Livia inhaled a deep breath and approached Whitney. “So, I need your advice…”

Whitney lit up, pleased to be a confidant. “About what?”

Livia looked at her phone nervously. “This boy--”

“Ooh,” Whitney suddenly sat up straight and pulled her knees into her chest, and wrapped her arms around them. “Do tell.”

Livia sighed. “He’s in my chem class and we’ve formed this study group. So, we exchanged numbers and he said, ‘Call me if you’re bored this weekend.’”

Whitney laughed. “I see.”

“So, is that a friend type of thing or…” Livia shifted her hands, uncertain. “Or is that like a dating type of thing?”

“Do you want it to be a dating type of thing?” Whitney teased.

Livia shook her head. “I am not looking for a boyfriend.”

Whitney shrugged. “Just tell him that. Is he hot?”

“He’s cute,” Livia said. “But he’s just nice...clean-cut, good.”

“Boring,” Whitney said, making a face.

“I like that,” Livia said, firmly.

She lifted an eyebrow. “As in you’d consider dating him?”

Livia sighed. “I don’t want a relationship right now but I wouldn’t mind hanging out with him.”

“Then call him,” Whitney said. “No harm in getting to know him some more, right? No pressure.”

“I might,” Livia said.

“I’ll be going home on Saturday and won’t get back till late Sunday. Spending time with the fam,” she said. “So, go hang out with him.”

Livia hesitated. “I’ll think about it. But you think I should just tell him I’m not into boyfriends right now?”

“Yep,” Whitney said.

“Okay,” Livia nodded.

“Can I show you how to take care of Ares before I go?” she asked.

“Yeah,” Livia said and they spent the rest of the evening chatting and playing with the bearded dragon.

###

“It’s just me and you Ares,” Livia said, as she placed water in his cage. She put a pile of kale and some mealworms next to it. Livia closed the cage door and watched the lizard amble over and snatch up the mealworms one by one. It wasn’t the most pleasant of sights but Livia was satisfied that the creature’s needs were met. He’d be fine until Whitney returned.

“What do you think? Should I call this boy, Oliver?” Livia asked the lizard. She’d already cleaned the entire apartment and baked fresh bread and a dozen muffins. She needed to get out of the house. Livia scrolled around on her phone, procrastinating.

She pulled up the social media site closed to everyone that wasn’t directly related to one of the four Caesarean houses--Lupus, Taurus, Rattus, or Aquila. Livia didn’t visit tabula often. She always had rude comments or messages. She was surprised to find that she had recent friend requests.

There was a Felicity from Rattus house. Livia studied her photo, frowning. She had no memory of ever interacting with Felicity and she didn’t look familiar. Livia deleted the friend request. There was a second request from a Terrance, also from Rattus house. Livia deleted his request immediately. She’d learned not to interact with guys on Tabula. She’d been propositioned via message more times than she could count. After breaking up with her boyfriend the offers for non-platonic comfort had poured in leaving Livia with a vile taste on her tongue.

She hovered over her messages icon. She had 5 new ones. It was possible they were nice notes. In her experience, it was more likely harassment or complaints about how she didn’t know how to be a proper Caesarean. She wasn’t really in the mood to deal with it. Everyone important to her knew how to get a hold of her off of Tabula. She sent the messages to the trash without reading them.

She checked a couple of her friends' pages and then Corvin’s page. He’d posted a stunning photo from a hike he’d gone on earlier in the week. It was captioned--Nice views out here.

He predictably got a lot of likes and supportive comments. Corvin was popular and well-respected in Caesarea. It helped that his father was Paterfamilias of Lupus house--a position that Corvin would inherit one day.

Livia observed that many of their mutual TARP acquaintances posted on how much they missed him. She pursed her lips. He probably wasn’t undercover then, but it also didn’t prove he was in school necessarily.

Corvin was tagged in another photo from Friday night. He was at an ice cream parlor and he was with the two people that had requested to be her friends earlier.

Livia felt her cheeks heat. They were probably going to school here and had wanted to connect. Livia debated sending a request back now that she knew their friend requests were probably genuine. If she did that she’d have to explain she thought they were going to harass her. That would require explaining her troubled history with tabula. She didn’t want to get into it with strangers. She decided to log out instead. It was all too much manufactured drama.

Livia pulled up Oliver’s number and pressed send.

He answered, gruffly, “Hey, who’s this?”

“Uh, Livia,” she answered. “From class. Is this a bad time?”

He laughed. “You called? Have you heard of text?”

“I can hang up if you want,” Livia growled.

He laughed again. “No, don’t.”

“Let’s keep this short. Want to hang out tonight?” Livia asked.

“Sure. What’s the plan?”

Livia panicked for a moment. “Ice Cream?” popped out.

“I’m game. Do you need a ride?” he asked.

“No.”

“I heard there’s a place on center street,” he said.

“Okay, text me the address and I’ll meet you there,” Livia said.

“What time?”

“Seven?” Livia offered.

