Chapter 50
A/N UVA a new start
Okay now comes the fun stuff that some of you have been waiting for. Enough with the sadness here comes some fluff..Thanks for the reviews I live for them.
The night before she was due to move onto campus, Lizzy was walking around the house. She was nervous and excited all at the same time. Will had already left to go back to Houghton and Aunt Joan was away somewhere who knew where. The secrecy of her job often found her away in some unexplained place.
Billy helped her load all of her things into her car earlier in the day. She had bought it when she came home for the summer. She had driven the farm truck in the past when she needed a vehicle. Being away at Houghton she had not needed a car, but she wanted to have one once she started college.
She got up the next morning and loaded the last of her things and headed to campus.
Since UVA was a new start for her she decided that she would no longer be Lizzy, but Elizabeth. So when she met people that is how she introduced herself.
She unloaded all of her stuff by herself. She walked around campus watching all the other students move in with the help of their parents. This made her miss them even more. She walked over to her parents' building. She would be majoring in math and some of her classes would be in the building. She would not be majoring in finance, but a lot of her math classes would be held there.
Sitting on the steps, under her Dad's name settled her nerves and reinforced to her that she made the right decision.
Classes started and she settled into college life. She had made friends with a few of the girls in her dorm and was sitting with them eating lunch. She loved her classes and her professors. She went to a few parties, but didn't overdo it. One of her roommates, Becky, was a lot of fun, but partied a little too much. She was the typical freshman being out from under her parents thumb for the first time. Cassie was a mix of both of them, she studied hard but would party too. Lizzy had spread her wings when she went to boarding school, so she got most of that endless partying out of her system already.
Her Mom had told her of the private study rooms in the library and her scholarships covered them so she reserved one also. Her parents had told her many times of the misunderstanding they had when they first met about thinking the other had blown them off. The private study room was the reason. She laughed when she walked in for the first time thinking about the story. She loved the library. Her parents had cultivated her love of reading and she adored them more for it.
Her first semester went by fast and she learned so much. Will joined her at the farm for Thanksgiving, but told her he would be spending his Christmas break on a sunny beach with some friends. She stayed on campus and wandered around. She spent a lot of time in the library.
When Spring finally came around on campus she had decided she would start running again. She ran a lot when she was involved in sports in high school and had gotten away from it the last year or so. She loved running the solitude helped her slow down her often out of control brain and kept her in shape. She had noticed she was not struggling as much walking across campus after she started.
She would run before her classes started in the mornings and often she would see a handsome young man running also. She passed him a few times and noticed his chiseled features and his wavy brown hair. A few days ago he had smiled at her as they passed on their routes. His smile stopped her in her tracks. She stood with her mouth gaped open just staring at him as he ran away from her. She shook her head and started back up on her route.
Finals came and she had gotten all A's in her classes. She decided to stay on campus and take some summer classes, but would go home on the weekends to ride and enjoy the lake.
One Tuesday before class, she was sitting in the coffee shop when the handsome man with the beautiful smile walked in. She saw him and dropped the spoon she had stirred her creamer into her coffee with. The spoon clanged onto the floor and several people looked in her direction. Redness filled her cheeks as she bent over to pick it up.
As she reached down, instead of the spoon her hand came into contact with skin and an electric spark shot up her arm into her chest. She looked up and the handsome guy was handing her the spoon and smiling at her. She straightened up and the redness in her cheeks got even redder. She tried to say "thank you" but her mouth just kept opening and closing like a fish. She ducked her head and cleared her throat and finally words escaped her lips.
"Thank you, that was very kind of you," she said to him.
"You are more than welcome," he said as he walked away to retrieve his coffee.
She sat in her chair just staring at him as he walked out the door. Geez Elizabeth get it together he is just a guy. She shook her head and went back to the reading she was doing before he walked in. She reread the same paragraph 4 times before she finally gave up and closed the book. She knew the guy was going to take up her brain space unless she did something to get him out of it. She decided a run might be the answer, but she risked running into him again if she did that. She needed something to kick start her brain out of the clouds, so she decided to take a trip over to the golf course. The driving range was just what she needed.
She had not played very much since her Dad passed away, but would often go to the driving range when she needed to get some aggression out of her system. Her Dad had a lifetime membership at the club and it had been passed down to her when he passed away.
Standing on the tee she banged away at balls until she was sweaty and her arms were like jello. She had not thought of the guy once and she decided that she was ready to go back and try her reading again.
Showered and refreshed, she headed for the library. Since it was summer, not many students were in the library. She decided to forego her study room and sat down at a table in the main area. She chose a table in the back on the second floor in case other people decided to come in, she would still have some privacy and some peace and quiet.
She spent several productive hours studying and getting a good start on a paper she would need in 2 weeks. Her stomach reminded her it had been a while since she ate. She decided to call it a day and grab some food. She packed up all her books and papers and headed for the exit.
