Chapter 71: Garrett-kun!
Garrett was cutting across the quad between buildings when a voice rang out behind him, bright and unmistakable.
“Garrett-kun!”
He turned. Benita was jogging the last few steps to catch up with him, her bag bouncing against her hip, grinning like she’d been looking forward to this exact moment all day.
Garrett looked at her for a second, the details there, blonde hair, bright features, the general shape of a conversation he vaguely remembered having, but the actual name sitting just out of reach.
“Hey, I remember you…” he said. “Can you remind me your name again?”
Benita’s mouth dropped open in exaggerated horror, one hand pressing flat against her chest like he’d just wounded her personally.
“You forgot my name?” Her voice climbed with mock devastation. “We had an entire conversation, I sat next to you. I made jokes. I was memorable, Garrett-kun.”
“You were,” he said sarcastically. “I just didn’t catch the name part.”
“Unbelievable.” She shook her head slowly, dragging the moment out for effect. “This is exactly the kind of thing that ruins a girl’s confidence, you know. I go around thinking I made an impression, and it turns out I was just background noise.”
“Wouldn’t call you background noise.”
“Then what would you call me?”
“Forgettable, apparently. According to you.”
She narrowed her eyes at him, clearly fighting a smile now. “You’re supposed to argue with that, not agree.”
“Didn’t realize there were rules.”
“There are absolutely rules.” She crossed her arms, feigning offense a moment longer before finally letting it drop entirely, amusement winning out. “Fine. I’ll allow it, Since you can’t even apologize right. It’s Benita, by the way. Try to hold onto it this time.”
“Benita,” Garrett repeated. “Noted.”
“Better be.”
She fell into step beside him without being invited, apparently deciding the conversation wasn’t over just because the teasing had wound down.
“So,” she said, “would you be kind to give me your number?.”
Garrett glanced at her. “Why?”
“Because I want it.”
“That’s not really a reason.”
“Sure it is. I want your number, so you should give it to me. Very simple logic.”
“Why do you want it?”
Benita didn’t hesitate, didn’t dress the answer up in anything softer than what it actually was. “I’m interested in you. I want to know you better.”
Garrett was quiet for a second, genuinely caught off guard by how plainly she’d said it, no hedging, no testing the water first.
“I have a girlfriend,” he said, then paused, correcting himself before the sentence had even fully landed. “Or, it’s complicated. My situation’s complicated.”
“I don’t care.”
He looked at her properly now. “What?!!You don’t care?”
“Nope.” She said it easily, like the question barely required thought. “I’m not asking you to break up with anyone. I’m not promising you anything either. I just want to know you. If your life’s complicated, fine, that’s your business. I’ll figure out for myself whether I still want to know you once I actually do.”
Garrett studied her for a moment, something about the certainty in it settling differently than he expected. He’d braced for jealousy, or hesitation, or the kind of careful backpedaling that usually followed an admission like that once complications got mentioned.
None of that showed up.
“That’s a very confident way to handle rejection you haven’t even gotten yet,” he said.
“I haven’t been rejected.” She grinned. “You haven’t said no.”
He hadn’t. He considered it for another second, then stretched out his hand. “Fine, phone.”
She rattled it off, watching him type it in with clear satisfaction. “See? Wasn’t that easy?”
“You made it sound like a business transaction.”
“I’m efficient. Sue me.”
They kept walking, no particular destination guiding either of them, the conversation shifting naturally away from the number exchange and into something looser.
“So what year are you?” Garrett asked.
“First year.”
He glanced at her. “First year?”
“Yep. Fresh meat.” She said it without embarrassment, like the label amused her more than bothered her. “Why, does that change something?”
“Just didn’t expect it.”
“How old does that make you feel, exactly?”
“Ancient.”
She laughed. ”Sucks to be old, but it’s great to watch.”
“Glad I could provide entertainment.”
“You provide plenty.” She bumped his shoulder lightly with hers, easy and unselfconscious about it. “Okay, my turn to ask things. What were you like before university?”
