Chapter 2

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My eyebrows knitted together. I was having trouble finding the words to argue my point in my essay. I was so engrossed I did not notice when Adam had pulled up a chair to sit next to me.

"Mind if I join you?"

I blinked, forcibly pulled away from my train of thought, and suppressed a sigh. Remembering my mother's words, I plastered a smile on my face. "Sure. Why not."

Adam grinned his wide smile. I vaguely noticed how his dimples made his masculine face attractive. A ladies' guy, I concluded. Cocky, too confident.

"Why are you studying all the time? What do you do for fun?"

I forced myself from retorting the first thought that came to mind. "We're in uni." Stating the obvious. I didn't try answering his second question, knowing I wouldn't come up with a good enough answer. I was sure I would shock him if I told him I enjoyed doing housework.

"Where are your friends?" I asked cautiously, realising he was alone.

He frowned. "Somewhere. Listen, I could use some help with class. Think you could help? Maybe we could grab a bite somewhere later."

I studied his face, and decided he was earnest. "Okay. Make sure you bring all the books you need."

He burst out into laughter, then quickly suppressed it when he saw my cross look. "Later, then!" He whistled a low tune as he walked away.

I sat there for a while, unable to return to my essay. I wished Jeff was around so I could have some of my questions answered. Adam seemed to have taken an interest in me, but it didn't feel like it was simple friendship he was offering. I shook my head. I was so out of touch with my social life I was barely making sense out of normal human interaction. Time will tell, I decided.

That afternoon I went to a cafe a few minutes’ walk from campus. Sipping on my ice-blended coffee, I felt a twinge of nervousness. I had donned a slightly more feminine outfit for the afternoon, a frilly sleeveless pink top with my dressy dark jeans. My curls were down, and Jeff had raised his eyebrows when I came downstairs, since he knew I never bothered dressing up. I didn't clue him in, since I myself wasn't sure what to make out of Adam's invitation.

I had started to re-launch myself into essay writing when Adam came and apologised for keeping me waiting. He too appeared to have ditched his tee shirt for a collared black shirt that showed off his muscular arms and shoulders.

He hadn't brought anything with him. No books. I looked at him in dismay. "How do we write an essay with no material?"

He laughed. "So serious all the time. Let me get some food. The essay can come later."

Two hours later, although Adam had tricked me into a date under the pretense of studying, I realised I was actually enjoying myself. He was, despite the surface happy-go-lucky demeanor, a responsible guy enrolled in graduate studies in Politics as part of the future carved out for him by his family. There seemed to be no conflict between his desires and those responsibilities placed upon him. Truly the ideal country leader, I thought.

His opinion regarding his mixed heritage was closer to my brother's than to mine. He felt blessed to have both worlds, and in fact, felt it to be an advantage in helping him stand out above the average.

"You won't ever come across as average," I said laughingly. "How could you? You're, like, handsome and buddies with a prince. Nothing average about that."

The smile that lit his face when I called him handsome quickly disappeared. I wasn’t sure what it was I had said that he hadn’t been happy about, and was careful not to talk about anything too personal after. He was quick to return to his normal self again, and the rest of the evening ended well.

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