Mismatched Compatibility (A and D Spin-Off)

Mismatched Compatibility (7)

Dana:

“Come on in,” Aaron offered, waving us inside.

Aaron led Ethan and I to the living room where I spotted Luke sitting on one of the armchairs. He greeted me with a smile and a nod.

I gladly returned it. It seemed like Ethan's friends were very friendly – a quality that he appeared to lack.

“You're back early,” commented Luke, after Ethan took a seat beside me on the couch while Aaron sat on the recliner near the fireplace.

Ethan grunted. “Dad just showed me off.”

Oh, so that was the reason why he was such in a bad mood earlier. Now that I thought about it, Mr. Tyler did like to boast when I met him this morning. But based on my keen observation, it was more of an honest and friendly boast, not the kind you would roll your eyes on.

“Since when did you complain about that?” asked Aaron, raising an eyebrow.

“Since I realized how tiring it was,” he sighed. “It's actually better if they went back to ignoring me. Ever since I entered college . . .” He trailed off and shook his head. He reached out a right hand and grabbed what appeared to be a beer on the low glass table that we surrounded.

I now only noticed that the table was full of snacks and refreshments. The food that laid in front of me were all full of carbs. Too bad.

“Come on, man,” snorted Aaron. “They were just shocked that you're capable enough to actually enter college,” he added, laughing.

“Yeah, who would've thought?” chuckled Luke.

“Hey,” reprimanded Ethan playfully. “College was awesome.”

Aaron and Luke stopped laughing.

“It was,” agreed Aaron, nodding thoughtfully.

Luke shrugged. “It was all right.”

“So, Dana,” mentioned Aaron, making me instantly look at him. “Are you a college grad, too?”

“No, actually,” I answered a-matter-of-factly. “I'm only a senior this coming fall.”

“Which university?” asked Luke.

“Yale,” I replied, with a little pride.

The three boys whistled.

I couldn't blame them. Yale University was an Ivy League school. It wasn't that easy to be able to be accepted there – at least, some people find it difficult. But it was rather easy for me, with my GPA and family status to back me up.

“How about you guys?” I queried eagerly.

“University of Kansas,” grinned Aaron.

My eyebrows raised. “Wow. That's pretty far from here.”

“I was with my girl.” He shrugged. “No worries.”

Awe. How sweet.

“High school sweethearts?” I guessed, fighting the urge to hide my giddiness.

He considered it. “You could say that.”

I smiled warmly at him before turning my attention to Luke.

“And you, Luke?”

“Duke University,” answered Luke. “But my girlfriend went to NYU.”

I nodded in understanding. So that must be why college was only 'all right' to him. He had a long distance relationship. That must be quite hard.

I then looked at Ethan.