Realizing she fidgeted with the pendant, Victoria let it fall back to her neck. Her brows rose at his question. “I don’t think it’s even [i]possible[/i] to truthfully use your name in the same sentence as ‘showing off.’” She adjusted in her seat and took another swig of her latte, trying to think of a time, [i]any[/i] time, she had seen him be a showoff. She came up empty, and her lips quirked at the thought.

She glanced back out the window, where the deluge slowly begun to diminish. Her mind wandered beneath the rhythmic sound of the rain tapping the glass, treading again to the question and worry of who her still absent roommate was, and to the few things she still had left to get in order back in her dorm before classes the following morning.

Victoria reached into her purse to check the time on her phone. Though she did not want the evening with Alex to be over so soon, she knew she needed to return. She sighed sadly as the screen faded to black, then replaced it in her purse.

“I should probably be getting back.” Her voice sounded more downcast than she had intended. [i]Things to do, people to avoid,[/i] she added to herself.