“Excellent. See you, Livia,” Oliver said.

###

When Livia walked into the ice cream shop she recognized it from the tabula picture she’d seen. Corvin had been here last night. Inexplicably, she regretted not crossing paths with him. Livia took a deep breath and shook the feeling off. Her first impression of him was difficult to shake off, but Livia was two years older and wiser now. Livia didn’t know if it would be possible to forget the connection they’d formed the week he’d intervened in her life, but she’d learned that Corvin was not the same person that had captured her teenage devotion.

Oliver interrupted Livia’s musings when he walked in. He grinned and strode over. “Hey!”

Livia smiled back. “How are you?”

“Good, you?”

Livia nodded. “Looking forward to the ice cream.”

“Alright,” he gestured toward the counter. “Let’s get some.”

They chatted about classes as they stood in line together. There was an awkward moment at the register when Oliver tried to pay for both of them. Livia insisted on paying for her own way. The cashier looked between them. Livia insisted again she’d be paying for her own. Oliver didn’t contradict her.

They sat down at a table together. “I wouldn’t mind paying, you know.”

“I know but this is hanging out,” Livia emphasized. “Not a date.”

Hurt flashed across Oliver’s face. “Why not?”

Livia decided to be blunt. “My last relationship ended in disaster, okay? Nothing personal.”

Understanding flashed in Oliver’s eyes. “Ah, so you’re still smarting from your ex. How long ago did you break up?’

Livia thought back, surprised to realize how much time had passed. “Almost a year…”

Oliver nodded. “That’s a pretty long time. Maybe...if we take things slow? You can warm up to the idea?”

Livia shook her head. “No, I don’t want a boyfriend.”

Oliver took a few bites of his ice cream in silence. “Friends for now, then?”

“Friends for now,” Livia agreed.

“So…” Oliver gestured with his spoon. “Fess up. What happened?”

Livia shook her head and pressed her lips together. It would be difficult to explain how her breakup with Arik had impacted her unless Oliver understood how Caesarea worked. She had to have permission from the Senate to reveal any details about Caesarea to a non-civ. “Not up for discussion.”

Oliver’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “So, what do you want to talk about then?”

“My roommate has a lizard,” Livia said.

Oliver laughed. “A lizard?”

“Yeah, it’s huge. Over a foot long.” Livia approximated Ares' size with her hands.

He gasped. “Serious?”

“Yes. It’s a bearded dragon.”

“What’s that?”

Livia explained about bearded dragons and the intricate care routine required to keep them healthy.

“So, you’re feeding the thing mealworms while she’s at home?” Oliver sat back and ran his hands through his hair in disbelief. “That’s crazy!”

Livia thought the gesture made him rather handsome. She smiled. “He’s not too bad. I kind of like him.”

Oliver hooted. “You like him! Not me! No way! Creepy crawlies are not my thing.”

“I like animals,” Livia said. “They’re fascinating.”

“Yeah, well a dog is one thing--a lizard? Some creatures aren’t meant to be pets.”

“Well, I agree with that,” Livia said. “I’m not super into keeping animals as pets. I’d rather observe them in nature.”

“That’s not my thing,” Oliver said.

“What’s your thing then?” Livia asked.

“I have a twitch channel,” he explained.

Livia frowned. “What’s that? I’ve never heard of that.”

“It’s a live stream for gamers,” he said.

Livia didn’t have a positive opinion of gamers in general, but Oliver broke all her expectations of someone that gamed frequently. He wasn’t socially awkward or overweight. He was smart and confident and had good hygiene.

“So, this is a hobby?” Livia asked.

Oliver’s lips twisted to the side. “A part-time job--”

Livia laughed. “That would require making money.”

“I do.”

“You do? Playing games?” Livia asked in disbelief.

“They actually require a lot of skill.”

“Then why do college at all?” Livia asked.

Oliver sighed. “Parents, partly. Also, competition is tough. It’s getting harder to monetize my audience and well...it’s not fun anymore.”

“Well, jobs aren’t meant to be fun,” Livia said.

“Yeah, but if it’s not going to be fun why not get a normal job?”

Livia shrugged. “I’d get a normal job.”

Oliver’s chin drew back and a sad look entered his eyes. Livia realized she made a mistake.

She cleared her throat and straightened up. “I’m supposed to tell you to fight for your dream.”

Oliver rolled his eyes. “Yeah, but you know reality and all--”

“I’m good at being realistic,” Livia laughed. “My specialty.”

“Yeah, huh?” he asked.

“But I’ve never played a video game so…” Livia shrugged.

Oliver looked surprised.

“You might figure out a way to make it work,” Livia said. “I can’t advise you what to do.”

He smiled. “Why don’t we do something together next weekend?”

“Like what?” Livia asked.

“They’re asking for volunteers at the elementary school. They need people to help them move books into their renovated library. Want to go help?”

“Yeah,” Livia said. “I’d love that!”

She pulled out her phone and prepared to put it in her calendar. “What time should we be there?”