His Wish Read online

  His Wish

  Chapter One

  Arlo

  I brush my brown hair off my forehead with one hand while my other flies across the computer keyboard, finishing up the last bit of code. I’ve been up all night working on this newest software and if I don’t finish soon, then I’m going to be late for my first class. It’s the first day and I’m sure the professors won’t mind too much, but I hate being late.

  I hit save and tug on some new clothes before I grab my backpack off the floor, shoving my laptop inside as I head out the door. I live in an apartment complex across the street from campus and it will only take me a few minutes to get to my first class. I have time so I stop at the campus coffee shop to grab a bagel and some orange juice.

  I finish placing my order and pay before I stand off to the side and wait for them to call my order. There are quite a few other students waiting and I know that it will be a few minutes before my order is ready. I send a few emails, letting the company that I work for know that the latest software is done, and I’ll drop it off this afternoon. I shove my phone in my pocket and grip my backpack straps tighter, looking around the coffee shop as I wait for my order to be done.

  That’s when I see her.

  She’s about 5’4 with wavy brown hair and cornflower blue eyes. She’s standing off to the side looking at the menu. Her straight white teeth bite into her plump bottom lip as she stares up, trying to decide what to get. I stare at her, getting lost in her beauty.

  I wonder how I’ve never seen her around here before. She doesn’t look young enough to be a freshman. I wonder what she’s like. She looks nice but looks can be deceiving.

  I was a total nerd in high school, obsessed with computers and reading. I was that skinny kid who sat in the front row and wore button down shirts. I got bullied a lot until I finally decided to do something about it. In senior year, I started to work out more and I bulked up quite a bit. I was still the same nerdy kid, but I didn’t look like such an easy target anymore. It was still me though and I had never worked up the courage to ask a girl out before.

  They call my order before I can work up the courage to go over to her. I give the pretty girl one last look before I walk out of the coffee shop and make my way across campus to my first class.

  Tulane University is in the center of New Orleans and is filled with tall brick buildings and rolling green grass. Brick sidewalks bisect the grass and connect one building to the next. I make my way down one brick pathway and up the steps to the front of the science building. It’s a red brick building with four floors and I make my way up to the second one. Astronomy 204 is all the way at the end, and I walk inside. It’s an auditorium style classroom and I slip inside to find a seat.

  I’m a computer science and information technology security major but my minor is in astronomy. This is my last year and I’ve been working for a website developer, designing software and running their security for the last two years. The pay is great, and they let me do most of my work from home so I know that I’ll keep working there after I graduate.

  I take a seat towards the back of the class, close to the aisle. I sit down and finish eating the last of my breakfast while the classroom starts to fill up. Most of the other students walk in and sit towards the front of the auditorium. The professor has yet to show up and I check my watch seeing that it’s almost ten am.

  I pull out my laptop and bring up a new word document as I lean back in my chair and wait for class to start. I feel a tap on my shoulder, and I look up to see the pretty girl from the coffee shop standing next to me. My mind blanks as I stare up into her bright blue eyes. She smiles down at me as she pushes a lock of hair behind her ear.

  “Is this astronomy 204?” She asks in her sweet voice.

  I just nod dumbly up at her. She beams at me as she slides her backpack off her shoulder.

  “Is this seat taken?”

  “You want to sit next to me?” I ask, looking around the room.

  I know I’m not that scrawny kid from high school anymore but sometimes it feels like it. I never quite got the confidence that I should probably have with my new physique.

  “Yeah, if you don’t mind.”

  “Yeah, of course it’s fine.” I say as I hurriedly move my bag over to the other side.

  She plops down in the seat next to me and smiles at me again as she sets her coffee cup down on the desk and pulls out her laptop. I watch her get settled in and she takes a sip from her cup before she turns back to me.

  “I’m Briar Simmons.” She says, holding out her hand to me.

  “Arlo McCoy.”

  “I’m glad I got it right this time. I walked into the wrong classroom first thing this morning and then had to spend the next ten minutes wandering around the building looking for it.” She says, laughing slightly.

  I want to offer to walk her everywhere that she needs to go for the rest of her life but luckily for me, the professor walks in then and starts class and saves me from embarrassing myself.

  I try my hardest to pay attention to the professor but all through class I find my eyes drifting back to Briar. After the third time, she catches me watching her and gives me a shy smile. I jerk my eyes back to the front of the class and focus on keeping them there.

  I only make it another five minutes before my eyes wander back to Briar and I blush when I find her already watching me, her bright blue eyes filled with humor and warmth. I face the front of the class again and my own lips tug up into a smile.

  I think I might be in trouble here.

  Chapter Two

  Briar

  I look over at the cute guy sitting next to me.

  Arlo McCoy.

  I had noticed him in the coffee shop before class but by the time I had seen him, he was grabbing his food and heading for the door. I remember thinking he was hot and watching until he had walked out of the coffee shop.

  He’s got brown hair and dark blue eyes and the sexiest lips that I’ve ever seen on a guy. He looks like he could bench press me and I let my eyes trail over his arms one last time as the professor dismisses class for the day.

