"Isn't it the cutest thing you've ever seen?" Olive gushed as she showed me her left hand.

What it looked like was a cheap gas station ring. There was a silver turtle bedazzled up with brightly colored blue and green rhinestones. I really wouldn't be surprised if it said, "Welcome to California," on the band.

"Yeah," I said, not really meaning it, but the conversation made her happy.

"He remembered how much I love turtles," she gushed. "Ooh, this is all so exciting. I can't believe we're getting married."

"Me neither," I nearly mumbled. My fingers thrumbed against the small swivel desk.

"Now, I'm thinking a summer wedding. You and Chessie will be bridesmaids of course. It won't be anything fancy since we'll be putting it together so quickly."

"Summer? As in this summer? Isn't that a little fast?" I speculated.

"I can't wait!" she squealed. "And Romano's family is super supportive. And his Nonno is going to rent us out the cutest little house after we tie the knot. I can even plant a little garden."

"How is your family taking all of this?" I asked.

Olive shrugged. "They're just happy I'm not eloping. Romano's super nervous because he hasn't really met them yet. We're going to see them next weekend. And just think! If your brother marries Romano's sister, we can be in-laws!"

Olive had been gone two days after Romano showed up and proposed. She came back in a much better mood than the previous weeks and could not stop babbling. I was happy that she was happy at least.

"What color will my dress be?" I indulged her a bit further.

"Red! His family is super Italian, so nothing too sexy. I got Catholics on my side, too, so..."

Olive glanced up at the clock in the room. "Shit! I've gotta go to my next class. We can talk more about this later!"

I watched her as she ran out. Hard to deny, for her, this was a lot better. She was actually energetic for once instead of sleepy.

I looked to the front of the classroom to see Arthur quickly look away. I sighed. Now that I knew that my grade was the A I deserved, I could almost feel a little sorry for him.

"Hey," I shouted to him. It almost seemed like he was surprised to see me still here.

"Was there something you needed, Jules?" He asked, playing the role of a teacher's assistant.

"No," I said simply. "I was getting the impression that you needed to talk."

Arthur frowned. He took a poignant moment to gather his papers. "No," he said decidedly.

"Oh? And here I was thinking that last time you made a big deal about needing to talk about Chessie."

"I don't want to talk about her." I think that came out a little harsher than he intended. He had his fist pressed into the desk. "And I certainly wouldn't be talking about it with you."

"Sorry." I put my hands up in defense. "Just thought I'd offer."

Well, he'd never get that chance again. I didn't even want to delve into how much their relationship was messed up. Despite how long it had been since Valentine's Day, Chessie was still hung up about him. I didn't really see the point.


I had some time to myself at Chicks. My next section in my exploratory program was almost up. The next one was kinesiology and physical education, so at least I'd get a little more time at the gym.

"Hello, gorgeous," I heard my boyfriend say as he walked into Chicks.

I smiled without looking away from my laptop as I finished up my blog post. "You talking to yourself, crazy?"

I felt him kiss the side of my head, and suddenly my hands were stuck to my laptop by a bouquet of white flowers.

"You really are crazy!" I laughed. "Is it an anniversary or something, 'cause I didn't think we did that sort of thing. You should have reminded me."

"No, no, it's not our anniversary," Matt said.

I picked up the bouquet and inspected the flowers. I think they were daisies. They smelled nice, but I knew something was up when I saw Matt fidgeting from across the table. He hadn't gotten out any of his books or notes. "So what's up?"

"I have to apologize about something," Matt said nervously.

"Why?" I chuckled because it seemed ridiculous. "You cheating on me?"

I said that as a joke, but as soon as I said the words, I felt rotten. That would be absolutely horrible if it were true. I didn't think it was, but man...

"What? Oh no! Never! It's just... I have a lot of tests coming up. Really important tests..." Matt tried to explain.

I nodded along in understanding. "The MCAT is soon, right?"

Matt smiled. "You remembered. Anyway, this test basically affects my future career, so odds are I'm gonna start to be really stressed. And when I reach a certain level of stress, I'm not exactly the nicest person, or so I've been told."

The concept was weird. It was hard to think of Matt as anything but the nicest person.

"I may not be showing up here as often, so we may not be spending as much time together. I didn't want you to think I suddenly didn't like you."

I didn't quite understand, but this was very much just like Matt, apologizing for something he hadn't even done yet on the off chance that he just might hurt my feelings.

