Eventually, Lucy, Cherry, Kat, and their friends tired of dancing. The three girls sat down on a couch, engaging in conversation. Lucy was enjoying herself when a guy walked over to them.

Hey, Cherry, Kat, glad you guys could come, he said, a warm smile on his face.

Hey, Ian! Cherry said. This party is great.

Yeah, we wouldn't miss it for the world, Kat said playfully.

Lucy sat silently. The guy was cute, with green eyes and thick dark hair. He was looking at her curiously, and she averted her eyes, somewhat timid.

Oh, Ian, this is our friend Lucy, Cherry explained. We met her at Crawford.

he said, grinning and shaking Lucy's hand.

Lucy said shyly, pleased at the warm reception.

Ian sat down next to her and started talking to Cherry, Kat, and Lucy amiably. Lucy thought he was very nice, and funny.

After a while, Kat spotted someone she knew across the room. She and Cherry went over there to say hi, and invited Lucy and Ian, but they said they were just fine staying where they were.

They sat in awkward silence together for a few minutes. Lucy tentatively said, So this is your house?

Ian, glad for something to talk about, smiled and nodded. Yeah. Actually, it's really my older brother's, but it's sort of a sharing thing.

Lucy smiled. Do you go to Crawford?

No. I took a year off before college. I'm going to NYU this fall.

Oh, I was going to go there. My plans were sort of interrupted, though, so now I'm taking a course at Crawford.

Ian said. He wondered how her plans were interrupted, but her facial expression was closed, so instead he asked, What do you want to be?

Well, I want to be a minister. But now I'm just hoping that somehow I can accomplish that.

A female minister? Wow, that's really cool. Why don't you think you could do it? It'd be kick-ass.

I've been having some family trouble. I really don't feel like talking about it. No offense. She looked at him, and he grinned. It's okay.

She smiled. So what do you want to be?

I know it sounds corny, but I want to be a writer. Like a famous author.

Oh, that's cool, Lucy said. You shouldn't doubt yourself. It's good to have dreams. She said it wistfully, because regrets had fueled that statement. She had learned the hard way that you couldn't depend on other people for happiness, but could only rely on yourself and your dreams. She realized that now, and vowed to live by it and never regret it. Starting with her father and older brother, and now through her various boyfriends, she had been bossed around by men enough in her life. It was time for her to let go of that, she now realized, or she'd be wasting away her life thinking about them, like she'd been doing so much lately.

Lucy's despairing thoughts were interrupted by Ian's friendly voice. Hey, do you want a beer?

Lucy looked up, grateful for a diversion. Yeah, that would be great.

I'll go get us some, he said, walking over to the cooler on the other side of the room.

Ian didn't know what it was about this girl, Lucy. She was completely different than the other girls he had dated. She had an innocence and naiveté the others lacked. He could see her eyes widen and throat tighten when she saw a couple get close or someone light up a joint, but she tried to act cool, as if this kind of stuff didn't faze her. Ian found this naiveté laughable, but also somehow appealing. It seemed to indicate an underlying sweetness that too many girls lacked these days. At least the girls he had gone out with.

As Lucy watched Ian cross the room to get their beers, she wondered what a cute, popular guy like him saw in a girl like her. He seemed so self-assured and sophisticated, while she felt like a baby next to him. But he was interested in her, and although he wasn't exactly a Camden kind of guy, he was very kind. He was smart too, a quality Lucy's previous boyfriends were in short supply of.