“Sooo… Who was the hottie you left with last Friday?” Jen asks me as we sit down to eat our lunch in the cafeteria.

“Someone awful. I hope I never see him again” I answer her irritated, recalling the memory of my night with Aaron.

“Well, won’t that be hard when he’s from our university?”

“He’s in the architecture department” I answer her. IT and architecture are in different buildings on opposite sides of campus, so reckon we won’t bump into him too often.

“Oh?” I see a slight smirk forming on her black-painted lips: “You say you don’t want to see him, but you know what department he’s in?”

She knows me too well. I usually never remember anything about my one-night stands, so me remembering his department is unusual. I don’t want to tell her I also remember his name.

“Just leave it Jen. I only remember so I know how to avoid him” I say to trying to brush her off.

“Hmm…” she smiles and I’m fear she’s going to start a whole thing about it, so I figure I’ll better distract her with something else.

“How was your date? It was this Sunday, right?” I ask her, trying to change the subject. Luckily, she bites.

“Oh, that was great actually!” she exclaims and her face lights up in a bright smile.

“So, his name is Christian, and his parents are from Europe and…” she begins telling the whole story about her date, until she finally looks at her watch and gasps.

“Oh no! I’m late for class!” she always does this.

“Sorry Mona, I got to go. See you later!” she says and storms off. I chuckle as I watch her nearly bump into everything and everyone on her path. My class after lunch has been cancelled, so I’m in no hurry and I pick out my phone to listen to some music while I finish my lunch.

While I sit there comfortably in my own world, I suddenly feel a light tap on my shoulder. I turn around to see who it is and grimace when I recognize Aaron.

God. Just as I said we probably wouldn’t bump into each other. Should’ve thrown salt over my shoulder. But I guess it’s my fault for lingering too long in the cafeteria.

“Hey” he grins, and I look at him with a dead expression. Just go away, would you? But no. He instead takes a seat next to me.

“Look” he begins. “I just wanted to apologize if I made you uncomfortable the other night.”

Uncomfortable? It was humiliating. I turn away and amp up the volume off my music. If I ignore him, he’ll probably go away. Or not. I hear him say something over the music and then he suddenly pulls out one of my earbuds.

God damn it, just leave me alone!

“What?” I turn and ask him in an irritated voice.

“I just want to talk, is that so bad?” he replies with an innocent look.

I glance around us and notice a couple of stares and people whispering.

“I don’t have time for this” I utter as an excuse. I don’t want all this attention, so I grab my tray and get up, but he catches my hand.

“Get off me” I snarl at him, but he doesn’t let go.

“Come on, you don’t have to leave” He tries giving me the puppy-dog eyes. Jesus fuck. Just leave me alone you imbecile. I stare at him with an angry expression.

“I am leaving, and you are letting go off me!” I say in a tough voice.

He sighs, then lets go of my hand. Finally. I make my way to the trash bin and empty my tray relieved to have gotten rid of him, but as I turn around, there he is again.

“How about I walk you to class?” he asks.

Jesus, does he just not get it at all? Is he stupid? No, judging from his personality he knows exactly what he’s doing. He’s probably reveling in the fact this annoys me. I start walking out of the cafeteria and he follows right behind me.

“Did you get home alright that night?” he asks as he follows me like a puppy.

‘Fuck off, dude’ Is all I can think and ignore his question. I quicken my steps as I continue down the hallway toward the exit. We step out onto the campus grounds and the air is warm and fresh. I don’t have class for another hour and normally I would have found a spot, somewhere in the grass where I could listen to music and read in preparation for my next class. But this guy keeps following me asking me questions, so I don’t want to sit where he can corner me again.

Briskly I start following the trail that leads to the IT-department. Maybe he’ll give up along the way. Suddenly he grabs my arm and pulls me down a narrow side path.

“Hey, what are you-“

He slams me up against a building behind a big bush, hiding us from curious passersby, interrupting my outcry.

“You know, the more you run, the more it makes me want to chase you” he says with a sly grin on his face and he begins trailing my cheek with his finger. His touch sends shivers throughout my body.

“I don’t care” I tell him defiantly. He chuckles.

“You know, this is borderline harassment” I give him a stern look and slap away his hand.

His smile fades a bit, and he takes a step back.

“It’s just… I can’t forget about that night – about you” he says, and his bashful look actually seems sincere.

“What should I do to be able to see you again?” he asks pleadingly.

I stare at him suspiciously. Is that his play? Annoy the hell out of me and then come on to me all bashfully? I should just refuse him and get on with my life, but something about him stirs me up. He seems pretty desperate, so maybe this is my chance to return the favor and make him the subservient one?