After a pause, Olivia changed topics, “So, anyway, are you coming to Nick and Neal’s show tonight at The Theatre?”

“Yeah, I should be there,” Lexi confirmed.

“Good, I’ve been helping them plan this for a month. I need as many people there as possible.” Lexi just nodded since she had heard this same rant nearly every day since Olivia had decided to become their publicist. “I’m going to get myself a drink from sexy Coffee Guy,” she added a wink just for good measure, “and then I’m going to head back to the dorm to get ready for tonight. You comin’ with, doll?”

“Nah, I’m going to finish here,” she said gesturing to her notebooks sprawled on the table. “But I’ll meet you later,” Lexi said scribbling a quick note into her study guide. She watched Olivia slink over to the counter to get her coffee. Lexi quickly averted her eyes to avoid watching her shamelessly flirt with the guy she was interested in. She figured it didn’t really matter that much anyway. This guy was no one to her. He was just a pretty face in a sea of pretty faces in the crowd or at least that’s what she tried to convince herself.

*****

A few hours later, Lexi, Olivia, and fifteen other people they had managed to drag out of the dorms were casually standing in front of the stage at The Theatre waiting for Nick and Neal to begin their set. The Theatre was a large open space with couches positioned around the perimeter and for smaller shows, like tonight, on the main floor.

As the time passed, the room gradually filled with regulars and other locals. Considering this was Nick and Neal’s first real performance, the crowd was relatively large. A unanimous bounce began as the throng of people fell into rhythm with the flow of the music that Nick was spinning, Neal’s original lyrics filling the room. Lexi sang along with some of the words she remembered from hanging out with them.

“You’re not bad. Maybe you should show them how it’s done,” someone said to her.

Lexi laughed out loud letting her curls bounce lightly. She turned to address whoever had addressed her and was face to face with him. She froze mid-laugh.

“You think so?” she asked trying to recover from her shock at seeing him here, standing next to her, talking to her.

“Honestly, no,” he said with a sly smile.

“Well, thanks. I’m very offended right now.” Lexi placed her hand over her wounded heart. “So...do I know you or do you always just insult people when you first meet them?”

He bent down so he she was better able to hear him. He smelled like a heavenly combination of soap and sexy cologne. “I think you study at the coffee shop where I work.”

She turned her head up to face him. His brown hair fell neatly across his eyes as he looked down at her. She had never noticed just how clear blue his eyes really were until they were set intently and solely on her. “I think you might be right,” she confirmed giving him a coy smile. She was having a hard time breathing with him looking at her so intently. She could practically feel the energy crackling between their bodies at his nearness. Trying to ease the sexual tension she was feeling, she asked him, “Are you much into college boy rap?”

His laugh was easy and sincere and she loved the musicality of it. “No, not really, but this guy’s not bad. Is he a friend of yours?”

“Yeah, he lives in my dorm.” She cringed realizing she had just given away her youth. She had no idea how old he was or whether he would consider a freshman to be worth his time.

“Nice. Those guys over there.” He gestured with his thumb to three guys clustered behind him. “They lived on my hall last year in the dorms. Which one are you in?”

Lexi let out the breath she hadn’t even realized she had been holding. “Um...Russell.”

“That’s where we were,” he said smiling bigger. “Fifth floor east. You?”

“Five north,” she told him. If she had only been a year older, she could have lived on the same hall as him for a year. Her head swam with the thought.

“Small world.”

“Yeah, it is. How exactly did you hear about the band? I mean, if you don’t really listen to the music,” she couldn’t help but ask.

He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a folded piece of purple paper. He opened it revealing the PR flyer Olivia had been relentlessly handing out for the past two weeks. “I believe a friend of yours gave this to me,” he said pointing to Olivia over the crowd of people.

Lexi giggled. That little devil. Olivia hadn’t been flirting with him when she had gone to get her coffee earlier that afternoon. In fact, she had been helping her by convincing Coffee Guy to come here. “Well, yeah, that’s Olivia for you,” she said shrugging, making an attempt at nonchalance. “Oh, I’m Lexi, by the way.” She extended her hand out to him.

“Lexi...hmm...I like that,” he said taking her outstretched hand firmly in his. “Jack. It’s nice to meet you,”

Silence fell between them as the show progressed. The hip-hop beats blaring in the background made it difficult to carry on a conversation. The crowd filed outside for intermission when the set was complete, allowing the main act time to set-up on stage. Several people lit cigarettes as soon as they exited The Theatre, but Lexi steered clear of them. She watched as some of her friends made their way to the back entrance of the black building to meet up with Nick and Neal. Lexi waited awkwardly with Jack at the front of the building waiting for Olivia to surface.

A few second later, Olivia exited through the doors covered with a collage of torn flyers advertising upcoming shows. She bounded up to them humming one of the songs she preferred. “Hey, sweetie,” she said kissing Lexi on the cheek. Her eyes were glazed over a little and her low cut blouse smelled strongly of beer and secondhand smoke. Before Lexi had a chance to respond, she stumbled along after the rest of the group.

“I guess she’s a bit drunk,” Lexi commented shrugging her shoulders as she let her gaze land back on Jack.

“A bit?” he questioned with a smirk. “Hold on one second.” He directed his attention on his friends hovering behind him. “Hey guys, I’ll meet you at Chamber. I think Chasity said she was working.” Nodding, the three guys disappeared down the street leaving Jack and Lexi alone.

Lexi assumed Chasity was a bartender, but refrained from asking. She had no desire whatsoever to know how they knew each other...or how well. “I’m not sure what my friends are doing,” she said glancing around the corner. The group she had arrived with were stumbling around outside with Nick and Neal at the center. “But by the look of things, I’m going to have to carry half of them home.” At only a couple inches over five feet, that really would be a feat. “I should go catch up with them before they get into any trouble,” she said concerned.

“My friends are probably lost without me too,” he said jokingly.

“Are you working tomorrow?” she asked not anxious to leave his presence.

“Are you studying tomorrow?” he countered flirtatiously.

“Yeah,” she confirmed, thinking about the daunting stack of homework on her desk.

“Then I should be there.”

She stood with him another second taking in his near flawless appearance. He wore dark snug-fit jeans, a black button-up rolled to three-quarter length, and worn navy Chuck Taylor’s. He was taller than her by more than half a dozen inches with a well-toned muscular physique. She figured she wouldn’t be able to reach his lips if she stood on her tip-toes, but he was strong enough to pick her up to them. Quickly pushing the idea out of her mind, she snapped herself back to reality. “Guess I’ll see you there.”

“Sounds good,” he said as she turned and began to walk down the alleyway toward her friends. After a moment’s hesitation, he called out to her and jogged down the street after her. She turned on her green high heels to find him standing before her again. “I know you have to study tomorrow, but what are you doing Friday?” he asked hesitantly.