Page 16 of His Reckless Freshman

From Ben Evers!

Hiya. I can meet for a quick interview tomorrow afternoon. My last class ends at 4 and I can give you about thirty minutes. There’s a coffee shop—Marty’s—I can meet you there. Let me know if that works for you.

I immediately respond with a Yes!

I have no idea where Marty’s is, but I’ll find it.

Four o’clock tomorrow. Yes, yes, yes!

Skipping down the stairs, I practically run to the Nolan U Star office. It’s in this old, square-shaped building on the east side of campus. It must have been built in the ’70s, because it looks like it could be on the set of Kojak. That’s a really old show that my grandfather loves and still watches. My dad bought him the DVD box set about ten years ago, and last time I visited, he was carefully putting one of the discs into the machine. We sat there and watched two full episodes before he even started talking to me. He’s a bit of a quirky guy, but I love him.

Opening the door, I’m too filled with energy to take the elevator, so I bound up the stairs to the second floor, beyond excited to share my news with Kieran. It’s like providence that I bumped into him last night, and I’m sure he’ll want to know how much his encouragement means to me. I didn’t give up! And now I have an interview. Yes!

The Nolan U Star door is already propped open, which is great, because I haven’t been given a key card to swipe in and out yet. I’m sure that moment will come once I’ve had my first article published. Please let it be this one!

Walking into the large office space with a bounce in my step, I quickly scan to see who’s here. Heather is working busily at her laptop, and Carina is hunched in her chair, perfecting some graphic she’s designing. She’s Vicky’s right-hand girl in the graphics department, and she’s such a good artist. Angelica’s head pops up when I walk in and she gives me a friendly smile, waving from her spot by the window.

“You look happy.”

“I am.” I do a little spin and giggle my way to Kieran’s office door.

I can feel Angelica’s eyes on me and glance back in time to see her smile slip. I know she has a bit of a problem with the guy, but I can’t let that stop me from knocking on the editor’s door.

“One second.”

I thread my fingers together, trying not to bounce on my toes too much. I’m just so excited. This buzzing energy is electric and fun and⁠—

“Come in.”

Turning the handle, I peek my head into his office. “Hi, Kieran.”

“Oh, hey, Jolie. How are ya?” His spiral curls jiggle as he fluffs his fingers through the top of them.

I still can’t believe he remembers my name. My smile grows even wider. “Can I come in?”

“Of course. Yes, please.” He waves his hand to welcome me into his office, and that buzzing energy turns into a swarm of butterflies. “You look happy.”

I giggle, because that’s just what Angelica said, then have to quickly explain myself so he doesn’t think I’m too weird. “I am. I got an interview for that article I’m writing. One of the basketball guys has agreed to meet with me tomorrow afternoon. And I just wanted to come by and thank you for telling me not to give up. I really appreciated your kindness last night.”

His eyes take on a sweet, soft quality that has my insides melting.

This man is not superhot like Ben Evers. He’s on the shorter side. In fact, I think he’s only just taller than me. He doesn’t appear to be super muscly or athletic, and he wouldn’t be considered any kind of supermodel. But he’s nice. And kind. And he’s smiling at me right now like he’s proud of me. And all of those things make him good-looking.

“You’re very welcome. Well done for not giving up. I’m looking forward to hearing all about your interview.”

“Yeah, thanks. I’m going to head back to my dorm now and start working on prep. I want to go into it fully organized, because it might be the only one I get, and I want to make the most of every second. He’s only giving me half an hour of his time, and I don’t want to waste it.”

“That’s good thinking.” Kieran nods. “Do you need any help coming up with questions? I can ask Heather or Jax to give you a hand.”

Jax? No, thank you.

I swallow, then try to make my smile bright and confident. “Actually, I’m feeling pretty good about it. I already have a long list running around in my head, so it’s just a matter of deciding which ones are the best to ask.”

His smile grows. “I’m sure you’ll figure it out.”

“Thanks.” My head starts bobbing. “And sometimes questions you don’t even plan hit you in the middle of an interview, you know? Because they say something that triggers a thought, you know? And I’ve found that those can often be the best questions of them all.” I quickly bite my lips together, aware that I’m starting to do that “talk too much, too fast” thing that I do, like, all the time.

But Kieran doesn’t mention it. He just smiles and nods. “The words of a good reporter. I can see your potential, and I’m excited to read this article.”