Status: Newly Adopted

I Must Be Dreaming

Kiss Me Again

After Stanford's bye week, the boys were back to the gridiron. They were all busy preparing for their in-conference matchup against UCLA. Leaving Andrew little time to spend with Rowan. But he understood that she was also busy spending a huge sum of her time writing script and gathering stories for her TV show.

On top of their extracurricular commitments, they both had midterms coming up during the week. At first, they had attempted to study together; but the pair was too easily distracted around the each other as they found themselves getting off topic way too easily. So they decided that they would just wait until after the game on Saturday to hang out. At the moment, neither of them was too sure of what they were doing. They didn’t care in all honesty as long as they were together.

Rowan had returned to her dorm that Saturday after spending the night with Andrew to find the room trashed and Quinn nowhere to be seen, leaving Rowan alone to clean up the mess that Quinn and Dallas had made. In a way, she felt a little like Cinderella having to clean up after her stepsisters and stepmother. But thankfully, her Prince Charming was just a phone call away from making everything more tolerable for her.

Of course, her now stormy relationship with Quinn was showing no signs of getting better throughout the following week. Rowan had tried her best to make amends to heal whatever grudge her friend was harboring with no avail. Quinn had decided that staying out late studying and then coming back to their dorm to stay up even later was a brilliant way to study with not even a courteous thought for Rowan's well being.

These late night sessions were beginning to take a toll on the Bostonian, who had missed all of her early classes during the week because of her exhaustion. She hadn't skipped yet this semester and to now have to skip because her roommate was being an inconsiderate bitch was absolutely ridiculous. It was like Quinn dissolved to acting like a freshmen all over again. Rowan wondered if it had anything to do with her catching the attention of Stanford’s star quarterback or if the success she was personally having was the cause of Quinn issues. Rowan also found at times that she wished she could be living off campus with the guys on the football team. Their comradery created a living environment that she found herself craving.

The only bright side to the whole situation was the reminder that Andrew wanted to be around her whenever possible and he wanted to be with her. At times she thought that she was dreaming and occasionally wanted to pinch herself to make sure the this was in fact very real indeed.

Midterms week had flown by quickly and Rowan had passed all her tests with flying colors. All the testing left Rowan looking forward to next June when she would receive her diploma, but also a little uncertain when she wondered what Andrew and her would be doing. Granted they were still together by the commencement rolled around. But there was no time to worry about things that were so far off in the future. She had to focus on the present and that present was the Stanford game versus UCLA.

The first quarter was ticking away after UCLA’s first drive of the game that resulted in a punt deep into Stanford territory. Rowan felt butterflies erupt in her stomach and chest as she watched Andrew take the field for the first time since they had become somewhat of an item. She could help but giggle to herself knowing that she had the man that so many other girls would die to have. Sure, everyone knew that he was an offensive genius on the field but hardly any of them knew what he was like off the field like she did. But she also knew that once Andrew had the football in his hands that he was going to score on this first drive against the Bruins and that something big was going to happen.

The entire ‘Red Zone’ watched as their team began to march down the field, gaining three first downs in a row with relative ease against the opposition’s defense. But then came an incomplete pass that was meant for Chris Owusu. This got the crowd riled up and Rowan was right there with them, but for different reasons. She was much more upset for both men rather than the cost of a down. It wasn’t until after a time out that, Coby picked up the next first down to keep the chains moving closer towards Bruins territory. The next two downs, Stephan Taylor, a junior and Andrew rushed but neither picked up the first down. Everyone knew that third down would be the last chance to convert to a first down before Stanford either had to punt away or try for a field goal.

But what no one expected was what the third downs play would be as it unraveled before everyone’s eyes. Andrew handed it off to Tyler Gaffney, then Gaffney tossed back to Drew Terrell in a flea flicker type play, but then Terrell lobbed it to no one other than Stanford’s own quarterback, who caught it one handed for a Stanford first down before his own momentum had him out of bounds. Rowan was the first person in her section to jump up and cheer for her man. Wait, ‘her man’? Did she consider them to be that close now? That exclusive? Yes, she was beginning to feel that way about him. But either way, she cheered for the catch that was ruled inbounds that was sure to be on Andrew’s continually growing highlight reel. She was beginning to wonder what couldn’t he do? She was also beginning to wonder why wasn’t he the only front-runner for the Heisman trophy? Sure, she was a little… well, a lot biased when it came to Andrew but that play was like nothing she had ever seen before and scouters had to be just as in awe as she was.

