Chapter 4

As soon as I got home, my mom called me.

"Jane, bring your boyfriend over for dinner tonight," she said.

I glanced at Samuel, and he nodded.

Samuel had brought a ton of stuff, filling up the entire trunk. Damn, that was impressive.

"It's my first time coming over, and with you being pregnant," Samuel said as he glanced at my belly. "Gotta show some proper manners."

I gave him a slow thumbs-up. This guy really knew all the social rules. Smooth operator.

But then, something unexpected happened.

The guy who opened the door looked familiar, but he was totally different from Samuel; he had this artsy, refined vibe, like someone straight out of an art gallery.

"Uh, Samuel," he stammered.

Samuel just nodded in response.

I quietly pulled my mom, who was all dressed up, into the kitchen and asked, "Who's that guy? Why is he here?"

"He's my bestie's son, Robin Morgan. Isn't he handsome? I was actually planning to set you two up on a blind date," she said.

My mom's bestie's son?

My mom kept going, sounding pretty proud. She said, "But my girl's got great taste. Samuel seems way more steady and well-spoken."

Samuel, sitting in the living room, caught my gaze. After saying something to Robin, he walked over to me and asked, "What's wrong? You feeling okay?"

I waved my hand and dragged Samuel into my room.

"Jane, come eat," my mom called out.

"Hang on," I called back.

After I shut the door, I blurted out, "Who are you?"

Samuel's worry faded a bit. He met my gaze and answered seriously, "Samuel."

"Wait, you're not my mom's friend's kid," I said.

"Jane, you didn't even let me explain," Samuel said.

Yeah, that one was on me.

"But we've never met before," I blurted out.

Samuel gave me a complicated look, hesitated, then said, "Jane, this isn't the first time we've met."

Not our first time?

I was terrible at remembering faces, but with Samuel's whole vibe, anyone could tell that he was never the type to mess around in showbiz.

"Jane, Samuel, come eat," my mom called out.

She totally cut me off before I could say anything.

Samuel took my hand and pressed it to his cheek. He said, "Jane, can we talk about this at home, please?"

Seriously, when a grown man acted all cutesy like that, who could ever say no?

On the way home, Samuel was driving, and the heavy silence was killing me. I finally broke it, asking, "Aren't you going to say something?"

"Samuel, 30, doctor," he replied.

"Tell me something I don't know. Why did you end up on a blind date with me?" I asked.

Samuel glanced at me, saying, "I just got off work and needed a change of scene. But once you saw me, you didn't give me a chance to say a word."

"Then why did you go along with it?" I asked.

"You were the one who brought up marriage," Samuel replied.

"But," I said.

"First off, I'm a normal guy," Samuel said, pausing. His ears started to flush as he finally blurted out, "And second, I really like you."

Surprised, I turned to look at him and asked, "But I've never seen you before."

"Check the glove box," he said.

I opened it up and found two marriage certificates and a childish plush toy. "So, what am I supposed to find?" I asked.

"Five years ago. South University," Samuel replied.

The South University?

I picked up the plushie and examined it carefully. Something about it felt familiar. Just as we were about to get home, it hit me out of nowhere. "Dr. Grant?" I blurted out.

Samuel's lashes trembled, and he just gave a quiet Yeah.

I was so dead; this was social suicide.

"Guest room for you tonight," I said, shoved Samuel out of my bedroom, and shut the door right in his face.

I was so embarrassed.

Five years ago, my roommate, who was always acting like a little fortune teller, leaned in all mysterious and said, "Jane, I did a reading for you. Tonight at Lover's Lake, you're in for a surprise."

"What kind of surprise? A guy?" I asked, handing her a gold bracelet. "Here's hoping your prediction pays off."

She grinned, taking the bracelet. She said, "Thanks for the reward. You'll be thanking me later."

During our four years as roommates, the other three all found themselves boyfriends. One of them even tied the knot right on her twentieth birthday, while I was still single and doing my own thing.

Heading to the East Campus library, I just happened to walk past Lover's Lake. Guess it was the winter chill; hardly anyone was around.

Just as I got to Lover's Lake, I ran into Samuel and his girlfriend. They were clearly arguing, and before I knew it, she slapped him hard across the face.

As she walked past me, I realized it was Michelle, the campus belle from the finance department.

Just then, Samuel suddenly collapsed to the ground.

I wasn't far from him, but looking around, there was no one else in sight. I quickly called the campus infirmary and jogged over. I asked, "Are you okay? Do you have any medicine? The doctor is on the way, just hang in there."

His face was covered in pink hives, his skin pale and drenched in sweat. He looked pretty freaked out; honestly, it was kind of scary.

He reached out, but instead of grabbing me, he clutched the plushie. He mumbled something, but I could barely hear him.

The campus infirmary was on the north side, but they showed up super fast and loaded him onto a stretcher.

Since I figured there wasn't much I could do, I didn't follow. I just took the plushie off my backpack.

But that wasn't even the real social suicide moment. The night before graduation, I got totally wasted and, desperate to finally get a boyfriend, just picked someone at random and blurted out a confession.

When I sobered up the next day, my roommate told me the guy I had confessed to was Samuel.

Guess he really did remember me; otherwise, why would he look at me with such a complicated expression?