Sookie

The day I graduated was kind of bittersweet. It felt great to feel proud of my accomplishment, but seeing all the other parents and family members on campus made me feel alone. I had invited Jason to come, but he was busy. I have no idea doing what. He did send me a card with a check for fifty dollars in it.

Amelia's dad had invited me out to celebrate with them, but I felt like I would be intruding, so I made an excuse to go home. I ran into Pam on the way to my car and we stopped to chat. We exchanged numbers and promised to get together as soon as we both got to L.A. I told her about my job and that I was excited but nervous about starting. I didn't have many clothes that would work in an office and wasn't sure how I would afford them and told her that I might try and get a waitress job at night or on weekends at first until I could buy some more clothes. She said that she was getting rid of a bunch of stuff before she moved and that I was welcome to anything she didn't want. Pam always wore really cute clothes, and we were the same size. After a tiny internal debate I decided to take her up on it and thanked her profusely.

So, as planned, after dinner, I drove to Pam's to take her cast-offs. I hadn't realized that she lived in Eric's building, and it gave me a little jolt to my heart when I remembered that night we watched the movie and shared that perfect kiss. Pam and I had fun going through her closet and she gave me a whole bag of great clothes that would be perfect for work. I offered to pay her, but she insisted that she was planning on just tossing them and so I was welcome to them.

Just as we were finishing up, there was a knock on the door. Pam opened it up to a smiling Eric with a bottle of champagne in his hand. He stepped into the room and then turned to see me and that smile got even bigger. "Sookie! I'm so glad you're here. We can all celebrate together."

Pam brought out champagne glasses and we all toasted to our graduation day. But then Eric quietly added, "I'm also celebrating that I got the scholarship." Pam and I squealed and we all and hugged and jumped up and down. It was a great day.

After we finished the champagne, Eric said goodnight and left. I thanked Pam and promised to see her soon in L.A. I hauled my bag of new clothes down to my car and then turned around and looked back to Eric's building. Maybe it was the champagne. Maybe it was the general good mood. Maybe I was just feeling free and happy to be starting my new life. I don't know. But suddenly I thought, I have nothing to lose. I'm leaving soon anyway. What the heck.

I knocked on his door and when he opened it I just jumped in and kissed him.

Eric

I can remember feeling so cocky that I didn't care whether or not Sookie had a boyfriend, that I would just go after her anyway. Now I see that it's not quite that simple. I guess I always assumed that she would just dump anybody else once she'd been with me. I was wrong, and it was a painful lesson. I had hoped after that night at my apartment that Sookie would break up with her boyfriend and want to be with me. But of course, things don't always happen the way you want them to. She never called me that night from the hospital to let me know what was happening and after that whenever I would see her in class, she would talk about her boyfriend's injuries and her responsibilities to help him and his family. My expectations went right down the drain. She was obviously staying with him and apparently the kiss that had meant so much to me had not meant the same to her.

The rest of the semester I looked forward to seeing her in class and sometimes she would let me buy her a coffee afterwards. I was still in love with her and completely uninterested in other girls, but she was still with her boyfriend and we never talked about that kiss. After our last class, she let me walk her to her car. I was really happy for her at finding that job in L.A. and gave her a hug and kiss that I hoped let her know how much I still cared without crossing over that line. As much as I wanted her, I had to respect her choice.

Graduation was kind of a tough day for me. My aunt couldn't be there. (She lost her legs in an accident years ago and traveling was difficult for her.) But then that was also the day I got the news about the scholarship money. I ran out and bought a bottle of champagne (how nice to finally be of legal age) and took it over to Pam's to celebrate. I was pleasantly shocked to find Sookie there and happy to share the celebration with her as well. It was perfect actually. I left them to their evening that I had obviously interrupted and went home to start packing. But within minutes I was surprised to hear a knock at my door. I opened it to find a beautiful smiling Sookie and was even more surprised when she kind of leapt into my arms and planted the mother of all kisses on me. Could this day get any better?