It began with a goodbye

Our college day room was loud, congested, and brimming with numerous conversations all occurring simultaneously. Mine was one of those conversations. I had recently ended my relationship with Paul. After just a few brief weeks of dating, I came to the conclusion that we shared very few interests, and quite frankly, I realized he was boring. The girls and I sat in the back corner on one of the overstuffed sofas as we did most Friday nights. We sat there commenting and observing an intense dart match in the left corner, a poker game on the right, and four guysengaged in a game of pool directly in front of us. After I told the girls about the breakup.

Liza smiled and said, "It’s about time; I could have told you on the second day that he wasn’t the guy for you.”

"Of course, you could," Mindy interjected with an eyeroll.

"Why didn’t you mention it two weeks ago when he first asked me out?" I retorted. "Opposites attract and all that; you never truly know until you experience it," she replied with a wink and a smile.

"Why are we in the dayroom on Friday night anyways? Isn’t there a movie playing somewhere, perhaps bowling, anything but this?" I asked, surveying the noisy, overcrowded dayroom.

"Ut Oh." Liza muttered quietly. "Look who just entered."

I turned my gaze towards the door and saw Paul and Marty making their way in. I melted into the couch as much as humanly possible, wishing he wouldn’t notice me. "Incoming three O’clock," Mindy remarked in her usual sarcastic tone. I raised my eyes to find Paul standing directly in front of me. The frown etched on his face conveyed everything I needed to know; he was not pleased.

"We need to talk," he stated.

"I believe I said everything I needed to earlier." I met his gaze and smiled, "You need to move on Paul. You and me, together, is not going to happen."

"Let’s find a private place to discuss this."

"No," was my only response.

"Regardless, she already has a date for this evening," Liza interjected.

"Indeed," Minda replied, "Liza and I arranged it for her right after she dumped you."

"We only broke up an hour ago, who is this so called“date” with Kira?" He growled, directing his gaze at me.

"Him, right there, just waiting for him to finish his game of pool," I indicated.

He turned to look at the person I was pointing to. I smiled and gestured towards the tallest of the four individuals playing pool. He was dressed in cutoffs, a black tank top, and a Cardinals cap worn backwards. Paul turned just as he pocketed the eight ball. Grinning at his friends, he approached, took my hand, and asked, "Are you ready?” The bluest eyes I’ve ever seen meet mine, and I notice the corner of his mouth lift into a smirk. I took his hand, stood up, and together we left the dayroom.

Liza and Mindy began to laugh and followed us out the door. Paul looked shocked. He turned and stormed off in the other direction. After we were outside, I turned to Michael and said,

“Thank you for going along with this.”

“I was intrigued, just had to meet the girl who was pointing at me,” he replied with a grin. “I’ve seen you around the campus and have been wanting to ask you out, but you were always with him.”

“Well, I’m no longer with him,” I responded, a hint of mischief flashing across my face.

“I noticed that. Why do you think I was so intrigued?”

Mindy and Liza caught up to us, still laughing. “Bowling anyone?” Mindy inquired.

“I’m in,” Michael said,

“Absolutely.” I smiled.

So, the four of us made our way to the bowling alley. As we entered, the sound of Gloria Estefan’s ‘Coming Out of the Dark’ blared through the loudspeakers. We approached the counter and luckily secured one of the last available lanes. We told the counterworker our shoe sizes and then headed over to the rack holding a range of different colored and weighted balls. Michael slid up behind me and whispered in my ear, “What's your favorite color?” If he had asked me 20 minutes ago, I would have said green, but now, for some reason, I couldn’t wrap my mind around it was blue. I tell him blue and that smirk appears on his face again. He leans around me and grabs a blue bowling ball. He says with a wink, “for luck.” Mindy yelled, “I’m first,” and proceeded to start the game with a gutter ball, chuckling all the way back as she awaited the ball return for another attempt.

“How did you know to play along, Michael?” I inquired

“Despite the crowd, certain conversations can still be heard.”

“Eavesdropping on us?” Liza remarked.

He gestured towards Mindy, who was struggling to knock down a single pin. “David has a thing for Mindy. He’s been trying to get up the nerve to ask her out,” he stated. “The last couple of days, he has dragged us everywhere she is; tonight it was the day room.” He paused. “Give it a few minutes, and the guys should be coming in to join us.”

“This ball doesn’t work; I need a different one.” Glancing up, I noticed the board showed all zeros for Mindy.

"It is your turn," Liza remarked.

I picked up my small, 10-pound bowling ball, approached the line, and delivered a flawless strike. "YES!" I exclaimed. At that moment, David, Allen, and Larry entered and took a seat in our section.

"That boy toy of yours seems displeased," David commented.

"He is not my boy toy,” I rolled my eyes, “and his feelings are of no concern to me," I replied, giving Mindy a playful wink. "Mindy, please add three more players to the game. You all can go and get some shoes if you wish to join us."

"It is better than lounging in the day room," David remarked, "and the company is far more enjoyable." He said, looking at Mindy.

The seven of us continued to play late into the evening. Mindy and David began to converse more as David volunteered to teach her how to bowl. Michael and I laughed as we watched Mindy try to hit the pins and David having to jump out of the balls path on more than one occasion. I enjoyed the relatively quiet discussions I was having with Michael, as quiet as one can be with seven individuals crowded around us.

“Do you think perhaps we could go to a movie next Friday?"

"Movie night sounds wonderful," Larry replied.

"You were not invited," Michael said with a grin, "I was thinking just Kira and myself."

"I’ll have to say maybe for now; I’ve got this professor who is truly trying to drown us in assignments."

"Fair enough," Michael chuckled, intertwining his fingers with mine.

The seven of us finished bowling around ten and headed back towards the dayroom. Liza, Allen, and Larry headed in to see if anything was still going on. Michael pulled me aside.

"I’d like to see you again before Friday if we can manage. I’m in the Main library most Mondays and Thursdays from four to six.”

"I can switch to the main library on Mondays, but Thursdays are not possible for me; I have labs, and I’m there until nearly ten at night.”

“Should I be jealous of your lab partners?” he smiled.

“I think you would like my lab partners, one is happily married, one is gay, and the other one is so strung out he is absent more than he's there.”

He laughed. “Taking the whole college experience to the extreme?”

“Most definitely,” I replied.

I glanced around the quad. Where are Mindy and David? Michael looked around the corner, then, following the quiet laughter, he signaled me to follow. Around the corner were David and Mindy enjoying their first kiss.

One Month Later…

I am walking out of the chapel hand and hand, looking into the bluest eyes I've ever seen.