Why was she kissing him? The easy answer was because she really, really wanted to. He was so sweet. He was thoughtful. He listened to her. It was like the Holy Trinity of getting a woman’s attention. She would like to think that she wasn’t so easy. Or maybe easy wasn’t the right way to look at it.

Maybe she was just accepting the offer of someone that seemed to like her. Why shouldn’t she take what she wanted? There might be more to Finley than she had thought. Viv had decided to do a little investigating on the Rochon family and on Finley. It turned out that Finley was a party boy. At least he used to be. His picture had popped up a lot over the last few years. Keggers, swim parties at clubs, and general college shenanigans, but during the last year he’d been quieter.

Zara didn’t look down on his actions. It was college after all. Everyone had the opportunity to cut loose. Well, everyone but her. For most students, college was their first chance to live away from home and see what the world had to offer.

So what if Finley Rochon had taken those opportunities. This might just be Zara’s chance to live a little. Her future was set. She had nothing but long hours of studying planned. Then she would be out of school and being tested on how long a human being could go without sleep as a resident. Some people might find that future daunting, but Zara was going in with her eyes wide open. Getting to be a doctor and helping children would all be worth it.

However, Finley Rochon might just represent her last chance to live a little before her responsibilities took up all of her time.

That revelation meant kissing him back like she was a starving woman.

She felt him pull back and he rested his forehead against hers. They were both breathing heavily and she was glad that she wasn’t the only one feeling the effects of that kiss.

“Zara, you have no idea,” he started.

“Don’t I?”

“Not really, not for me. I like you.” He said those words with a harshness to his voice that surprised her.

“I like you too, Fin. What’s wrong with that?”

“There’s nothing wrong, honey. Nothing at all. I’m just getting my mind wrapped around so many things.”

She could tell he was struggling, and her first reaction was that she was the cause of that struggle. Then she remembered that Finley’s life was probably just as complicated as hers, and relationships took work. Sometimes they were more work than people could fit into their busy lives.

Bringing her hand up to his face and tangling her fingers in his beard she said, “Well, I’ll tell you that I didn’t plan on meeting anyone either. I have so much school still ahead of me. Years of it, in fact. I’ve been telling myself that no distractions would be the easiest way to go. You are a distraction, Finley Rochon. Worse, I think you might be a really fun one and I’m tempted.”

“Tempted? I like that word. You tempt me. Everything about you calls out to me. There is no place in the world I’d rather be than sitting on the grass with you right now.”

“I won’t say that heading back home to study is very high on my list of things I’d like to do right now. I’d be lying if I did. But I’m not an easy person to date. I think you need to know that.”

His head came up and she saw his hazel eyes shimmer for just a moment. It must have been the reflection from the streetlights causing the strange glow. “Why wouldn’t you be easy? Shit, not easy, you know what I mean.”

Zara laughed and looked at her hands in her lap. “I mean, my family is complicated. They’re great; it’s just that my parents don’t see any reason to date when you aren’t ready to get married. And certainly not when you still have school left to finish. I spend a lot of time with them. And because my family supports me so much, I don’t have to work while I’m in school. I’m grateful for that. Not that it’s right, but they wouldn’t be thrilled if they found out I was dating someone like you.”

“Someone like me?”

“Someone who isn’t Indian. It’s not about them thinking you aren’t good enough; it’s just hard to assimilate. Our culture and our families are every day, all day. We just live a little insular compared to others.”

He gave her a wry smile. “You’d be surprised how much I actually understand that. My family is very ‘Rochon oriented,’ and outsiders often have a hard time figuring out how to fit in. So don’t think that will scare me off. I just need to convince your parents that I’m a good guy. You can help me with that. Maybe give me some pointers?”

“Wait, you want to meet my parents? After half a date?”

A look of surprise came over his face and he quickly replaced it with a casual look that still showed he was trying to hide his first reaction.

“What if I said yes?”

“I’d think that you really didn’t know me very well and you should do a lot more research and evaluate our ability to spend time together before committing to anything.”

“Very logical. What if I’m not using logic? What if I’m using pure feelings?”

Zara shrugged. “Feelings change.”

“So you need to be able to quantify your feelings for someone. That’s okay, I can work with that.”

“I believe in what I can see and prove.”

Finley pointed at her t-shirt. “Says the girl that believes in aliens?”

Zara looked down at her shirt. “These aren’t aliens, silly. These are humans that are colonizing other planets. It’s something that I could see in our future.”

“So mysticism and the like don’t hold much sway with you?”

“Like ghosts and goblins? No,” she said with a sharp laugh.

“What about the idea that there is a greater power than ourselves and that we are connected universally?”

“Funny, my scientific mind along with my love for space can rectify some of that. We are all composed of basically the same things. Elementally we are all the same. So finding someone that matches up with you is just a biological and scientific process.”

