IF I NEEDED SOMEONE
"Hey," Carl said as he sat down across from me in the dining hall.
I'd just met Carl a few weeks ago, at the beginning of the semester. We had a class together. We were both juniors at Endicott College, but our paths hadn't crossed prior to this. One afternoon, he found me sitting on the grass in the middle of campus, working on material for our class. He was going to the library to do the same, so he joined me instead. We found ourselves studying together quite a lot, and then eating together every so often. We became fast friends. We were a lot alike-quiet at first glance, but with a similar and rather wacky sense of humor. I could talk to him, and he me, very easily. 
I'm Wendy, Wendy Thibodeau. As I said, I'm a junior here. I live in a house off campus, lovingly called The Cat's Lair, after Cat Willet, our chief conspirator. I love the girls I live with, Cat rules, and my roomie, Colleen, is my best friend. All in all, I have a good life. Good school, good friends, I even have a boyfriend, Jon. We've been going out almost a year.
"Listen," Carl said "I was wondering. "Are you doing something Friday night? I thought maybe we could go out to eat, and hit a movie."
Uh-oh. I suppose I should've seen thing coming. "Carl, are you asking me out on a date?"
"Well, yeah," he grinned. "I've been trying to get my nerve up for a couple weeks."
"Oh, shit," I said. "Damn, Carl, I'm sorry. I have a boyfriend."
"You do?"
"Yeah. Why do you sound so surprised?"
"Because I see you all the time. Here, out on campus, that party last weekend-and I've never seen you with a boyfriend. Oh, is this a hometown sweetie kind of thing?"
"No, he's here," I sighed. "He's just busy a lot. I don't get to see him as much as I'd like, that's true. But we are going out."
"Damn."
I smiled at him. I really did feel bad-Carl was a nice guy. "Look, if it makes you feel better, if I didn't have a boyfriend, I'd definitely be saying yes."
"I don't know if that makes me feel better or worse," he laughed. "No, it's OK. Hey, what are you going to do?"
"Still friends?" I asked.
"Of course," he said with a big smile.
I still felt bad. When I got back to the house, I went to my room to brood. Unfortunately, Colleen was there. Actually, I shouldn't say 'unfortunately'. I loved Colleen. And, as usual, she instinctively knew something was wrong.
"What's with the sourpuss?" she asked.
"Well, I just had to hurt somebody's feelings, and I hate doing that." She just looked at me. "Carl. That guy I met in my writing course? He just asked me out."
"And you said no, because of Jonny-boy," Colleen snorted.
"Well, of course. I mean, he is my boyfriend."
"You should've said yes," Colleen told me. I just gaped at her. "I don't know this Carl guy, but, hell-you might get a real boyfriend out of it. You know, one that pays attention to you at times other than when he wants sex."
"Jon's not that bad."
"Oh, he isn't?"
"Colleen, come on! I'm in love with Jon!" 
"I know you are," she said, her tone of voice softening. "Believe me, Wendy, I know you are. I just hope you don't get hurt." She took a breath. "You know what happened to Marc, Cat's pal." I nodded. I had heard. He found his girlfriend in bed with someone else. "I worry that the same is going to happen to you, if not worse," she stated.
"Ah, no way. Why would Jon need to go somewhere else for sex? Hell, I never say no," I giggled. 
"Neither did Marc."
"Ah, Jon's not going to cheat on me. I don't think he could handle juggling two women or more. He likes his time with the boys too much."
"That's what he tells you," Colleen said.
"Well, I believe him. Look, Coll, I know Jon and I have our problems, but another woman I don't think is one of them."
"Well, it's something. Because he's not much of a boyfriend, if you ask me."
"He really does love me, Coll."
"I hope so. I really hope so. Because if he ever lets you down, you might regret turning Carl down."
"I already do. But what else could I do?"

--The End--
The next story in this story arc is called You're Gonna Lose That Girl




