Page 98 of Campus Heat

I held out my arm, hoping she would take it. “I was thinking of a very chilled date. Some walking, maybe a bite of street food, and if we’re really lucky, some music under starlight.”

She gave me the sweetest of smiles, and we started walking. The sun was just starting to set, casting an orange glow on the city and creating the perfect accent for what I had in mind for the evening.

“I told you that you could pull this off,” she whispered as we stepped out of the campus.

“You are the only person on the planet who believed in me enough to think I could pull this off.”

“That can’t be true,” she said, looking a little shocked.

“Well, it is. I guess that makes you even more unique.”

A moment of silence passed between us, and only then did I realize she had a certainty in her voice that hit me harder than I expected.

“I’m proud of you,” she mumbled, and I nearly died on the spot.

No one who was close to me had ever said those words out loud, so hearing them from her made them even more precious. It gave me this warm, fuzzy feeling that I couldn’t explain but wanted more of.

I shrugged. “I couldn’t have done it without my terrifying tutor.”

She playfully slapped my chest. “I’m not so bad, man.”

I winked at her and stole a quick kiss before taking her hand in mine and weaving our fingers together so she couldn’t escape.

“So what do you remember about the test?” she asked casually.

“Not much, to be honest with you. I mostly just remember the memories I used to get through it.”

“And what memories would those be?”

“They all revolve around you.”

She tried to hide it, but I could see the smile playing at the corners of her lips. We finally reached town, and the warmth from the street lamps highlighted her features in the most amazing of ways. It was as if I was seeing her for the first time, but yet all those creases and crevices seemed so familiar.

I suddenly pulled her to a stop in front of a stand. “Whatcha want, my friend?” Luis, the vendor, asked me. Elizabeth gave me an incredulous look. It was similar to the one I wore myself the first time I stumbled onto this guy because it kind of felt like he belonged in a drug den with his hoodie pulled halfway down his face and gloves with cut-off fingertips.

“Two hot dogs and loaded fries, please,” I said, earning another pointed look.

I laughed out loud, especially when he pulled out two huge hotdogs wrapped in thin foil and handed them to me. Her eyes went wide, and she looked around like we were about to get caught. I pulled her away, but as I handed her a hot dog, she raised an eyebrow.

“Is hot dog a codeword for some kind of study drug, or is there actually a delicious meal in this oversized wrapping?” she eventually asked.

“I guess you’ll have to open it and find out,” I teased.

She gave me a look that said she was wondering if I could be trusted, but she opened the wrapping anyway. Inside sat a hot dog that was slightly larger than usual but still completely traditional. Elizabeth examined it from every angle to see if anything would fall out, and she was highly disappointed when nothing did.

“So this is your celebration dinner?” she asked.

“Trust me, it’s so much better than it looks.” I took a big bite, hoping it would get her to trust me. “When I first came to town, and I was all alone, these hotdogs were all I had to make it through the rough nights.”

We sat down on a low brick wall and shared fries. Elizabeth laughed as I accidentally spilled half the toppings on the ground, and for the first time, it didn’t feel like my every move was being judged.

“You’re the worst,” she teased.

“But you’re still here…” I responded. “Through everything I’ve done and every mistake I’ve made, you’ve always come back and stood by my side.”

We got up and kept on walking. We were strolling through the small downtown streets while music spilled from the nearby bars. Other students passed us by, smiling like they knew us. And I was sharing some of our best memories.

Elizabeth wiped her tears away as I finished my story of Dylan puking on our first bus ride.