“Perry!”

She thought she saw a hitch in his step, but he did not turn.

“Perry, please!” It took all she had, but she put on a burst of speed and beat him to the elevator, reaching out to grab his hand, to stop him from pressing the button.

The touch sent a jolt through her, and from the look in his eyes, he felt it, too. She could still feel his lips on her cheek, on her mouth, and she stared at him, her breath coming short.

“Let me explain.”

“You don’t have to explain anything.”

“Would you stop being so perfect?” The shout surprised her. Judging by the look on his face, it surprised him, too. “Let your guard down, Perry, be a human for once.”

“Because you know me so well.” His face was bitter.

“You thought you knew me, last night. You said I reminded you of you. So you know what I think?” Cara glared at him. “I think you’re right. I think you do the right thing, and you tell yourself you’re a good person, and you hold it against the world when things don’t go your way. I think you tell yourself that nice people always finish last, but you do the right thing anyway because losing out when you did the right thing feels better than winning by doing the wrong thing. I think you’ve told yourself that you’ll never find anyone who loves you, so you seek out people who might and then you let them get away because you’re too scared to have them leave you instead of the other way around.”

“You don’t know me.”

“I think I do.” She’d seen the jolt of recognition in his eyes. “So why don’t you let me explain. Why don’t you let your guard down for a moment instead of shutting me out, and I’ll tell you what you saw?”

She didn’t even know what she hoped would happen. He would walk away from her when he heard what she had to say; she was sure of it. But somehow that wasn’t as important as telling him the truth. For years, she hid behind the knowledge that no matter how much they hurt her, no matter how far she fell; no one would ever know how much pain she was in. As long as she hid the truth, as long as she put on a mask, they’d never break her—not the real her.

“When I finish,” she told him softly, “you can walk away and never see me again. Just let me tell you the truth.”

His own words. He closed his eyes and let his head fall, then forced a smile. “Okay.”

He led her to the back of the lobby and she chose a couch and sat. When he only stood and stared at her, she began.

“I was in my sophomore year of college, and Craig was… I didn’t know what he saw in someone like me. He had the clothes and the money, and everyone wanted to be his friend. But he chose me, and it made me feel like I was really something. I hadn’t even wanted that, you know. I wasn’t looking for a boyfriend. I didn’t want him until he chose me, and then it felt so good.

“When…” Her throat closed, and she forced herself to keep talking. “When my family died, he was there for me. It was a car crash. My parents, and my sister. She was fourteen. I don’t even know what happened. I stopped caring. I stopped going to class. I couldn’t seem to get out of bed anymore. It took too much effort to eat, or… do anything. Craig told me to take the semester off. He said it would help. He said he’d take care of me.

“And then I got pregnant. He wanted me to get rid of the baby, and I guess it made sense. I was still so depressed. But it was life, don’t you see? It showed me that there was more to the world than just darkness. I stopped drinking. I stopped smoking. I could see colors again; I had the energy to do things.

“But he was so angry with me. He started accusing me of keeping the baby to get money out of him. His parents came and threatened me. I told them I’d sign anything they wanted, but they didn’t care. They just wanted to tell me how stupid I was for letting it happen. When Darren was born, they didn’t come to see him. Craig didn’t come to see him.”

She could remember it like it was yesterday: her, alone in the hospital, holding the baby and wondering what she had done.

“I never meant to ask him for help, I swear to you. But there was the hospital, and then the clothes, and… I was trying to work two jobs, but I couldn’t pay anyone to watch him. I tried everything, but it never seemed to be enough. And I kept thinking that if I just did the right thing, it would all get better.

“It took seven years to fall apart. First the diner, then my apartment. I called him when the diner closed. I said I’d do anything; I just needed the money for Darren. Not even for me, he could take him shopping, get him clothes; that way he’d know it wasn’t going to me. He didn’t call me back. I didn’t hear from him until—”

“Today,” Perry finished softly.

