Page 15 of Maybe You

“We’ve arrived at an impasse,” he says. “I suppose you could be a better person and let me have the spot?”

“I could.” I’m really considering it because he sort of deserves it after putting up with me in the past.

“But you want this spot, too.” He gives me a knowing grin. “This makes things a bit more complicated.”

“Unless you want to be the bigger person.”

“I usually am,” he says. It’s true. He is. “But I also really want this desk. See, I’ve got a paper to finish, and this just happens to be my lucky desk.”

“Right.” I roll my eyes. Ethan is way too logical a creature for superstitions.

His smile, in return, widens even more.

He leans his hip against one of the partitions on the side of the desk and tilts his head to the side a bit as his eyes land on the book I’m holding.

“You’re taking Probability and Statistics? Landry’s class?”

I nod slowly.

He nods too, his silvery gray eyes glinting with humor now. “I took that as an elective in a moment of insanity and had a terrible time. Flunked it on my first go.”

Still the same Ethan. Easygoing, kind, and a perfect gentleman.

“I heard Landry fails a lot of people,” I say.

“I bet you’re acing the class.” There’s the kind of melancholic fondness in his tone that comes from knowing somebody well.

“Maybe I’m not. Maybe I’m failing every class nowadays.”

“Are you?”

“No. I do okay,” I say.

He looks down at his feet, then up at me again.

“You still on the econ path?” I manage to ask.

“Accounting.” He looks around the room. “I’m going to have to pull an all-nighter to get my paper finished and the econ library closes at midnight, while you engineering lunatics have yours open twenty-four seven.”

“I didn’t know you changed your major. But accounting is great. Interesting, I bet.”

He chuckles softly. “Almost convincing. It’s not too bad. I like it. Job prospects are good, too.”

“That’s good,” I say.

He smiles and raps his knuckles against the desktop twice.

“So how are we going to solve this desk situation?”

“I guess it would be fair if we both found a new spot,” I say.

He gives me a calculating look.

“Or…”

I don’t get to find out what he’s planning to say because that’s when somebody stops next to us. It’s a tall, pretty brunette, and her smile takes up her whole face when she looks at Ethan.

“Hey,” she says. “Fancy running into you.”

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