Page 17 of Reversal of Fate

She’d never met a guy who didn’t talk endlessly about himself whenever given the chance. Carter seemed different, more reserved, more private.

“Oh, I do. But they’re nothing like yours. I just want to help my family. Sometimes that means you have to make sacrifices. Or whatever you thought would be a sacrifice. Sometimes doing something that’s good for your family, can also be good for yourself.”

This was a much more intimate confession than she’d expected from a guy like Carter. She guessed that his family didn’t have the money to send him to a prestigious university like UCLA. Not wanting to make him feel embarrassed, she didn’t probe any further. She’d been lucky in a way: her mother had left a small life insurance that made it possible for her to continue her studies without drowning in student loans.

“Everything in life should be like that, shouldn’t it? To want to do something that’s good for everybody,” Julie said. “I hope that once I’ve finished my studies, I can apply my skills for the greater good, you know, like inventing something that helps eradicate suffering or illness. So that it all means something.”

“You will, Julie. You will do something great with your life. No matter how. Even if it’s not how you envisioned it to be.”

She realized that they’d arrived at the house, and she motioned him to walk with her to the entrance door.

“This is me. This is where I live.”

“Looks like a nice place.”

They stood there in front of the door, the distance of a couple feet between them. The lamp over the door wasn’t working, but moonlight fell on Carter’s face. He made no attempt to move any closer. He’d done what he said he’d do: walk her home. Could she expect anything else? No. But it didn’t stop her from hoping for something else, though she didn’t know how to initiate it.

For a few seconds, there was silence between them.

She was searching for the right words.

“Do you think I could…” he said hesitantly.

“…come in?”

“…see you again tomorrow?” he finished his sentence overlapping with her invitation.

Suddenly flustered at having misread him, Julie felt her cheeks flush. “I mean…”

“Yes, I’d love to come in,” Carter said.

“…tomorrow will be great,” she said over his words.

They both laughed.

“Okay, you first,” Carter now said, grinning.

“Would you like to come inside?”

“If that’s what you want. You don’t have to, you know.”

“I want to. That is if you want to. I don’t want you to think you now have to take care of me, just because you saved me. I mean, you don’t know me… you probably have a girlfriend.”

Carter took a step toward her, put his fingers under her chin and tipped her head up so she had to look into his eyes. “I don’t have a girlfriend. And I’d like to spend more time with you. But you might not be ready for this. Not after what happened tonight. I’m not like that guy. I don’t push or force a woman into something she doesn’t want, or at least, doesn’t want yet.”

His words gave her more confidence than she’d ever had before. She took his hand and turned her face into his palm, kissing it. Then she eliminated the remaining distance between them. “It feels right to be with you. You make me feel good.”

Slowly, giving her time to withdraw if she didn’t want this, Carter dipped his head and slanted his lips over hers. His warm lips were gentle, hesitant at first, then firmer. He smelled good. Everything suddenly felt right. She knew now why she’d waited so long, why she’d not wanted to have sex with anybody before. Not because of religious or moral reasons like her fellow students suspected, but because she wanted to share this experience with the right guy.

And the right guy was Carter, the stranger who’d saved her.

She put her hand on his nape and parted her lips to show him that she was ready for his kiss, and for so much more.