Like Rowan predicted, the offense continued to drive towards the first touch down of the game and she knew that the boys would just keep rolling from there. The defense led by Michael Thomas just continued to shut down the UCLA offense only allowing the Bruins to score nineteen points the entire game. Meanwhile the offense just gave UCLA a good old-fashioned butt whoopin’ as they tallied a grand total of forty-five points. It was awesome to see the guys light up the scoreboard so many times during only their second home game of the season.

Before the final seconds had ticked off the game clock, Rowan was exiting the stands quickly in order to congratulate Andrew before he made his way to the locker room with the team. She had realized something during the game that she didn’t want to wait to share with him. She needed to express to him how he truly made her feel. She couldn't keep it bottled up inside of her anymore. It was driving her insane at the moment and she couldn't wait to get it off her chest.

If she had the notion or the guts to do so, she would've yelled from the top of the stadium for everyone to hear. But she didn't want or need to seem like a straight-suite candidate or anything along those lines. Besides there were too many people around to hear her and the only person who needed to know how she felt was Andrew. No, she wasn’t quite to the point where she was in love with the boy but she was sure getting close to that stage.

Rowan waited for him in the corner where she knew he would pass by her and as she did so, Rowan's heart began to race and her palms grew sweaty from how nervous she was becoming. It was unnatural for her to feel this way but she couldn't help herself. She was excited to see Andrew. She got that way most of the time before she would see him, but whenever they were actually together then it would totally go away.

"Boston?" Andrew's deep voice interrupted her thoughts.

Rowan turned toward his direction and practically raced towards him. Throwing all caution to the wind, she knew there was only one way that she could achieve what she had set out to accomplish when she left the game early. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she pulled him back over to the semi-secluded corner where she had been waiting for him. By that point, Andrew caught on to what she was trying to do and bent down to meet her half way. She lent up and their lips fused into the most passionate kiss either of them had ever experienced. It was one of those kisses that conveyed more emotion than what simple words could express.

Amidst the kiss, one of Andrew's hands clutched at the back of Rowan's head and his fingers threaded through her chestnut hair in order to gain more leverage in the kiss as Rowan's hand moved to occupy his cheeks in order to cup his bearded face. The wiry hair of the beard tickled against her soft skin. It was a strange and foreign sensation at first, having never kissed a bearded man before Andrew. But she found that she liked the difference of texture between his facial hair and the smoothness of his lips.

For Andrew, it was mind boggling that he had not been able to muster up the courage to kiss Rowan before this. Why had he been so timid? His rational mind reminded him that he had held back so that he wouldn't scare her off. Imagine his surprise when the first thing his romantic interest did was to wrap her arms around his neck and pull his face down to hers. At the time, he hadn't been thinking about the message she had been trying to send to him because he had been so focused on the action itself and didn't want to miss out on his opportunity to actually be able to kiss Rowan. But after the connection was made he understood what she was trying say to him.

Out of breath, they were forced to pull apart due to their body's need for oxygen. Yet, their embrace stayed the same as their eyes searched the others for a visual reflection of the emotions they had felt as their mouths met in their first kiss. A few minutes of just grinning, wildly, they both knew that they had other places to be before they could explore the new contexts their relationship had taken on.

"We'll talk about this later." Andrew informed her, squeezing her a little tighter before pulling away and walking back to the locker room with the only thing on his mind being getting back to her.

"Wait!" Her smooth honey-like voice caused him to turn back to her, "Do you want me to stay or head back to my dorm?"

He pondered the choice for a moment or two as he tried to weigh the pros and cons between the two. He was tempted either way but he knew if she stayed here then he would get back to her sooner than if he sent her to her dorm.

"Stay." He pleaded to her once he had finally decided.

"Can I get into the press room then? I need to write my game report for the paper and catching all of your opinions might give it an extra twist for tomorrow." She inquired, flashing him her press pass with a suggestive grin.

Once he saw the press pass, Rowan knew that he couldn't say no to her. He knew she might even go because he told her no. It was one of those situations that made one wished they didn't have to deal with it but he knew that she was worth all haggling from his teammates. He knew she could handle them.

"Fine," He sighed, running a hand over his sweat-covered face, "Just kinda stay toward the back or close to a door so that you don't draw attention to yourself and can get out quickly."

"Thank you." She smiled, squeezing his hand in an appreciating manner before she followed him into the locker room.

