“We’re going to a concert,” she said.
“What?”
Celeste grinned at him. “‘Going’ isn’t quite the right word. But it will be an epic concert.”
“Epic?” He laughed to hear the very word Kristina used so often.
She motioned him over to the sofa. As she sat, she pulled her laptop over. “I made a YouTube playlist of live performances from Destiny’s Child and The Red Hot Chili Peppers. We can stream it to the TV.”
“Okay. That is pretty epic. Especially since I get to check another thing off my list too.”
She smiled. “See how nice I am?”
He nudged the poster board on the coffee table. “What is this for?”
“Fan posters, of course.”
Awesome.“So, I’ll Chili Pepper mine, and you’ll Destiny’s Child yours?”
“Exactly.”
The smell of markers soon filled the air. They razzed each other about their posters, inquired after each other’s kids, and talked about their work, and all with complete ease. How could she not see how perfect they were together?
Just as they were putting the finishing touches on their signs, Celeste’s phone rang. She glanced at the screen. “It’s Kristina.” She tapped the screen, then held the phone to her ear. “Hi, hon.” Her expression grew instantly more concerned. “He is, actually.” Another pause as she listened. “I’ll put you on speaker.”
She set the phone on the coffee table. “She sounds stressed.”
Kristina was pretty level-headed. What had happened?
Celeste tapped the screen. “Okay, Kristina. Go ahead.”
“Yeah. Go ahead,” Mike added.
“So I ran into that creepy guy from Econ today.” Kristina’s tone was not one of casual conversation. Mike was immediately on alert. “Like ten times. He just kept showing up. He wasn’tpushy or weird, really, and he only talked to me a couple of times but… I don’t know.”
“Your gut says something is off,” Mike guessed.
“Exactly.”
Celeste clasped her hands and pressed her lips together. Her brow pulled downward.
“Do you feel threatened?” Mike asked.
“No.”
He was relieved that she didn’t hesitate with that answer. And, yet, she was concerned enough to have called to talk to them about it. “You don’t usually see him around campus that often, I’d guess,” he pressed.
“Until today I only ever saw him in class and that one time at the student union.” Kristina sounded calm but a little unnerved. “I don’t know for sure that he was following me or anything. It just weirded me out, I guess.”
“Have you told anyone?” Celeste asked. “Besides us? Someonethere?”
“I don’t even know who I would talk to,” Kristina said. “There’s no law against giving off a creepy vibe.”
“Well, no,” Celeste said, “but it’s still a good idea to make sure someone knows about your concerns.”
“Like who? My roommates know. Should I tell anyone else? Someone more official, I guess? And what would I tell them?”
Mike had two sons. Taking on the role of surrogate father to Celeste’s daughter had shown him just how different the world was for young women than for young men. He worried about her for entirely different reasons than he had with his boys.