“Yeah. There have been so many since him. Guys who told me I was special; I was really something. And they all wanted one thing, and when they didn’t get it, they walked away. After a while, it was a lot easier to see what was happening before I got caught up in it. When you came along, I thought you were lying.”

“Cara, I grew up dirt poor.” He sat at last, and his eyes met hers. “Some nights we had cheese and crackers for dinner. Hell, some nights we had crackers. I went to bed with my stomach rumbling every night for years, and what I learned was that people laughed at you when you asked for help. People weren’t going to give you anything, not even if you were starving to death slowly.

“When the Marines gave me a way out, I turned them down flat. I told them I didn’t need anything, but the recruiter followed me home, and when he saw me get into a fight I couldn’t win outside my house; he beat the crap out of them and picked me up off the ground, and he said to me, when are you going to learn that everyone needs brothers to help them? He’d grown up just like me, destined for nothing because he had nothing but pride, and he couldn’t ask, and it was his recruiter who had gotten him out. He said he was paying it forward.

“And I didn’t want any help, Cara, but he was right. I took that offer, and I saw some things I wish I could forget. But that money got my family out of a tight spot, and it got me to college, and that got me here, because I learned to say ‘yes’ when someone offered me something. The only thing it couldn’t get me was a woman who understood, who fought for herself and her family like I’d fought for me and mine. You can call me crazy, but when I saw you in that diner, I knew. I knew you were that woman.

“You don’t have to be with me, Cara. Just knowing you’re out there? It’s enough. I won’t bother you if you don’t want it, but…” He held out the folder he’d been carrying. “This is an application. To MIT. Humor me, fill it out. Send it in. Let me pay your application fee. And even if I never see you again, when you come across someone someday who doesn’t want any help, you stick with them until they take it.”

“I…” She took the folder, opened it, and stared at the logo. “Why?”

“Because I want you to bet on yourself,” Perry told her. “I kept telling myself I would never be anything because I would rather starve and steal than ask for help. When I took my spot in the Marines, it was the scariest thing I had ever done. But it gets easier.”

“Hey,” said a voice from behind them.

“What?” Cara turned to meet Craig’s eyes.

“Are we gonna go?” he asked her, looking over Perry with contempt. “You left me hanging.”

“Oh.” Cara looked down at the folder. She looked at Craig. The moment stretched, branching two ways ahead, and she swallowed, pressing her lips together. “You know, I don’t think so,” she said finally. “I think we’re done, Craig.”

“I’ve heard that before.”

“I mean it this time.”

“I’ve heard that, too.”

“I’m going back to school,” Cara said suddenly. “I am, Craig. This is it. Thanks for… well, for Darren.”

“You’re going back to school.” He started to laugh. “Cara, you’re never finishing that degree. And whatever this bastard is telling you—”

He never saw the punch coming. Perry, it happened, could move faster than Cara could even see. There was a blur, and then Craig was crumpled on the ground, and a few men in suits by the elevators laughed and clapped. Perry gave them a sheepish nod before sitting back down.

“Sorry about that,” he said, and she saw a gleam of humor in his eyes. “But I’m a little bored with that speech.”

Cara laughed, she couldn’t help herself. The giggle welled up and she laughed until she was crying, hunched over the folder and wiping at her eyes, holding it so tight that the edges crinkled. When he tried to take it, she hung on.

“Nuh-h. This is mine.”

“So you’re going to do it?” He asked her, and there was a smile on his face.

“Yeah.” She felt like she was at the top of a rollercoaster and she smiled, feeling reckless. “I’m going to do it. I’m going back to school.”

“I’m glad.” He stood up to leave, and looked down at her. “I wish you all the luck in the world, Cara.”

“Wait.” Her voice stopped him, but he didn’t turn. “Would you, uh…would you have dinner with me?”

She couldn’t see his smile, but she could feel it.

“How about my place?” His voice was very deep. It warmed her down to her bones. “Come over after work. We’ll have dinner ready for you.”

“We?”

“Your son,” he said with dignity, “has to learn how to cook. It’s very popular with the ladies.” He smiled. “I’ll see you at eight.”