“You eat instant ramen?” Walter studies me appraisingly, and I can’t tell if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. “I don’t know that I would have pegged you as quite so?—”
“Cheap?” I smile so he knows I’m not offended, but Walter shakes his head.
“Down to earth,” Walter supplies, and I cross my fingers that’s a good thing.
I can’t believe they all want to hear me ramble about Sarah’s yellow sweater and cheap instant noodles, but they seem interested in what I’m saying.
So I keep going.
“I had a pretty sweet dorm room, if I do say so myself.” I keep my tone jovial so they know this isn’t a brag session, just me being real, which maybe I don’t do often enough. “I had this big brown beanbag chair and red chili pepper lights around the window and my favorite poster of dogs playing poker.”
Trevor laughs across the table. “I had that same poster.”
“It’s great, right?” I say.
Sarah rolls her eyes. “He also had this hideous comforter that was supposed to resemble a slice of pepperoni pizza.”
“I forgot about that.” I laugh, remembering how Sarah used to pretend to chew on it when she was hungry. “I know you liked me best for my ramen.”
“This is true.” She sips her water, but the way she’s watching me makes me feel like I’m glowing from the inside out.
“Anyway,” I continue, “we were friends our whole freshman year, and we were both dating other people. But I split with my girlfriend our sophomore year, and I decided it was finally time to make a move with Sarah.”
Her gaze lifts from the water glass as surprise flashes in her eyes. “When was this?”
“April eighth,” I tell her, then wonder if remembering the actual date makes me a big dork. I should have just said spring. “You’d just broken up with that guy, Michael whatshisname.”
“Sullivan?”
“I think so.” I take a sip from my own water as I realize everyone’s eyes are on me. But part of me feels like I’m just talking to Sarah. Like we’re the only two people in this room. “I made this romantic ramen dinner,” I tell her. “I picked a bunch of daisies in the commons and had them sitting in water glasses all over the room.”
Water glasses I may or may not have borrowed from the dining hall, but there’s no need to include petty thievery in this story.
“I had this cheesy tuxedo T-shirt left over from a Halloween party, so I wore that and put on the soundtrack from that Drew Barrymore movie?—”
“Music and Lyrics?” She rests a hand over her heart. “I love that movie. That’s like my favorite romantic comedy of all time.”
“I know.” I swallow hard, not sure she’ll want to hear what comes next. Or if I should say it out loud. I glance at the others at the table, and they’re all watching me expectantly. Like I’m the most fascinating guy in the room.
But it’s Sarah’s expression that keeps me going. Like she can’t believe what she’s hearing, but she wants to hear more.
“I had this letter I’d written that I planned to read to you,” I tell her. “You were going to come over at seven to watch movies and eat ice cream and talk trash about Michael.”
Her forehead crinkles in a frown. “I don’t rem—wait, did we?—?”
“Nah, you and Mikey ended up getting back together earlier that night.” I smile to let her know I’m not heartbroken. Not now, anyway. “It was for the best, though. That wouldn’t have been the right time for us, would it?”
She stares at me for a moment, too dumbstruck to respond. “I—you’re right, I guess. We weren’t ready then.”
“Exactly. Neither of us had achieved our goals or become the person we needed to be.”
And I hadn’t hardened my heart yet. Not the way I needed to do to survive the sort of losses life tends to throw at people.
Sarah licks her lips and glances at the others. We have an audience, and she knows it. “I’m glad the time is finally right,” she says, resting a hand on mine. “That we found each other again.”
Applause breaks out at the other end of the table. I turn to see The Rock—er, Dana’s husband, Kellan—clapping with great enthusiasm. “Bravo,” he says. “Awesome story, man.”
“Hear, hear.” Trevor lifts his wineglass, and everyone else follows suit. Even Sarah, who’s looking a little shaky.
