AllFreeNovel
Share Us
After staring at the glow-in-the-dark stars on my bedroom ceiling for the rest of the night, I got up to the sound of my alarm and dragged my tired, bitter ass out the door.
Georgia State University prides itself on being urban as fuck. The campus is in the heart of downtown Atlanta, straddling Peachtree Street, and within walking distance of Centennial Olympic Park, Philips Arena, the CNN Center, and some of the most crime-ridden neighborhoods in the country. One of my classrooms was in a converted parking garage. Literally. Instead of stairs, you had to walk up a concrete ramp from floor to floor. You could hardly have a conversation outside due to the traffic noise, construction noise, and emergency vehicle sirens screaming by all day—not that you’d want to loiter anyway. Stand in one spot too long, and you’d get attacked by a swarm of very aggressive panhandlers.
And don’t even get me started on the subway.
I had just walked into Langdale Hall and tucked my pepper spray back into my purse when my phone rang. Right on cue, my palms began to sweat, but when I pulled my phone out and didn’t recognize the number calling, my blood pressure spiked, too.
Oh my God. It could be Ken!
Shut up. It’s not Ken. It hasn’t even been twenty-four hours since you asked Jason to give him your number. Guys usually wait, like, two days to call a girl.
But it can’t be Knight. It’s—I glanced above the unknown number at the time on the screen—eleven eleven in the morning. He’s never called me before noon.
So…telemarketer?
Totally. It’s totally a telemarketer.
I took a deep breath and pressed the Talk button. After saying, “Hello?” I winced and braced myself for a barrage of angry expletives or a rapid-fire spiel about timeshares.
Instead, I heard a dry, deadpan voice reply, “So, I hear I’m taking you to the circus.”
A burst of nervous laughter flew out of me as my face pulled up into a grin that had every sad, serious GSU co-ed staring at me like I’d lost my mind.
I held the phone to my ear and began walking to my next class. “That’s right,” I said. “I set up an interview for you. They need a new pillow juggler.”
“Do they offer a 401(k)? What’s their policy on matching?”
I snickered. “I guarantee you, they do not offer a 401(k).”
“Damn. I guess I’ll just have to go as a spectator then. Want to come with me?”
My face hurts. Why does my face hurt? Is this what smiling feels like? It’s been so long.
“Sure,” I squeaked.
“I’ll pick up some tickets this afternoon. The show isn’t until March. Do you know what your schedule looks like that far out?”
“Yeah. I either have school or work every day, except Sunday.”
“Sundays. I can work with that.”
I can work with that.
Pajama Guy was smooth; I’d give him that.
I leaned against the cinder-block wall outside my classroom to finish our conversation.
“Hey, thanks for going with me,” I said in a more serious tone. “I’ll pay you back for my ticket the next time I see you.”
“Are you going to Jason’s house on Friday?”
I smiled at the immediacy of his question. “Yeah. What about you?”
“I’ll probably be there.”
“Okay.” I beamed.
“Okay.”
