Николас Спаркс - The Longest Ride

She fled, leaving Sophia alone with her nerves, her stomach feeling topsy-turvy. Which was strange, since they’d talked on the phone for an hour or more the last three nights, picking up each conversation exactly where they had left off. He would usually call around dusk, and she’d talk to him from the porch, trying to imagine how he looked at that moment and replaying their day together endlessly.

Spending time with him at the ranch was one thing. That was easy. But seeing Luke here? At the sorority house? He might as well be visiting Mars. In the three years she’d lived here, the only guys who’d ever come to the house – aside from brothers or fathers or boyfriends from back home – were either frat boys, or recently graduated frat boys, or frat boys from other colleges.

She’d gently tried to warn him but wasn’t sure quite how to tell him that the girls in the house would probably regard him as an exotic specimen, a subject of endless chatter as soon as he left. She’d suggested meeting him off campus, but he’d said he’d never been to Wake and wanted to walk around. She fought the urge to race downstairs and hurry him out the door as quickly as possible.

Remembering Marcia’s insistent advice, Sophia took a deep breath and gave herself the once-over in the mirror. Jeans, blouse, pumps: pretty much what she’d worn the last time they’d been together, but upgraded. She turned first one way and then the other, thinking, That’s all I can do. Then she gave a coy smile and admitted, But not bad at all.

She checked her watch and let another minute pass before exiting the room. During the week, men were allowed entrance only to the foyer and the parlor. The parlor, which boasted couches and a gigantic flat-screen TV, was where a lot of her sisters liked to hang out. As she approached the steps at the end of the hall, she could hear Marcia laughing in an otherwise silent room. She walked a bit faster, praying that she and Luke could escape without being noticed.

She spotted him right away, standing in the center of the room next to Marcia, hat in hand. As always, he was wearing boots and jeans, his outfit completed by a belt with a shiny, oversize silver buckle. Sophia’s heart sank as she realized that he and Marcia weren’t alone in the parlor. In fact, it was more crowded than usual, but eerily silent. Three frat boys, dressed in cargo shorts, Polos, and Top-Siders, gaped at Luke in the same way Mary-Kate did from the opposite couch. Likewise Jenny, Drew, and Brittany. Four or five more girls huddled silently in the far corner, all of them trying their best to figure out the unexpected stranger in their presence.

But as far as she could tell, their scrutiny had no effect on him. He seemed at ease, listening as Marcia chattered on, her hands gesturing flamboyantly. As she reached the entrance to the parlor, he glanced up and saw her. Breaking into a grin, his dimples flashing, he conveyed the impression that Marcia had vanished and that he and Sophia were the only two people in the room.

Sophia took a deep breath and stepped into the parlor, feeling everyone’s attention swing to her. On cue, Jenny leaned toward Drew and Brittany and whispered something. Though they’d naturally heard about her breakup with Brian, it was clear that none of them had heard about Luke, and she wondered how quickly Brian would find out that a cowboy had come to pick her up. On Greek Row, word would get around fast. She could already imagine any number of them dialing their cell phones, even before she and Luke reached the truck.

Which meant that Brian would find out. It wouldn’t take much for him to guess that it was the same cowboy who’d humiliated him the weekend before. He wasn’t going to be happy about it, nor would his frat brothers. And depending on how much they’d been drinking – on Thursdays, everyone started early – they just might get it into their heads to exact revenge. Suddenly queasy, she wondered why she hadn’t thought of it before.

“Hey there,” she said, doing her best to disguise her anxiety.

Luke’s smile deepened. “You look fantastic.”

“Thank you,” Sophia murmured.

“I like him,” Marcia chimed in.

Luke glanced at her, startled, before turning back to Sophia. “Obviously, I had a chance to meet your roommate.”

“I was trying to find out if he had any single friends,” Marcia admitted.

“And?”

“He said he’d see what he could do.”

Sophia motioned with her head. “You ready to go?” she asked.

Marcia was already shaking her head. “No, not yet. He just got here.”

Sophia glared at Marcia, hoping she’d pick up on her cues. “We really can’t stay.”

“Come on,” Marcia cajoled. “Let’s get a drink first. Thursday night, remember? I want to hear about riding bulls.”

Off to the side, Mary-Kate’s expression was pinched as she put the pieces together. No doubt Brian had returned to the table last Saturday, regaling everyone with stories about how he’d been jumped by a gang of cowboys. Brian and Mary-Kate had always been friends, and when Mary-Kate grabbed her phone and rose from the couch and left the parlor, Sophia assumed the worst and didn’t hesitate.

“We can’t stay. We have reservations,” she said firmly.

“What?” Marcia blinked. “You didn’t tell me that. Where?”

Sophia blanked, unable to think of anything. She could feel Luke watching her before he cleared his throat. “Fabian’s,” he suddenly announced.

Marcia swiveled her attention from one to the other. “I’m sure they won’t mind if you’re a few minutes late.”

“Unfortunately, we’re already running late,” Luke said. Then, to Sophia: “Do you have everything?”

Sophia felt a surge of relief and adjusted the purse strap on her shoulder. “I’m ready,” she agreed.

Luke took her elbow gently as he led her toward the door.

“Nice meeting you, Marcia.”

“You too,” she said, bewildered.

Opening the door, he stopped to put his hat back on. He wore an amused expression as he adjusted it, as if to acknowledge their confusion about the whole thing. With a grin, he stepped out with Sophia on his arm.

As the door swung shut behind them, Sophia heard the burst of excited chatter. If Luke heard it, he appeared to pay it no attention. Instead, he led her to the truck and opened the door, then walked around the front to his side. As he did, she noticed a row of eager faces – including Marcia’s – at the parlor windows. She was debating whether to acknowledge them with a wave or simply ignore them when Luke crawled in, closing the door with a thud.

“I’m guessing you’ve made them curious,” he said.

She shook her head. “It’s not me they’re wondering about.”

“Oh, I get it,” he said. “It’s because I’m skinny, right?”

She laughed, and with that, she realized that she no longer cared about what the others were thinking or doing or saying about them. “Thanks for covering for me in there.”

“What’s going on?”

She told him about her concerns about Brian and her suspicions about Mary-Kate.

“I wondered about that,” he said. “You mentioned that he’d been watching you. Part of me was expecting him to burst through the door any minute.”

“And yet you came anyway?”

“I had to.” He shrugged. “You invited me.”

She leaned her head back against the headrest, liking the way he sounded. “I’m sorry that I’m not going to be able to show you the campus tonight.”

“No big deal.”

“We can do it another time,” she promised. “When he doesn’t know you’re here, I mean. I’ll show you all the cool places.”

“It’s a date,” he said.

Up close, his eyes were a clear, unalloyed blue, striking in their purity. She plucked at an imaginary piece of lint on her jeans. “What would you like to do?”