She reached to push the outer door open just as someone pulled it open and she lost her balance and almost fell face first at the person's feet. She reached out to catch herself, as two strong hands wrapped around her arms to pull her up. She looked up and right into the face of the handsome guy.
"Wow twice in one day I save you from embarrassment. New record for me," he laughed as he looked down at her.
Too late the redness in her cheeks started and she had to look away. "Thank you," she said and side stepped him and walked away. Once she reached the end of the stairway she started fast walking to put as much space between them as possible.
Once she had reached the safety of her room, she slung her bag down with a huff and sat down on the floor. Her heart was racing and her breathing was coming out in pants. Why was this guy affecting her so much? She had dated in school and at Houghton and had been around good looking guys before, but none had affected her like this. What was going on?
She chalked up the latest incident to hunger and slowly stood and wiped down her sweaty hands on her pants legs. She straightened herself out and headed out to grab something to eat. Pizza sounded good and Giovanni's ran a special on Tuesdays.
Henry's POV
Henry took a deep cleansing breath when he walked out onto the steps of his apartment building on a crisp Summer morning. It was early, the sun just beginning to wake the world. Running early in the morning was his favorite thing to do. The day was just beginning and there were very few people up to disturb him. He had loved running his whole life. It started as a way to control his anger towards his Dad, but had morphed into more as he got older. He set out on his route. He usually ran on the track, but the day before he decided on a more scenic route through campus. He loved being at UVA and the beautiful architecture soothed his soul.
Somewhere between miles 5 and 6 he first saw her. A beautiful blond with long legs and a killer body. He had not seen her before, but he suspected she too had been running for a while. Her form and stride told him she was an experienced runner.
She was about 200 yards away and running towards him. He looked at her as she passed him and he turned slightly to watch her as she ran away from him.
On day 5 of his new running route he was waiting with baited breath to see the beauty that was becoming ingrained in his mind. She would come around the curve to meet him as they passed on their daily runs. He looked up and saw her and gave her a big smile.
He was very intrigued by her and wanted to turn around and join her and introduce himself to her.
He was too intimidated by her. With her beauty, she surely had a boyfriend, If not a boyfriend a bounty of possible suitors chasing after her. He didn't want to be one of them. He shook his head and increased his pace to try and run her out of his head.
Since he had seen her for the first time 5 days ago, she had taken up too much of his brain space. He would think of her at random times throughout the day and she was even starting to creep into his dreams. He would be studying in the library and a thought of her would occur. Was she a student or just utilizing the beautiful landscape for her runs? If she was a student what would she be studying?
He shook his head and went back to researching the paper that was due in 5 days. He usually had papers written and ready to hand in at least 2 weeks before they were due. The beautiful mystery blond was screwing with his study habits. Coffee, he needed coffee to clear his muddled brain.
Walking into the on campus coffee shop, he was distracted until the room got quiet when a spoon loudly clanked onto the floor. He turned to see the source of the noise and there sat none other than the beauty that he was trying to distract his thoughts from.
He stepped over to retrieve the spoon just as she reached down and her hand met his. He felt an electric spark shoot up his arm and into his chest. He raised up and handed her the spoon. He gave her a friendly smile. He noticed her lips moving, but no sound was coming out. Finally a quiet "Thank you, that was very kind of you" escaped.
"You are more than welcome," he told her. He walked away to retrieve his coffee and make a quick exit. He needed to get her out of his head and he knew if he didn't leave that would be impossible.
He walked around campus drinking his coffee and enjoying the beautiful day. He had about an hour before he was due at his ROTC training and headed to his apartment to change.
Training had been good and managed to squeeze the gorgeous blond from his thoughts. He needed to get more work on his paper done, so after he showered and changed he headed to the library.
He was lost in thoughts of how he wanted to compose his final words into his paper. He reached and pulled the door open to the library and was met with a streak of blond hair falling at his feet.
He reached out to prevent the person from falling and possibly hurting themselves. He helped them to stand and when he looked into the face of the person standing in front of him he was greeted with the most stunning earth shattering blue eyes.
"Wow twice in one day I save you from embarrassment. New record for me," he laughed as he looked down at her. He was trying his best to remain cool and not let his voice or face give him away. Just as he was about to say something else a hurried "Thank You" left her lips. She quickly sidestepped him and practically sprinted down the steps.
He turned to speak to her as she rounded the corner and out of sight. He shook his head and walked into the library. The object of his scattered mind just kept showing up, just as he had gotten his mind clear of her.
He settled in and decided to try and get some work done. He had worked about 20 minutes when his stomach made a loud rumbling noise. He realized he had forgotten to grab a snack and it was getting close to dinner time.
What did he want to eat? Go back to his apartment and prepare a meal or scavenge leftovers or something else. Oooo, it is Tuesday. Giovanni's special is tonight. He packed up and made the 10 minute walk.