“Say, like the perfect mate?”

“I don’t know about perfect mate. I mean, think about how many people there are in the world? If you only had one true mate and they lived on the other side of the planet, how would you ever get to meet them? It’s terribly sad to think about. I do believe that there are lots of someone’s out there for us. That chance meeting could lead to a happy union of genes that produce offspring to continue our species. It’s a win for everyone, including Mother Nature, if you believe in that.”

Finley was quiet for a moment. “You are going to be a challenge, Ms. Chadha. You see, I believe in the Fates. I believe that everything that is living is connected. I believe that the universe pushes us together for our own good. Maybe it’s a grand plan; maybe it’s just the cosmos trying to help like find like. Either way, some people are better matched to each other than others. Those matches aren’t as common as you think. Too many people think they know better than biology. They try to overthink relationships and they end up fighting to keep a pairing together that was never meant to be.”

“Like pushing two magnets together?”

“Exactly. And what happens when those magnets are flipped over? They slam together with such force that it’s hard to pry them apart. I think people are like that. They’re either repelled or attracted. It would go against our human nature to push away what attracts us. I believe in the power that flows through everything. People, plants, the earth. We are all here because we are made up of the same things. What can I say, you’re my thing.”

Zara gave him a teasing look and asked, “I’m your thing?”

“Why not? I was instantly attracted to you, even before I saw your face. There has to be a reason for that. I liked you more when I got to see your beautiful green eyes, more when I saw you smile. When I heard you talk about your passions, I liked you even more. I can’t imagine that I’m going to top out with you. You surprise me. You’re funny and kind. It sounds like your family drives you crazy but you love them anyway, which I totally understand. You have a career plan that I find impressive and I like that you want to help children. I want the same, just in a different way. I like you, Zara. I want to see you again. I’d like to see you every day if you’d let me.”

Zara actually felt something like pride swell inside her. When she had told her parents her plans to become a doctor they had been happy, but only because they thought it was a reasonable decision. Practical and proper. They hadn’t really praised her for the choice. Her grades and aspirations had been already expected. Here was a man she just met and he was making her feel proud of her hard work. For the first time, she felt like someone was acknowledging the effort it was taking to being a doctor. It felt really good. Add on to that, the way he had talked about how much he liked her before he even saw her and she was feeling all sorts of tingly about Finley.

“What if my schedule and my family make seeing me difficult? Will you give up because I’m a challenge?”

Zara watched a wicked smile spread across his face and Finley’s eyes almost darkening as his warm gaze settled on her.

“No, that’s not possible. I love a challenge. Details aren’t going to get in the way of me wanting to see you. I’m happy to catch you in between classes, after school, or weekends. If you only have a few minutes and you want to share them with me, I’ll be grateful. I would like to take you out somewhere, your pick. Dinner, movie, and dancing... although, I will warn you, I dance like I have muscle spasms. Slow dancing I can do, fast not so much.”

“No dancing, that’s okay. So I guess I can figure out a night this week to see a movie if you want.”

“I’d like that. Do you mind giving me your schedule so I can text you when I’m free too?”

Zara didn’t mind at all. She handed over her phone after pulling up her calendar because she had it all color-coded, even on her phone.

“Just share it to yourself after you add the contact. I can always block you later,” she only half joked.

“Fair enough. I’m not this organized, but I’ll just text you my schedule too. So movie this week, what are we thinking?”

“Actually, the Neptune is showing Barbarella on Friday. I know it’s old and cheesy, but it makes me laugh. And since it falls firmly under my sci-fi rule I feel I’m obligated to see it on the big screen.”

“Wow, that is a classic. I remember the poster, but I’m pretty sure I’ve never seen it. Will you have any trouble going out at night?”

“No, I usually tell my parents that I’m with my cousin Viv. They never question me.”

“I don’t want you lying to your parents. Like I said, I’m happy to come over and introduce myself. I’d like to pick you up. Call me old-fashioned, but I think it’s polite.

“It is polite and I appreciate it. I’m just a little worried that my family will scare you off.”

Zara didn’t blame any man that came up against her parents for running for the hills. They loved her and wanted what was best for her. They just assumed that they knew exactly what that was. Zara had a different opinion.

“Not possible. My brother’s girlfriend has a mom that hates him with a passion. She even sent him one of those poop grams after they started dating.”

“I’m sorry, poop grams?”

“Yup, literally a box of shit. It was animal shit, but it was still gross. She’s warming up to him. If they went to that extreme, it still wouldn’t keep me from seeing you.”

“Wow, there is no way they’d send poop. How about we see how a few dates go before we commit to parents? Besides, after Barbarella you may never want to see me again.”

Finley shook his head slowly at her and promised, “Not gonna happen.”