Simpleness

I whispered in her ear, begging her to come with me. I know her mom was downstairs waiting and I didn’t want her to hear my pleas. I just couldn’t imagine spending the entire summer without her. We had spent the entire year getting to know each other and now I couldn’t imagine a moment without her beside me. It was the end of our freshman year of college and I was heading to my family’s lake house for the summer. I had plans to work at the local marina and take at least one class online to stay caught up on my undergrad prerequisites. She was already several credits ahead of me and didn’t need to work at all. Her family was wealthy, apparent by her iconic last name and the types of cars she drove. I was from a small town and was a nobody, which was fine by me. Our family lake house was nothing special but it had electricity, running water and a view of the sunset that would never make you question whether there was a God. 

She was beautiful, the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen. She was smart, funny, mysterious. At first glance, you wouldn’t know she comes from money and even fame. She was laid back, quiet, didn’t like to dress in fancy clothing. I saw her on the first day everyone was moving in the dorms. She was with a lady who was very obviously her mother. They looked like twins with only the slight sight of wrinkles and hint of gray roots obvious on her mom. For some reason I walked right up to them asking if they needed any help. The mother smiled and asked if I could help carry in one large tote. The daughter said nothing but gave me a slight smile as lead the way to her dorm room. I offered my name, Chris, and she lightly gave hers, Montgomery. 

Her room was literally one floor under my exact dorm room. I felt excitement in my gut knowing I could look under my window and see her small balcony. She would be that close to me for the entire school year. I noted the simple items she had for her space. Her things were really not much different than mine. Nothing flashy, nothing too loud. Her roommate seemed to be a good friend who was a bit more eccentric but nice. I helped them with a few loads, wrote down my number, and told Montgomery to text me if she ever needed anything. Her mom thanked for me my help while her quiet daughter simply smiled. I left hoping that I would hear from her soon, not even knowing her last name. 

My freshman year of college was a welcome new life for me. I didn’t necessarily have a bad life at home, but I had a small one. I knew there was a bigger world out there and I couldn’t wait to see it. My biggest challenge was breaking up with my high school sweetheart at the end of our senior year. I cared deeply for her but I didn’t want to be held back by anymore. I don’t think she’ll ever leave that town. She had enrolled in the local cosmetology school with plans to open her own salon in the near future. Our relationship had been happy and comfortable. She was the star cheerleader and I was the quarterback for the football team. It’s like our path had been chosen for us but I felt in my heart there was more somewhere. I know she will be successful but I wanted to venture outside of small town North Carolina. I want to see Florida, Texas, even Montana. I want to meet people from different walks of life and learn more about the construction industry that really sparked my interest during my after school job last year. My plan is to study engineering, although I know it won’t be easy for me. I have to work. I have to pay for most of my college tuition. My parents work hard and do what they can but to get through these next four years, I have no choice but to step up and help out. 

Montgomery snuck in and out of the dorm for seemingly nothing more than classes and meals. She seemed to keep a private life and was perfectly content only mingling with her roommate and direct dorm neighbors. I never stopped trying to engage with her though. I found myself walking down her hall for no other reason than hoping to bump into her. I wanted to know more. What was she studying, what did she like to do for fun, what was her last name. One night I was laying in my bed trying to ignore my roommate as he played video games. Charlie was my best friend ever, almost like a brother to me, but his video games were the most annoying parts of my day. I was reading a book when my phone vibrated. A number was on the screen that I didn’t know and I had a new text message. I jumped out of my bed when I figured out it was her. Montgomery had asked if I could come to her room right now, as soon as possible. I threw on a hoodie and a hat and rush out the door. I knocked on her door quietly and she yelled to come in. I found her standing on top of her desk with one shoe on her foot, and one in her hand. “SPIDER!” she yelled while pointing to under her bed. I swiftly searched for the eight legged monster while holding my back my laugh. She looked absolutely adorable in this very random moment. I killed the spider and scooped it outsider her tiny balcony door. She breathed with relief, letting the last few moments catch up to her. I finally let out a laugh as she climbed off her desk. Before she could get nervous, I asked if she wanted to go grab ice cream, a way to celebrate the death of the spider. I can’t believe it but she agreed! That ended up being the best night of college so far. Getting her away from campus seemingly made her more relaxed. We chatted, sharing stories from high school, sharing our thoughts of college so far, sharing our fears of our first college exams, and shared that we are both, in fact, single. I couldn’t believe she didn’t have a boyfriend. Montgomery eventually admitted that she was afraid to text me but she was terrified of spiders and didn’t have any other options in that moment. She also admitted that she heard me jump to my feet seconds after she hit send on the text, obviously pointing out that she could hear my excitement through her ceiling. A the night went on, it’s like we fell into a friendship that had always been there. It felt like I had known her forever. It was so easy and so comfortable and truthfully, fun. 

It wasn’t until weeks later before I learned Montgomery was from a prestigious auto racing family. Of course I’d heard of them, everyone had, but I fell for her even more because of how humble and real she was. You’d never know she was wealthy, if you didn’t know. Her life was full of private jets, fancy dinners, even red carpet events. But she was so real, so laid back, so perfect. Pretty soon, we were texting constantly, getting ice cream almost every night, even studying in the library together. I got the feeling she wanted and appreciated the simpleness that came along with me. One night, I finally asked her on a true date. I knew she liked sushi so I researched the best restaurant and made reservations. We dressed in the nicest clothes we had brought to college. After an amazing meal and my accidentally eating too much wasabi, we went for ice cream. There Montgomery grabbed my hand and thanked me for an amazing, simple night. The feeling I got when she held my hand was unlike anything I’d ever felt before. Her hand fit perfectly in mine and it sent shockwaves up and down my entire body. I never knew I could have such a strong physical response to such a soft, sweet hand. It had been a long time since I’d asked someone to be my girlfriend but I knew I wanted her to be mine. So I took a deep breath and asked. Never in a million years did I think I’d get so lucky, but I did. Montgomery became mine that night and the rest of our school year was like floating on a cloud of happiness. 

As the year was coming to an end and everyone was figuring out summer plans, Montgomery was torn between traveling in Europe, going on the road with her family to the races, or going to my family’s lake house with me. She wasn’t sure how her family would take news that she was spending the summer with her boyfriend, which was her main hesitation to the choice I was silently begging she’d make. I sat beside her on the edge of her empty bed surrounded by the bare walls of her empty room. Her mom could walk back in at any moment and every foot step we heard in the dorm hall made us jump. I quietly pleaded with her to let me give her a simple, easy summer. One we could spend every day and every night together. I wanted her to see the world. I wanted her to be with her family. But selfishly, I wanted Montgomery to come to the lake with me. As I was beginning to lose hope that she’d chose a summer with me, we heard her mom calling her name. I sighed and let my head fall in defeat, but she caught my chin and looked me in the eye and quietly said “okay”.