"Well, that sucks," Kandi whispered as she came down the steps after her last class of the day. Her cell phone was at her ear and a voice mail message was playing on the other end of the line. It was a little after one on Thursday and she hadn't been able to contact her boyfriend, Tim, since Tuesday morning.
She was headed for her dorm but made a detour toward her boyfriends building. "Maybe he lost his phone or maybe he broke it again," she whispered, thinking out loud.
As she reached the front steps to Tim's dorm, Jimmy, his roommate was coming out the front door. "Hey Jimmy, is Tim upstairs?"
Jimmy looked her way and then did a double take. "Uh, no. I thought he was with you."
"I haven't heard from him since Tuesday morning."
Jimmy stopped in front of Kandi and frowned. "He left a little before noon yesterday."
"Where did he go?"
Jimmy shrugged. "He was mumbling about a hot date, is all I know. That's why I thought he was with you."
"It ain't me," Kandi said with a big frown. "We haven't been out in two weeks."
"Yeah, he's been a busy boy these last three weeks or so. I know he had several papers to catch up on and two labs," Jimmy said.
"It was three labs for me and tutoring a couple of freshmen. I needed the money for his Christmas present."
"Have you bought the present yet," Jimmy asked.
"Yeah, I ordered it Monday on-line and it came in this mornings mail."
"Can you return it?" Jimmy asked.
Kandi looked puzzled for a second and then asked, "Why would I do that?"
"Uh, what part of "hot date" didn't register with you?" Jimmy asked softly.
Kandi got a stricken look on her face and then whispered, "Maybe the "hot date" was as in a place and not a someone."
"Yeah, right," Jimmy said with a crooked smile. "Tim is an alright guy, but...."
Kandi looked at Jimmy hard and asked, "But what?"
"Look, I've known the guy since grade school and we've been friends forever but he's never been a good bet for a long term relationship. You guys have dated for about what, eight months or so? For him, that is pushing long term for any relationship he's ever had."
"But...." Kandi started to say and then sighed deeply as full understanding of what Jimmy had said hit home.
"Look, you're a beautiful, wonderful girl, but don't pin any hopes on Tim. That's from experience over the long term. Anyway, you're way too good for him."
Kandi groaned softly and turned around and hurried down the steps.
"Hey, I'll have him call you if I hear from him," Jimmy called out. Kandi gave no indication that she had heard him.
*****
Kandi punched the button for the fifth floor in the elevator of her dorm. She leaned back against the wall. Her mind kept running her conversation with Jimmy in a loop. It kept sounding worse and worse. The car stopped and she looked at the floor number. Fourth floor. As the door opened, she almost ran into the two people getting on as she exited.
Five doors to the right, she stopped and knocked. The knock sounded harder than she meant for it to be. She groaned softly and then said quickly as the door opened, "Sorry, I didn't mean to take my anger out on you."
The young redheaded girl at the door opened her mouth and then stepped back to usher Kandi inside. Kandi came in and she shut the door. "Uh, what are you angry about?"
"What and who," Kandi said as she sat down on her best friends, Julie's bed.
"You got dumped by idiot, Tim. I tried to tell you when you started dating him, he wasn't worth the time and energy."
Kandi gave her friend a glaring look and then sighed. "Yeah, you did."
"Okay, now give me all the juicy details," Julie said with a grin.
"I ain't got no details, juicy or otherwise, except he left yesterday for a hot date without me."
Julie did a double take and asked, "Where did you get that information?"
"His roommate, where else."
Julie sighed and came over to sit next to her friend. "Jimmy would know. They've been together forever." Julie paused and sighed again. "Jimmy is a pretty good guy. We went to the same high school."
Kandi looked at her friend and frowned. "He wouldn't, you know, try to break me and Tim up for his own gains, would he? He called me beautiful and wonderful. It makes me wonder."
Julie chuckled. "He's a nice guy, like I said. As for dating you, I don't think his girlfriend of five years would put up with it."
Kandi pulled her phone out of her pocket and scrolled through her phone numbers. She hit a couple of buttons and put it up to her ear.
On the third ring a female voice said, "Hello?"
"Mrs. Jamison, this is Kandi, is Tim there?"
"No. No, he's not," Tim's mother said. "I thought he was with you."
"He called you and said something about a hot date, right?"
"Uh...." Mrs. Jamison said and then paused.
"Jimmy has already let the cat out of the bag," Kandi said softly.
"That is why I thought he was with you. Having you here for Thanksgiving gave me hope that he was finally settling down," the older woman said. "I expected you both here for Christmas this weekend."
Kandi sighed. "It doesn't look like I'll be there. Did he say anything about coming by?"
"He begged off and said he would try and stop by on his way back to school on Monday."
Kandi took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Thank you," she said softly and killed the connection.
"Well, that sucks," Julie said as Kandi put her phone away.
"I think I heard that somewhere earlier," Kandi whispered with a crooked grin.
"So, now what?" Julie asked.
"Since I have no idea where he is, murder is out of the question," Kandi said as she flopped back on the bed.
Julie chuckled as she shook her head. "You're not the murdering type."
"I might make an exception in this case."
Julie sighed as she looked at her friend. "There are more fish in the sea, believe me." She paused to grin. "There's also a new club opening tomorrow night."
Kandi groaned softly. "I'm not in the mood."
"Then head home and take some time for yourself."
"Moms out in Vegas visiting her sister for Christmas."
Julie lay back next to her friend. "Then go home and vegetate for the weekend. Four days of lounging around and gorging on ice cream. Get the pity party over and come back to school ready to climb on another horse."
Kandi looked at Julie and chuckled. "You're the one with the horse fetish."
"Hey now, leave your brother out of this."
Kandi laughed and shook her head wildly for a moment before she sat up suddenly. "He's gone also. Him and Debbie have plans for the mountains or something like that."
Julie made a face. "He can do better than Debbie Lance."
Kandi turned and looked at her friend. "You had a chance but you chickened out."
Julie groaned softly and sat up as she remembered the night she had slept over with Kandi. Kandi's brother Danny had come home from a club about half shit faced. He had grabbed Julie and planted a kiss on her like none she had ever experience before or since, for that matter.
"That kiss had me wet to my knees," Julie whispered.
"Then why didn't you follow him to his bedroom? Mom and dad were gone and I'd have kept my mouth shut," Kandi said.
"Because he scared me as much as he fascinated me."
"Him or that big dick of his?"