He's staring directly at me. Our eyes lock as my mind races. My good mood vanishes as I contemplate an entire meal with my gynecologist as chaperone.

"Hi, I'm Brandee." The waitress has arrived. "Can I get you drinks while you look at the menus?"

Mike orders a Coke and I order a second glass of wine. I cross my legs under the table and glance back at Luke. He's still staring at me. He's not smiled in greeting once. Maybe I should smile? I try that. Luke's jaw ticks in response and his lips don't move.

"What are you getting?" Mike asks, redirecting my attention back to him.

I haven't even looked at the menu. I glance down, pretending I've been reviewing it. "Pad Thai." I give Mike a huge smile and close the menu, setting it down on the table. I shift in my seat so I can glance back to Luke's table. Luke's lips are moving now and I notice for the first time he's not alone. There's a beautiful red-haired woman sitting across from him. He's on a date.

She's in a cream sweater dress and tall brown fuck-me boots. I can see them from my vantage point. She looks very elegant though, classy. I'd guess her to be much closer to his age than I am. I'd also guess she doesn't own a single pair of socks that say classy bitch across the bottoms.

"Are you ready to order?" Brandee is back, placing our drinks on the table and pulling out a pen and pad. She smiles and looks between Mike and I. We glance at each other and nod. Brandee jots our order down and stuffs the pad into her apron pocket, promising to be back soon with an appetizer I didn't even catch Mike ordering. I'm a bad date.

I focus on Mike and get him talking. He's majoring in business, and he has a definite plan after graduation. He wants to open a deluxe car wash on the empty lot next to his dad's Chevy dealership and once that's up and running open a custom auto paint shop. He has a business plan ready, something he put together last year for a class, but he's really passionate about it. It might sound silly, but he has a vision for his success. Eventually he'll learn his dad's business and take it over when he retires.

Brandee places an order of chicken satay on our table with a warm smile. "Are you two students at Penn?"

"We are." Mike beams at her. "Are you an alumna?"

"Yes, I am." Brandee nods. "Met my husband there." She smiles at the two of us, like we remind her of her and her spouse. "We'd love for our daughter to attend Penn after high school, but she's determined to attend Penn State. Three hours away!" She shrugs and sighs, like she can't bear the thought of her baby flying so far away from the coop.

"Which building did you live in?" Mike asks her, popping a piece of chicken into his mouth.

"I lived in Frider Hall." She starts to laugh. "We had this security guard there named Mr Holguin, but he insisted we call him Fireball."

"Fireball!" Mike exclaims. "That guy is still there!"

I sneak another look over to Luke's table while Mike is laughing over the antics of the oldest, most beloved school employee on campus. Their food has arrived. Luke's date is mid-sip on a glass of wine and Luke is placing a forkful of noodles into his mouth. The fingers of his left hand are resting on the wooden table top, inches from a cell phone. His index finger is tapping the wood in a slow steady rhythm.

I look up to his face and find his eyes on mine once again. My heart slows then speeds up. Why does he keep staring at me? I steal a look at Mike—he's still distracted with the waitress. I'm surprised Luke's date hasn't noticed his lack of eye contact, since his eyes seem to be primarily on me.

No sooner do I have that thought than the redhead is half turning in her seat to look me over. She gives me the universal female once-over, as much as she can from her seat. She looks more curious than hostile as she takes me in.

She's stunning. Her makeup is flawless, pale skin, green eyes radiating intelligence and knowledge. Carnal knowledge. These two know each other on a bodily fluids level. I'd love to fool myself into thinking she's Luke's sister, but this woman is definitely not related to Luke. Not siblings. Not half-siblings. Not even step-siblings.

The woman turns back to Luke and says something. He looks at me a moment longer before replying to whatever she said.

"I'll have your entrees out in a few minutes," Brandee says and moves on to her next table. I grin at Mike and move a chicken satay to the plate in front of me.

"I can't believe old man Fireball has been pulling the same pranks for twenty years," Mike says.

"Twenty? I think he's been at Penn for at least sixty years." I take a bite.

"Yeah," Mike laughs. "I'd like to think he graduated in 1960 and just never left."

I laugh. "I hope that's true. Though you'd think the residents of Frider would warn the new kids each fall."

"Nah," Mike scoffs. "It's like a rite of passage. Besides, the old guy loves to mess with the new kids. He's earned the privilege." Mike grins as my cell phone beeps.

"Oh," I say. "I should check that in case it's my grandparents." I slide the phone from my purse. "The ladder accident this week freaked me out. Seeing my grandfather in a hospital bed was awful. I hate knowing they're getting older." I give Mike a little smile. "You're lucky your parents are a long way off from old age."

"Yeah, I am," he agrees.

I unlock my phone and freeze.

"Grandparents okay?" Mike asks, concerned.

"Yeah," I reply. "Fine." Which is not technically a lie. I assume they're fine because the text is not from them. It's from Luke.