“Hey,” he says.
His smile, and those cheekbones… fuck me. I continue to stare at him, not able to form words.
“I’m your roommate,” he says, holding out his hand, “Stephen Choi.”
“Oh… yeah… um… hey,” I say, reaching for his hand; it’s warm and strong, but also soft.
He watches me until I notice movement behind him, it’s an older couple who I’m assuming are his parents.
“Sorry, I’m completely blocking the doorway,” I say, stepping to the side. “Um… I’m Donovan… Donavan Gálvez.”
He chuckles as he walks in, the older couple following. “It’s no worries, I didn’t want to just barge in on you!”
“Yeah,” I say, “I knocked yesterday when I arrived and waited, until someone told me you were away at training.”
“Oh right,” he says, “I’ll be away every other weekend. I’ve been drafted to play for the Warriors and started training with them yesterday.”
“You play hockey?” I ask, surprised after seeing the football stuff on his walls.
“No, I play football… the Tynerston Warriors?”
“Oh…” I say, “hockey is the Tigers?”
“Yeah,” he chuckles.
“It should be the other way around.”
“What?”
“Well, what do tigers have to do with hockey? They don’t even live on the ice, so why would you name a hockey team after them?”
Shit. I’m rambling, and about the most ridiculous thing, why am I even talking about this? I must sound so stupid…
Stephen laughs, his face lighting up, looking so incredibly beautiful. “True, I never thought about it like that.”
We make eye contact for a moment, his eyes so dark they’re nearly black, but they’re also full of warmth… and his lips… holy shit…
“Oh, these are my parents,” he says, gesturing to the couple, “Vanessa and Nathan.”
I look at his parents who are smiling at me, and I shake both their hands. His mom reminds me of my mom a bit, she’s tiny but has a very warm, larger-than-life presence. His dad on the other hand looks pretty scary, mainly because he’s tall, taller than Stephen, and built, reminding me of some of the motorcycle club members back home. He shakes my hand though and grins, “Welcome to Winbrook!”
“Thank you, Sir,” I say.
“Where do you usually study?” Vanessa asks.
“Tynerston, Ma’am, I live there actually.”
“Wonderful,” Vanessa says, “if you ever want to visit for the weekend you can come in the car with us when we take Stephen.”
Wow, they’ve just met me and they’re already offering to drive me all the way to Tynerston, their son could hate me, I could be anyone, it’s so trusting and generous of them, I’m surprised.
“Thank you, Ma’am, that’s kind,” I say, “but I’m using this as a chance to be independent for a bit, rather than going home too often.”
I’m so grateful to Beth for giving me that excuse to use when people ask why I don’t visit home.
“Sounds like a good plan,” Nathan says. “So, what are you studying while you’re here? And please, there’s no need for the Sir and Ma’am, Vanessa and Nathan is just fine.”
I glance over at Stephen who’s watching me, not seeming to mind that his parents are asking me these questions and taking an interest in me.