"Well, you're very sweet. Thank you for the flowers, honeybun."

Most pet names I found corny, but it was always worth it to see Matt's face light up in amusement. "Only for you, darling."

"Given what you told me, I'm surprised you're not studying," I said as I set the flowers aside.

"Just taking a break. Today, I'm all yours," he told me sweetly.

"Aww," I cooed. I shut my laptop and took Matt's hand. "Be careful. I might just take you."


After pancakes, Matt and I took a walk around campus. We did typical "walk" stuff. We sat on benches. We people watched. We commented on the animals that had gotten just a little to accustomed to humans. We stayed out until it got too dark to really see each other even with the street lamps turning on. So, we walked back to my dorm and stood outside the door.

Matt suddenly sighed and took me up in his arms. "I don't want to go," he complained, which was rare.

I laughed and squeezed him back harder. "Who says I'm letting you go?"

"But I have to. I've got to study for all these tests..."

"Hey," I said and tilted my head up. "You're still mine right now, right? My Matt isn't going to let a little extra studying kick his butt. He works his ass off so he can spend more time with me."

That got Matt to smile. His kisses were gentle on my lips.

I cleared my throat. "My Matt also lets me touch his butt." I looked around as if to find where the voice came from.

Matt smiled even wider and laughed. "No one's stopping you."

Still keeping me my hands glued to him, I slid my hands lower down his back. My breath caught a bit when I felt the denim of his jeans. I planted my palms squarely on his ass and gave it a good squeeze. Needless to say, it felt as perfect as it looked: not too firm, not too soft.

"Satisfied?" Matt asked.

I giggled and nodded my head. Matt kissed me again deeper, making me relax my grip on him.

"Oh, I'm going to miss you," he said. He was talking as if he was actually saying goodbye.

"You don't need to do that. I'll be here whenever you're ready for me. You're always mine. Don't ever forget that," I told him.

He pressed his lips firmly against mine, kissing me audibly. His kisses came repeatedly with more gusto until I was laughing and breathless. He let me go and started walking back to his apartment. "Pray for me, Jules," he called out.

I simply waved him off. I smiled and shook my head. Wasn't quite sure what was up with him, but my guess was that the stress was already building up.

Katerina was back in the room. She took her headphones off when I came in. "Hello, Jules."

"Hey," I said with a bit of uncertainty. We may sort of get along now, but Katerina wasn't usually one for casual conversation.

"Do you think if I asked Garrett to cut his hair he would do it?"

"Ooh," I exhaled slowly. That was a loaded question. "I don't know. Garrett loves his hair." Katerina nodded as if she expected this answer. "But..." I hated to say it. "For you, he probably would."

Katerina blushed prettily and then smiled. "I don't think I will. You guys look cute, by the way."

"Hmm?"

"You and your boyfriend. I could see you from the window. The flowers are pretty."

"Uh thanks I guess..." I needed to find a old water bottle or something to put them in.

There was a knock on the door followed by an insistent whisper as the door opened. "Jules!" Olive hissed.

Katerina threw her hands up in exasperation. She put her headphones back on and scowled into her computer.

"What's up?" I asked Olive as she came inside.

"Chessie has a man in our room," Olive spoke just barely louder than before.

"What? What's Chessie doing?"

"What do you think? I only saw it for a second but he definitely didn't have any clothes on," Olive dished.

I leapt onto my bed and pressed my ear to the wall. I couldn't hear much. Chessie's bed was on the other side of the room.

"Did Chessie meet someone new while I was gone?" Olive asked.

"I have no idea."

"Well, can I at least chill out here until they're done?" Olive giggled.

"Okay," I said. Olive sat up on my bed with me.

"Do you wanna hear where we're thinking about honeymooning?" Olive asked.

"Sure," I said. I got out my laptop to finally finish up my blog post.


It's kind of insane how different romantic relationships can be. Some thrive off of big gestures. I know some who see love in the making of a scene. Then, there's some who are the opposite. They show love by letting things go and compromising. Others, of course, you know, are just giant balls of sexual tension. Me? I think I'd like to be in a mixture of the three.

On a different note: the purpose of the blog. The WU walking trail is great. It's got some choice benches. It's clean, and there's even little disposable baggies for people who walk their dogs. Shout out to the maitenance and landscaping crews who keep it so nice.