“Martin,” Reg called. “The guys in Room 305 are having some people over. Are you coming?”

“I don’t think so. I’m not really in the mood.”

“There will be girls there. And beer. Two of your favorite things.”

“I think I’m going to go for a run,” I said. “Maybe I’ll meet up with you guys later.”

“Is it about Alexa?” Reg asked.

“It’s nothing. Really,” I added when Reg gave me a quizzical look. “I’ll catch up with you later.”

“Suit yourself.”

I laced up my running shoes and pulled a jacket over my head. Working out released a lot of stress, and was the best way I knew of for how to deal with my problems.

Some days I just ran for miles, without caring where I was going. By the time I got home, I would have either worked out my problems, or are just too tired to care about them anymore.

I didn’t want to admit it, but I was still pretty upset with Alexa. She had given me a sliver of hope that she was into me, and then immediately destroyed it.

Maybe it would have been different if she would have let me down gently. Or if my friends hadn’t been telling me for weeks that she was into me. People who like you generally don’t respond to acts of kindness with silence.

I had only made it a few blocks from my dorm when I heard a female voice call after me. The first time I heard it, I thought it was in my head. After the second time, I knew it was real. I stopped, squinting to see the figure running toward me.

It was Alexa. She was panting, running with her shoes in her hand. She stopped when she got to me and bent over, breathing hard.

“You’re not going to throw up on me again, are you?” I asked.

“Shut up,” she snapped. “I’m not in the mood for this.”

I saw fat tears rolling down her cheeks. She looked rough. The bottoms of her feet were filthy, her hair was wild and frizzy, and her face was red and sweaty. She was wearing some kind of boxy looking dress that was not her usual style. Despite all of this, I wanted to pull her into my arms and hold her.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“I think this was the worst night of my life,” she sobbed.

“Do you want to come back to my place?” I asked. “It’s just three blocks from here. We can get you cleaned up, have a drink and talk about what happened.”

She nodded her head. I was surprised that she agreed to come back to my place, after spending the whole week ignoring me. Just like that, my anger had quickly dissolved and I was letting her come into my home.

Apparently, I was powerless against her.

We got to my dorm and she made a beeline to my bathroom. I quickly picked up the dirty clothes off my floor and sprayed some air freshener. Maybe she wouldn’t notice that I hadn’t cleaned in weeks. I was glad the apartment was empty. I would tell Reg about it, but now wasn’t the time to answer his questions. I needed to be alone with her for once.

Alexa opened the door and wiped her eyes again. Her hair was braided back and her blackened feet were scrubbed clean. I gave her a glass of water and she sat down on my bed. I didn’t know if it was okay to sit next to her, so I sat at my desk and turned my chair toward her.

She took a sip from her glass. “Thanks,” she said. “But do you have something a little stronger?”

I nodded and came back with a bottle of soda and some vodka.

“Better,” she said quietly.

“Do you want to talk about what happened?” I asked. I wasn’t great at talking about feelings, especially with girls.

She took a deep breath and told me everything. She started with her parents and described Sebastian to me. I didn’t even know the guy and I wanted to punch him in the face. She told me about how unsupportive her mom was and how her dad didn’t do anything to stop her. Then she told me about what happened at the restaurant. I couldn’t believe it. My family was messed up, but I knew that no one would ever try to arrange a marriage for me.

I felt really bad for her. I also felt guilty for thinking that I knew her. I always just assumed that her life was perfect. She had straight As in all of her classes, was the captain of the cheerleading team, and had all the money she could ever want. I thought her life was perfect. I was wrong.

When she finished telling her story, the only thing I could think to say was, “I’m sorry.”

“For what?” she said.

“That this happened to you. You don’t deserve to be treated this way.”

“Thanks,” she said, a small smile appeared on her pink lips. “Come here,” she said, motioning me over the bed.

I sat down on the bed next to her. She leaned over and put her head on my shoulder. She smelled so sweet.

“I feel like I should apologize to you,” she said. “I never thanked you for taking care of me the night of the game. You could have left me there, but you didn’t. I just want you to know that I really appreciate it.”

“If you don’t mind me asking,” I started. “Why did you ignore my texts and sit in the back of the classroom?”

“I don’t know, I was embarrassed and just wanted to forget all about it. I didn’t want you to make fun of me.”

“I’m capable of having serious discussions,” I interjected.

“I’m sure you are,” she said. “I have yet to see it, though.”

We laughed, her head still resting on my shoulder. I put my arm around her shoulders, pulling her in a little closer. She didn’t flinch. Nice.

“For what it’s worth,” I said, “I had a really good time with you at the party.”

“I think I did too, until the last few drinks happened,” she groaned.

“Even dancing with Donny?”

“You saw that?”

“Everyone saw that. You were dancing like a mad woman,” I chuckled.

“I like to dance,” she said defensively. “He was so sweaty, though. Why was he that sweaty?”

“Donny doesn’t pull a lot of hot chicks. He was probably nervous.”

We both laughed at this. It was so nice, just getting to talk like two friends. No trying to one-up each other, just talking.

“Did I -” she started. “Did I say anything to you while I was blackout drunk?”

“Not really, besides the fact that I’m apparently an asshole, but nice. So which is it?”

She gave me a coy smile. “Nice, I think. But I’m still not completely convinced.”

I couldn’t help but stroke her hair. It always looked so soft and smooth. I gently pressed my lips to the top of her head. She lifted her head and looked me straight in the eyes. Then suddenly, her lips were on mine and it took every ounce of restraint I had not to pull her in closer.

I wanted to put my hands on every square inch of her body, but I didn’t want to scare her away. When we pulled apart we were both silent, just staring into each other’s eyes.

Without warning, my door sprung open.

“What’s going on in here?” Donny yelled.

“What the hell are you doing?” I yelled back.

“Reg said you guys had another case of beer in here.”

“Why didn’t you look in the fridge? Shut the door and get out of here,” I said.

“Hey, Alexa,” Donny sneered. She looked like she wanted to disappear. “You better be careful, Martin. She’s a crazy one. She can do things in bed that you’ve never even heard of.”

“Nothing that I already haven’t done with your mom, Donny,” I retorted. With that, he left, slamming the door behind him.

“I’m really sorry about that,” I said. “That guy is a dick and is probably just jealous that no girl has ever been in his room.”

“I should go,” she said, gathering her shoes and purse.

“Do you want to come back later tonight?” I asked hopefully.

“I just need to be alone for a while, I think. I’ll text you sometime, though.”

I walked her to the door. She wordlessly kissed me on the cheek, and walked back to her building.

I wondered if this meant there was something going on between us, or if we just had a bad habit of being together during vulnerable times. I didn’t feel like going to the party anymore. I texted Reg and told him that I was going to bed and would talk to him in the morning.