  We both start to pack up our laptops and gather up our trash before we stand and make our way back up the classroom stairs. He seems shy and I like that about him. A lot of the hot guys that I’ve met have been too full of themselves or acted like real jerks. Arlo doesn’t seem like that though and I find myself liking him more.

  He holds the classroom door open for me and I smile at him as I walk through. We walk out onto campus and both pause on the science building steps, turning to face each other. It’s so hot out and I twist my hair up into a messy bun on top of my head, trying to cool off a little bit. I’m wearing a thin spaghetti strap dress and some keds and it still feels like too much clothes. It’s going to take me a long time to get used to the heat. I look up at Arlo, wondering what his secret is. He’s wearing a pair of Bermuda shorts and a t-shirt and he doesn’t look sweaty or hot at all.

  “Where are you headed next?” He asks as he stares down at the ground, shuffling his feet.

  “Um… English 368, Medieval Literature.” I say after I dig my class schedule out of my bag.

  “I can walk you over if you want. It’s not that far.” He offers, finally looking up from his shoes.

  “That would be great.” I beam, looping my arm through his.

  He blushes and I grin as we start to make our way across the campus.

  “Have you been going here long?” I ask.

  “Yeah, this is my last year. I’ll graduate next May.”

  “How long did it take for you to figure out where everything was?” I joke.

  He grins at me. “Only a couple of weeks.”

  Arlo starts to lead me across campus, pointing out the different buildings and at
tractions along the way. Most of my classes are in the arts building and that’s where we’re headed now. I’ll just have to make it from the science building to the arts building most days.

  “What year are you?” Arlo asks me.

  “A junior. I just transferred from Little Rock Community College in Arkansas. I’ve always wanted to go to Tulane, but I had to save up some money before I could afford it.”

  We walk up the steps and into the cool air conditioning.

  “What room number was it?” He asks.

  “Um.. 306.” I read off the schedule.

  He nods and leads me up the stairs to the third floor. My class is right off the staircase and we stop outside the door, both not knowing what to say. I like spending time with him, and I don’t want it to be over just yet. I can’t wait until Wednesday to see him again.

  “Thanks for walking me.” I say.

  “No problem.”

  We both shuffle on our feet, trying to search for something else to say.

  “Do you have another class after this?” He blurts out.

  “Yeah, one more this afternoon but it’s in this same building, just downstairs. I have three classes on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and then two on Tuesday’s and Thursday’s.”

  He nods before he takes a step back.

  “I’ll see you on Wednesday then.” He says, waving before he turns to leave.

  I want to stop him, but class is about to start and I don’t know what I would say.

  “See you Wednesday.” I say quietly, as I head into my class.

  Chapter Three

  Arlo

  I make my way back to my apartment after a long day. I live across campus in the Black Pearl District. My place is close to the Mississippi River and the Audubon Park. I like how close my place is to campus and my job and that it’s far enough away from Bourbon street that it stays clear from most of the tourists.

  I ride the elevator up to my floor. My building has 6 floors with two apartments on each floor and I’m on the top one. I just got done dropping off the newest software that I designed and now I’m ready for some dinner and bed.

  I unlock the door, tossing my keys on the side table as I hang my bag on the hook by the door. I dig out my laptop, plugging it into the charger before I head into the kitchen. I’m too tired to make anything so leftovers it is. I open the fridge and pull out some grilled chicken and steamed broccoli that I made last night. I pop it in the microwave and wait and just like every other time that I’ve had a free second, my mind drifts back to Briar.

  I wonder what she’s doing right now. Is she eating? Is she hungry? I should have asked her out to dinner, I think, kicking myself.

  The microwave dings and I pull out my dinner, taking it over to the kitchen table. I devour my dinner in record time and realize that I’ll have to pack some snacks in my bag so I’m not starving if I have a late night again. I wonder what kind of snacks Briar likes.

  I sigh as I try to push her from my mind while I do the dishes and clean up a little. I plop down on my leather sofa and try to drown out thoughts of Briar with some tv. My place is pretty bare with just the essentials. A couch and recliner, flat screen tv, and tv stand in the living room, a bed and dresser in the two bedrooms, a desk, chair, and a lamp in my home office.

  I flip the tv off and debate doing some more work. I develop software and apps for a company downtown and provide IT and security for them too. I get to do most of my work from home and only go in once a week to go over what I’ve got done and what I’m working on.

  It’s only 10:30 pm so I grab my keys, heading back out into the hallway and up the flight of stairs that leads to the roof. I push the door open and move the brick over to keep it cracked while I walk over to the two lawn chairs someone set up out here.

  I sit down in one, tipping my head back and staring up at the stars. I stare up at the twinkling lights for a while, trying to unwind. Suddenly, I see a shooting star and before I can think about it, my eyes are closed and I’m making a wish.

  Please let Briar love me too.