“Quieter, probably. Kept to myself more.”
“That’s vague.”
“It’s accurate.”
“Fine, I’ll extract details the hard way.” She tilted her head, studying him. “What’d you do when you were bored back then?”
“Not much. Read sometimes. Walked around a lot.”
“Very mysterious loner energy.”
“Wasn’t trying for mysterious.”
“Doesn’t matter what you were trying for. That’s what came out.” She grinned. “What do you actually like doing, then? Now, not back then.”
“Cooking, apparently. Recently found out I’m decent at it.”
“Recently?”
“Didn’t have much reason to test it before.”
“Interesting.” She filed that away with visible curiosity, moving on before he could ask what she meant by it. “What about things you can’t stand? Everyone’s got something.”
“People who talk during movies.”
“Oh, that’s a strong opinion.”
“It’s a correct opinion.”
“I talk during movies sometimes.”
“Then we’d have a problem.”
She laughed again, delighted rather than offended. “Noted. I’ll behave, if we ever get there.” She kept going without missing a beat. “Okay, tell me something embarrassing. Everyone’s got one of those too.”
“Uhmmm” Garrett considered it. “Okay…Once introduced myself to someone using my professor’s name by accident. Whole lecture hall heard it.”
“That’s incredible. I love that for you.”
“Wasn’t my favorite moment.”
“It’s my favorite moment now, though. Doesn’t that count for something?”
“Not really.”
“You’re no fun.” She smiled anyway, clearly not bothered by the lack of agreement. “What kind of people do you usually get along with?”
“People who don’t need constant conversation to be comfortable.”
“So, the opposite of me.”
“Didn’t say that.”
“You basically did.”
“You’re an exception,” Garrett said, dry, though there was something almost like a compliment buried in it.
Benita caught it immediately, her grin widening. “See, was that so hard?”
“Apparently not.”
“Okay, my turn to answer things, since you’ve been very patient.” She kept walking, hands swinging loosely at her sides. “I like talking to people. Like, genuinely. I get bored easy, so I go find something interesting instead of just sitting around waiting for life to happen to me.”
“Is that why you walked up to me?”
“Partially.” She shrugged, unbothered by the admission. “You looked like someone who wasn’t going to be boring. Turns out I was right.”
“Ouu thats nice.”
“I know. Don’t let it go to your head.”
Garrett studied her for a moment as they walked, something about her expression catching his attention properly for the first time.
“You look like someone I know,” he said.
Benita’s eyebrows lifted immediately, interest sparking. “Should I take that as a compliment?”
Garrett considered it, actually thinking it over instead of answering right away. “I don’t know.”
She stared at him, incredulous. “You don’t know?”
“Yeah…” He paused a beat longer. “I guess.”
Benita burst out laughing, the sound loud enough that a couple of people nearby glanced over. “That is the worst compliment I have ever received in my life, ’I guess.’ Incredible. Truly moving.”
“I said yeah first.”
“Doesn’t count if you follow it with ’I guess.’ That undoes the whole thing.” She shook her head, still grinning. “You are genuinely terrible at this.”
“Never claimed to be good at it.”
“No, you really didn’t. Fair enough.” She glanced at the time on her phone, then back up at him, some of the earlier energy settling into something a little more relaxed. “I should get going. But this was fun.”
“Yeah,” Garrett said. “It was.”
“I’ll probably see you around. Now that you actually remember my name.”
“No promises.”
“Rude.” She was already walking backward a few steps, grinning at him the whole time. “Bye, Garrett-kun”
“Bye, Benita.”
She turned and headed off across the quad, disappearing into the flow of students without looking back.
Garrett watched her go for a moment, faintly amused, faintly puzzled by how easily she’d walked into his day, asked for his number outright, admitted she was interested in him without flinching, and then completely brushed past the fact that his romantic life was already anything but simple.
He didn’t read much into it beyond what it actually was.
Benita wasn’t shy.
Not even remotely.