed. “Isn’t that the truth.”
“Are you still reading the book?” she asked.
“I’m almost finished. And it’s really good.”
“Thanks for doing that,” Cadence said.
“Oh, I plan to try out your flat iron next.”
She burst into a fit of giggles.
“No?” he asked.
She shook her head. “I wouldn’t advise it.”
He put his arm around her.
“I wanna try out my new birth control,” Cadence said suddenly.
“Oh yeah?”
“I went to the university clinic at the beginning of this week. I decided to go on birth control,” she said, playing with his fingers.
“Any particular reason why?” He suppressed the urge to yank his hand away. She was tickling him.
“I’m tired of condoms. They’re, like, for people who have promiscuous sex.”
He laughed. “That, or people who wanna play it safe.”
“I think they’re gross.”
He refrained from reminding her about the semen that ran from her body in the secrecy of his classroom closet. When they didn’t use a condom.
“Should I have discussed this with you first?” Cadence asked.
“No. It’s your body,” Mark said.
“Well, you use it.”