Page 20 of Only You

‡

After Photography, whichhad been way too basic for me and a disappointment, I hung back to talk with the professor. After explaining my history and the depth of my experience, he told me I’d need to talk to Marta Neuheim about skipping ahead to the 200-level class.

“Marta is the Department Head. Normally this kind of thing isn’t allowed—a prerequisite is a prerequisite—so I wouldn’t get your hopes up.”

“I understand,” I said, though he must have sensed that I wasn’t going to just roll over without trying. If there was one good thing that had come out of the last year’s bullshit, it was that I was done with rolling over.

“If you decide to ask, she’ll want to see your portfolio and camera, so be sure to bring those. Her office hours are posted on the first floor.”

“Thank you,” I said, extricating my camera from the bottom of my backpack. We hadn’t needed it during class, but I wanted to show him that I had good gear.

Patting my shoulder as I swung the camera strap over my head, the professor said, “I hope she lets you in. There’s nothing worse than being stuck in an unchallenging class, especially if it’s a topic or skill you already love and excel in.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Leaving the Art & Architecture building, I headed down the leafy path toward my dad’s office to meet him for lunch. I’d shot down Dad’s request that I eat with him every day, but I’d agreed to once a week. If I ate with him today, then I’d fulfilled my obligation.

At the concrete steps leading up to the pea gravel deck around McClung Tower, a group of skaters surfed the handrails. One of them flew past, skidding to a halt in front of an occupied bench. The person sitting there looked familiar. My stomach tensed, and I put a hand over my brow to shade my eyes from the midday sun. Swallowing hard, I recognized the brooding figure sitting there alone with a small cooler and reading a tattered book.

As if he felt my presence, Mo’s head came up. His gaze slid over the skaters and landed right on me. I was pinned in place with one foot on the bottom step, and one hand on the railing the skaters had just been riding.

He didn’t look away.

Breaking eye contact, I took off up the flight. I didn’t want to be reminded of Adam now or talk to his brother or have my day interrupted with the past. But a chiding voice in my head said the past wasn’t going to go away if I just ignored it.

The smack and roll of the skateboards hitting the ground resounded around me. I turned around, lifted my camera and compulsively fired off a few quick, soothing snaps of the skaters. With a deep breath, I let the camera drop around my neck again, and walked back down the stairs, heading over to where Mo sat.

Biting into his sandwich, he raised his eyebrow at me. “What?” he said, when I just stood there in front of him, saying nothing and watching him chew. I almost snapped a picture in my anxiety, but I knew that’d just piss him off.

“I don’t know,” I shrugged. “I just didn’t want to act like I didn’t see you.”

Mo glared at me before taking another bite of his sandwich. Behind us, the skaters risked their lives surfing the handrail again, and I considered just walking away. I licked my lips, trying for normal. “Can you believe those guys?” I jerked my thumb over my shoulder. “They’ve got some amazing tricks.”

From his cooler, Mo retrieved an Arizona Iced Tea can and popped it open. “I heard you dumped Tad.”

Cutting to the chase. Typical Mo. “Yeah.”

“Awesome for you.” He took a long draw of tea and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Awesome for me, too.”

“What do you mean?”

“Your orgasm noises? Good riddance.”

Heat rushed over me, and my cheeks burned. “Fuck you.”

“No, man,fuck you. That high-pitched hyperventilating thing you’d always do made me want to kill myself.”

“You are such an asshole.”

“Look, Tad may be a queer or whatever, but he’s my brother, and you hurt him, so as far as I’m concerned you suck.”

The sun glinted off the library’s dark windows. “So, you didn’t see anything wrong with what was going on?”

“Everythingabout it was wrong, asshole. But he’s confused right now. I guess I thought you’d be there when all this crap blew up in his face. Catch him when he falls. All that shit. Instead, you’re the first explosion.”

“You think I should have stuck around and let him take me down with him?”

Mo sighed, threw his half-eaten sandwich back into his cooler and slammed the lid shut. “Fuck no. You did the right thing.”

---