Crissa's Mate

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Crissa nodded. She could see why Trisha might be concerned with her figure. Her body was fit and perfectly shapely. It hinted at an athletic and well-trained background.

"So how much time do we have before . . ."

"The meeting's in about half an hour," Crissa answered. Guess we'll hear about the rules here . . . and take a tour."

"Sorta thought it would be like that." She carried her suitcases over closer to the bed at the opposite side of the room.

"Your parents, Trish? Did they come?"

"Nope. Just little old me on the plane this morning. It's OK. They both have pretty busy schedules. We said our goodbyes the night before. I'll miss them . . . but hopefully not for a while." She smiled a devilish smile and winked.

"Yeah, I know the feeling."

Just then, Trisha's phone rang in her bag and she fished it out to answer it.

"Hey Robby. Yeah I'm here! Talking to my roommate. Yeah, she's totally nice. A local girl. Yeah, from here in BC."

Trisha looked over at Crissa, smiled and winked again.

"No baby. I'll be tied up today with orientation and stuff. Yeah for sure tonight. Alright. Kisses."

She closed the phone and began opening her luggage.

"So, do you have a boyfriend?" She asked.

"Um . . . yeah."

"This is going to be so difficult, I'm telling you, Crissa. He's back in San Diego. UCSD. A senior there. We've been together for over two years now and . . . well here I am . . . about a thousand miles away.

"That's . . ."

"It's sucks. Massively. So, is your guy from here too?"

"Um, no. He's . . . moving here though."

"Oh wow, really? Lucky you. From where?"

"He's from Alaska. The university there. And he'll be . . ."

"God! You're so lucky, Crissa. My parents picked this school for me. It's supposed to be good for Pre-med. But you at least will have your boyfriend here."

Crissa was silent, hoping the conversation would move on to other matters.

Trisha fully opened one of her suitcases on the floor and started hang the clothes into the closet. "So where did you two meet, then? Did you live up there too? Alaska?"

"No. Actually we met on this . . . trip, sort of. A science project over the summer."

"How cool! Up there?"

"No. In Germany."

"Oh wow! What were you two doing in Germany?

"We were on this student team to study . . . environmental stuff."

"Environmental?"

"Well . . . wolves, actually."

"Oh my God, I love wolves!"

Crissa could see that Trish's face had become animated while stopped unpacking and looked at her.

"No. seriously. They're one of my favorite animals, aside from sea creatures. You actually have them up here . . . in Canada, right?"

Crissa couldn't believe their conversation had now turned to wolves.

"Yeah . . . In the mountains. Not far from my parents' house actually"

"That is so cool. So how romantic was it . . . I mean meeting your guy in Germany? I've heard it's such a beautiful country!"

"It was . . . well, yeah. Pretty amazing."

"Look, Crissa. When we have more time, I want you to tell me how you two met. And I'll tell you about Robby. How I met him at a sailing regatta. I just love these kind of stories. It'll be so fun getting to know each other!"

"I know."

Crissa was up now, too. Putting the remainder of her clothes away and emptying boxes of a few bathroom basics and things for her desk.

"It's going to be great that we're both science majors here," Trisha finally added. "We'll have a lot in common."

"Yeah," Crissa answered. "I'm looking forward to a great year. It's going to be nice sharing it with you."

* * *

Following the girls' meeting downstairs for introductions, a host of house rules, and a lengthy tour of the campus, they were dismissed back to their rooms or to the commons for an early evening dinner. As was the new security protocol, when someone had a visitor, they were called on the dorm room telephone by a Resident Assistant at the front desk. Then notified to come down to meet the person or persons m in the lobby. While back in her room with Trisha, Crissa received such a call. That there was visitor to see her downstairs. Without asking who it might be, she simply told the RA on the phone she would be right down.

"Bet I know who that might be," Trisha said, smiling while now stretched out on her bed.

"I'm not sure, really," Crissa said, running in to quickly brush her hair in front of the bathroom mirror. As she ran down the stairs, she could feel her pulse quicken. And by the time she had entered the lobby with the sofas and bulletin boards covering the walls, she saw a young man with his back to her standing at the front desk. Just when she approached him, he turned and his long dark hair and serious, attractive expression gave away that it was David—seeming a bit taller, and now smiling—holding out his arms for her to join him.

"Oh my Gosh, David . . . I thought you'd never. . . You didn't . . ."

"I wanted to surprise you, Crissa . . . It took some doing, but I'm finally here. Free from Alaska."

As she allowed him to hug her warmly, she pressed her face against his chest and could feel his strong arms envelop her. Once again, that scent of his—the manly smell, mixed with a mysterious lemon-tinged cologne brought her immediately back to the magical effects he had upon her.

"I've got a lot of things to tell you," he said, kissing her forehead affectionately. "Some of it's good . . . and some not so good. But the main thing is . . . that I'm here now, Crissa. Staying near the campus in Vancouver . . . and fulfilling a promise I made to you."

Crissa was still too shocked, too emotional to speak.

"Come on," he said, stepping away from the front desk. "Let's take a walk and I'll fill you in."

Without a word spoken back, Crissa just slid her arm inside David's warm leather coat and leaned against his body as they silently strolled out of the dormitory beneath the night sky. The moon above was already in its three-quarter phase. It lit up the darker shadows of the campus, and even the distant sea to the west of them. To the east, the moonlight was putting its glow on the far mountain peaks, covered by dense forests and the uninhabited lands beyond.

* * *