  Chapter Four

  Briar

  I walk into my astronomy class and smile when I see Arlo already sitting there. I’ve been thinking about him almost nonstop for the last two days and I blush when he turns in his seat and catches me watching him.

  He smiles shyly at me as I make my way over to him, dropping down in the seat next to him.

  “Hey!”

  “Hey, how are you doing today?” He asks as he slides a coffee cup with the campus coffee logo on the side over to me.

  I don’t really like coffee. I had been drinking tea the first class but I don’t want to be rude, so I thank him before I pick it up and take a quick sip. I’m surprised when it’s not coffee. Instead the rich flavor of my favorite breakfast tea greets me. It’s the same English breakfast tea that I got from the coffee shop last time and I look at him, surprised.

  “I saw the tea tag last class. Thought you might need a pick me up.” He says, blushing as he looks away from me.

  “I did. This is perfect. Thank you, Arlo.” I say sincerely.

  The professor starts class then before I can try to start a conversation. I dig my laptop out and start taking notes. We’re silent for the rest of the class as we both listen to the lecture and type out notes.

  “Ok, class. It’s time for our first group project. You’ll need to pair up for all the projects in this class so be sure to choose wisely. The first project will be to find the constellations and to chart the phases of the moon. The rest of the project details are in the class syllabus. You can email me or stop by with any questions. I’m going to pass around the sheet now. Just write your name next to your partners and pass it back front.”

  She hands the sheet to the first student before she walks back to her podium.

  “Alright, class dismissed.” She says.

  Everyone starts to pack up and Arlo and I both shove our laptops back in our bags and then wait for the sheet of paper to be passed to us. We didn’t talk about it, but I can already tell that we both want to work with each other. Otherwise, he would have looked around and tried to find someone else to pair up with.

  Finally, the sheet lands on Arlo’s desk and he writes his name down before he glances over to me. I nod at him and I watch as he scrawls my name next to his on the line. I pass it over to the students behind us before I grab my bag and stand up.

  Arlo stands up with me and we walk out of the classroom and down the hall with the other students. Just like on Monday, Arlo walks me to my English class next and we start to toss around ideas about when we could meet to work on our project. He walks into my English class with me and waits while I take out my laptop so that I can check the syllabus further. I pull my laptop out, opening it up and try to turn it on.

  Black screen.

  I frown as I hit the power button again, but the screen remains black. My laptop was older but it’s been running fine. I was just using it ten minutes ago! I groan as I close the lid and run my hands through my hair.

  “Computer problems?” Arlo asks over my shoulder.

  “I guess so. It was working fine this morning but now…” I trail off as Arlo moves closer to me, opening the laptop back up.

  “I work with computers. If you want, I can take a look at it.” He offers.

  “Really!? That would be great. Thank you so much, Arlo.”

  I beam at him and he blushes as he picks up my laptop and opens his bag. He slides mine in and his out, handing it over to me. I look up at him questioningly.

  “It’s so you can type out your notes for this class and the other one you have this afternoon. I’ll meet you after that and let you know what I found about yours.” I take the laptop from him, smiling at him gratefully. He’s so freaking sweet and thoughtful. He asks for my number and I rattle it off. I feel my own phone vibrate in my pocket and know that he’s sent me a message, so I have his number too.

  “Maybe we can grab dinner togethe
r.” He finishes as he zips his bag up.

  “I’d love to.”

  I lean up on my tip toes, kissing his cheek before I drop back down.

  “Thanks, Arlo.”

  He blushes and smiles slightly at me before he nods and heads out the door.

  I spend the rest of my day dreaming about Arlo and how sweet he is. I text him after my last English class and he offers to pick me up from my place before dinner. I send him my address and he texts me back a time.

  I practically skip back to my tiny apartment a couple of blocks away from campus. I change out of my jeans and t-shirt and slip on a summer dress as I wait for Arlo to get here. I’m just tying my hair up when there’s a knock at the front door. I grab his laptop as I head for the door, checking the peephole to make sure that it’s him.

  I swing the door open and see Arlo standing there with my laptop in one hand and a bouquet of tulips in the other. He offers me both and I grin as I bring the flowers to my nose, breathing in their sweet scent. No one has ever given me flowers before, and I smile at him as I invite him in.

  “Thank you for these.” I say as I try to find something to put the flowers in.

  “No problem.” He says as he looks around my place.

  There’s not much to see. I just moved in a couple of weeks ago and most of my stuff is still in boxes. I only have a tiny place, with a small kitchen tucked into a corner. There’s a bathroom next to it and the rest is my bedroom/living room. The boxes are stacked against the wall and there’s a few on the floor next to the futon that I’ve been using as a table.

  “I fixed your laptop.” He says after I’ve got the flowers cut and arranged in a couple of glasses.

  “Really? Oh wow! You must be a miracle worker! What was wrong with it?” I ask.

  “Just a problem with some of the software. It was a pretty simple fix.” He says modestly.

  “That’s really cool that you are able to do that kind of stuff. I swear, I’m like technology illiterate.” I say as I grab my purse and we head for the door.