Rites of Spring Read Online Free PDF Page B

and I went to Tahoe.”
    “Oh,” I said, and dropped onto my bed. “Nice.”
    “Her family has a house out there. I was worried that I’d embarrass myself on the slopes, since she’s been skiing since birth, but…you’d never believe it. Did you know I’m a naturally talented skier?” I could hear the smile in his voice.
    “I had no idea.” But it didn’t surprise me. Brandon was a natural at whatever he put his mind to. It was one of the things that made him so attractive. That and his complete lack of pretense. He was brilliant, but didn’t brag, popular, but not cliquish, comfortable in his skin, and utterly forthright about his needs and desires.
    I know what you’re thinking: You idiot, Amy. It’s okay. I think that often enough myself.
    “What were you up to?” he asked.
    “The usual: family, carols, tree, stockings, too much fruitcake.”
    “Any fruitcake is too much.”
    “Agreed…I went to a party with some friends in Manhattan for New Year’s.”
    “Nice. Anyone I know?”
    “Maybe,” I said coyly. It was indeed possible he knew some of the Diggers in a barbarian capacity, but I wasn’t about to name names.
    All in all, I was starting to feel okay about the conversation. Maybe we could move beyond our shared past and be friends, the way we used to be before we’d made the mistake of sleeping with each other. Once upon a time, he’d been among my closest college chums. But that was before Rose & Grave. Now I wasn’t sure anyone could take the place of my society brothers in my heart.
    “So…” He hesitated. “I was wondering if you wanted to have lunch sometime soon. We have a lot to talk about.”
    “We do.”
    He was silent for a moment. “I mean, I heard through the grapevine you’re going out for some fellowships this semester. I am, too. I thought maybe we could help each other with our applications.”
    Oh. “That would be great,” I choked out. But it would also be an exercise in humility. Last time Brandon and I had been in competition for something (the editorship of the Eli Literary Magazine ), he’d almost beat me out while finishing a huge project for his Applied Math major. Seriously, the guy had brains in his toe joints. “You think you want to keep studying literature?”
    “No, these are math fellowships. I just thought—”
    “Yes. Sounds great,” I said, before he could change his mind. Whatever it took. The opportunity to hang out with Brandon was not easy to come by these days.
    But why did he want to work with me instead of with Felicity?
    “Good.” He sighed into the phone, as if he’d been holding his breath. “How about lunch tomorrow? I’m free at noon. Want to meet at Calvin College?”
    His college’s dining hall. Interesting choice. There was a decided connotation associated with the location and timing of a dining hall date, and modern Eli students recognized the distinctions as easily as their forebears once understood the difference between events that called for them to dress in morning coats, dinner jackets, or white tie:
    D INING H ALL D ATE R ULES
     
Mutually Neutral Dining Hall
One Party’s “Home” Dining Hall
Dinner
Closest thing to a real date, except cheaper for everyone involved. Possibility of seeing/sitting with an acquaintance: negligible.
Almost as bad as brunch in a Home Dining Hall (see below). Possibility of playing off as “just friends,” if necessary: high. Possibility of sitting with a group of Home Party’s friends: very high.
Brunch
Either a business meeting or the aftermath of a one-night stand. You don’t want anyone to see you.
Official announcement of coupledom to the Home Party’s entire acquaintance. (This goes double if either Party has wet hair.)
Lunch
What the asker angles for if he or she can’t get the other Party to agree to to a real date, or even a Dining Hall Dinner.
So aboveboard, it’s sickening. Might as well have a sign saying, “Nothing see here, just grabbing a bite before our next