I pat my laptop bag. “What about you?”
“I was just stopping by for a drink real quick.” He hesitates for only a moment. “Mind if I join you?”
“Yes. You should.” I like Carson. Talking to him helps me forget about Jackson.
We get our drinks and find a table, right up against the wall of windows that are at the front of the building. We discuss what we like to drink here, and how much he hates the lavender drink, which I get since it’s an acquired taste.
“What are you up to today?” I ask, once we’re finished squabbling over superior coffee drinks.
“I was just at my parents’ house,” he says. “They live not too far from here.”
It’s a nicer part of town. Lots of older, larger houses in quiet, tree-filled subdivisions. “I love the neighborhoods around here. Do you get along with your parents?”
“Oh yeah. They’re all right. My dad can be tough sometimes. He has all of these expectations,” he says, rolling his eyes.
“I get that,” I say, smiling at him.
“What about yours?” he asks.
“They’re very supportive, but they don’t have a lot of money, so I had to really work to convince them I wanted to go to Fresno State. They’d rather I go to community college first, which I totally get, but I wanted the campus-life experience, you know? So I worked hard, maintained a solid grade point average, got into Fresno State, won some grants and community scholarships, and now here I am,” I explain.
“You’re the type who doesn’t hesitate to go after what you want, huh?” he says, his gaze full of admiration.
I would never, ever describe myself like that but when he puts it that way…
“Yeah. I guess you’re right,” I say softly, my mind turning his words over and over again.
“Are you from around here?” he asks.
“I grew up in the foothills above Fresno,” I say. “Close to Yosemite.”
“Nice. It’s beautiful up there,” he says, nodding. “We went up to Yosemite a lot when I was younger. My parents like to hike and camp.”
“The park is amazing,” I agree. “But we rarely visited. When it’s in your back yard, you let the tourists have it. At least, that’s what my parents always said.”
He chuckles. “Figures. When I was little, I wanted to live there.”
“Ugh, no you didn’t,” I tease, making him grin.
“Do you have brothers or sisters?” he asks.
“I have two sisters. They’re a lot older than me. They already have kids and stuff,” I answer, taking a sip of my drink.
“Why such an age difference? Were you an oops baby?” He grimaces. “Maybe I shouldn’t have put it like that. Or maybe that was too intrusive of a question?”
“No, not at all. It’s fine.” I don’t want him to be afraid to ask me questions. I’m a freaking open book. “My mom was previously married. They got a divorce, and she met my dad. They got married and I was born less than a year later. So it’s basically like I’m an only child. I love my sisters, but we’re not very close.”
“It’s hard when you don’t grow up together,” he says.
“It is,” I agree. “What about you?”
“I have an older brother and a younger sister. I’m the middle child.”
“Do you have middle child syndrome?”
“Nah, I don’t think I do. But isn’t that half the problem with a middle child? They’re not aware they have a problem?” We both laugh. “My parents are cool. Sometimes Dad comes down harder on us guys. I’m not what he wanted.”
“And what did he want?”
“A jock, like him. Someone who always has a ball in his hands. Football, baseball, basketball, it didn’t matter. My brother is exactly like him. Really good at sports. Broke a couple of records when he was on the varsity baseball team at our high school,” Carson explains. “My dad tried with me, but I’m totally uncoordinated. And I kind of don’t care, you know? I’m not into it.”
“Yet I bet you played sports for years,” I say.
His smile is bashful. “I did, but I was never very good at any of them. I finally put my foot down right before I started high school. Besides, I probably would’ve been cut from the teams.”
“They cut players on the teams at your high school?”
He sends me an incredulous look. “Well, yeah.”
“Our high school was so small, they practically had to beg people to join teams. Sometimes we wouldn’t even have a JV team.” I frown. “Except for volleyball. We had four teams one