Page 12 of Love at a 7-Eleven

I pressed send and then waited to see if he would text back.

Caleb:

I promised Kevin I'd take him to ETC sometime tomorrow. We might work out and check out some basketball. I'd like to run into you. I wondered if you might happen to be going there.

Me:

I could use a trip to ETC.

I didn't know what else to write, so I left it at that and pressed send.

Caleb:

Can I call you?

Me:

Of course. Anytime.

My phone rang five seconds later.

"Hello?" I said.

"Lila?"

"Yes."

"Sorry, is it a good time for me to call right now?" he asked.

"Yes. It's fine. I'm, I have a roommate, but she's in her room." (As if that mattered.)

"How was your afternoon?" he asked.

His voice. I loved it.

"It was good."

"What'd you do?" he asked.

"Uh, at risk of sounding like a better person than I am, I volunteered at a food pantry."

He laughed. "Why wouldn't you want to sound like a good person?"

"I would, but I mean, I just sort of fell into that volunteer position, I didn't seek it out. I went with a friend when we were in college. I still go once a week, but it's only because I've been doing it for years. And also, I don't have to stress about making ends meet."

"So, a reluctant volunteer?"

"No, just reluctant to take any credit for it since it wasn't my idea. And it's just a few hours a week."

"So, it's party planning and volunteering?"

"Yes, and starting in the fall, I'll work part-time in the university library. But even with that job, it's not enough to pay my rent. My parents have been helping me out all through college, and they still are. I don't know how long that will last now that I've graduated. We haven't set any sort of time frame. I know I want to work full-time. I think and hope I'll be able to get the party planning up and running while I'm working at the library."

"Hey, are you free tomorrow?" he asked. "Do you want to meet us at the gym?"

"Yeah, sure. I could go for a trip to the gym. ETC right? What time were you thinking?"

"Sasha said it's best to do their lunch routine, so we need to do it either at ten in the morning or later, after two."

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