She laughed again. ‘He’s in his dorm room studying. Look, you’re really sweet but I have to go. I don’t want my friends to leave without me. They’re my ride to the party.’

John protested and tried to pull her back but she slowly strutted away with a playful smile and a wave.

John conceded defeat. ‘Okay okay, be like that, then. Check ya later,’ he said as he turned to walk in the opposite direction.

The man who had been watching the disgusting display followed in her wake. When she got to the empty parking lot, she looked around and groaned.

‘Dammit,’ she said, stomping her brown leather heeled boot. She glanced to her left and spotted a payphone.

The man walked toward his car as if he were there organically. When he crossed her path he said, ‘Hi there, are you okay?’

Her steps faltered and she said, ‘Yeah, my friends already left so I’m gonna call a cab.’ She pointed to the phone booth still several yards away.

‘A cab? That’ll take at least thirty minutes to show up. I can give you a ride, if you want. Where are you going?’

She hesitated. ‘Oh, thanks, but that’s okay. I can wait for a cab.’

She took a few more steps toward the phone booth but he persisted. ‘With the game just ending it could take even longer and my car’s right there,’ he said, pointing to his car parked by the streetlamp. ‘I can drop you off wherever you need to go on my way. I’m just heading back to Albany. I really don’t mind.’

The man was wearing a University Football t-shirt and had a cute smile. Not the kind of guy she’d go out with but he seemed nice enough. She was anxious to get to the party and furious at her friends for leaving her. At the same time, it was kind of her own fault for lingering with John. While he was definitely a stone-cold fox, she had no intentions of sleeping with another guy. She hadn’t lied about her boyfriend being jealous. Glancing back at the payphone, she realized the man was right. She’d waited before for cabs that took forever and sometimes never came at all.

The man smiled at her again and leaned forward, ‘Come on, a girl like you shouldn’t have to wait around in a deserted parking lot for a ride. You’re too pretty to be kept waiting,’ he said, winking at her.