They went their separate ways once inside the building. They both had different tasks that need to be done. Neither of them wanted to draw unwanted attention to themselves or each other because they were together. Andrew had already given her an unfair advantage compared to the other reporters in the pressroom. Not that she had used their relationship in that kind of manner or anything. He knew she wouldn't because she just wasn't that kind of person. It was one of the reasons he chose to keep her around even if she was the reporter type.

Rowan was quick to find a seat near the door without drawing any attention to her. There were a few other reporters that were already in the room. But they were only focused on preparing themselves and their questions for the guys and Head Coach David Shaw. So Rowan decided that she would blend in by beginning to write her report on her Mac. She wanted to appear busy so that no one would notice that she technically wasn't supposed to be here.

David Shaw came out of the locker room first after give a post game speech to his team. He was holding one of his three children and the little boy looked oblivious to what was going on around him. He was so adorable with his chubby cheeks and his little black afro. Something about seeing the little boy made Rowan picture what one of her children might look like with Andrew. If she had a son, he would definitely have his father's curly hair and demeanor. It was something that Rowan adored about Andrew and she hoped he would pass it on to his children even if they weren't with her.

After Coach Shaw gave a run down of his thoughts about the day’s game against UCLA, the boys were brought out with Andrew leading the way. His eyes scanned across the room filled with reporters, he was looking for Rowan and hoped that she hadn't gotten thrown out. But his eyes were quick to find hers and he felt a little more at ease. Taking a seat, he knew there wasn't a more beautiful girl in the room. None of them could compare to her. She had this natural and easy beauty about her. It was hard not to focus on her and answer the questions that he was being asked.

He was anxious to spend time with her after all of this was over for the week. He hadn't gotten to spend time with her since the past weekend they had spent together. Not that it was too long to bear. But he had just missed her presence and now, he would have an even harder time not spending time with her. Just because of that one kiss they had shared. His eyes flicked over to her just to see what she was doing and he caught her running tongue over her lips to moisten them.

Suddenly, his pants felt a little tighter. He wasn't sure if she was trying to be suggestive but it was turning him on in way he had never experienced before. But he wasn't sure if he was ready for that next step in their relationship. He knew she wasn't ready either. They had just kissed for the first time not an hour ago and that had been after a month of 'seeing each other.' There was no way he was going to ruin the emotional connection they had achieved for a physical desire.

A few more questions got thrown to him and before he knew it the press conference had concluded. He was quick to head back to the locker room and grab his things so that he could meet up with Rowan again. He was just as quick to get out of the locker room even if some of his teammates were trying to get him to go out with him. He had no intentions of that kind so he just waved then off. The few guys who knew about Rowan figured that he was going to see her and they weren't about to stop teammate and friend from spending time with his girl.

In the mean time, Rowan was waiting just down the hall from the locker room. She did so with her head hung down like she was busy working on something. She didn't want any bystander curious to ask why she was still hanging around the locker room. She didn't notice someone emerge from the locker room and creep his way over to her. It wasn't until a strong arm wrapped itself around her waist and a solid body pushed her against the concrete wall.

She let out a gasp of shock, but soon realized that there was no need to fight the person who was affectionately greeting her. Instead, she wrapped her arms around his neck with a small smile before his lips covered hers. She smiled even wider into the kiss before they broke apart.

"Well, hello there Sparky."

"Hey, Boston. Surprised to see me?" He joked with her.

"No, not at all. I was just hoping I might get to see you." She informed him, coyly.

"Me?" He questioned, "Why would a girl like you want to see a boy like me?"

"Why can't I see my boyfriend?" She inquired with a small smile. She, mentally, bit her tongue when she let the word slip out. She wasn't sure if she should've said it but she did.

"Your boyfriend?" Andrew almost stuttered, hoping that he had heard her correctly. He hoped that this wasn't some kind of dream. His heart sped up as he watched her shyly nod her head to establish that she had indeed called him her boyfriend.

Mentally, she cursed herself for being so stupid to let it slip. Even if part of her was relieved to get the notion off her chest. She should've censored herself, maybe used a different word that wasn't so daunting. She hoped that she hadn't scared him off. She didn't want him to think that she was being too pushy.

From his point of view, Andrew was excited to hear that she thought that their relationship was progressing to where she felt the desire to bestow upon him a title. He had been craving to place some possession on her because he didn't want to fight some of his teammates for her attention and maybe prevent them from trying to take her from him.

"Alright, may I take my girlfriend out to dinner tonight?" Andrew inquired with his own trademark goofy grin plastered on his face.

"You may." Rowan permitted with a slight incline of her head as her tiny hand slipped into his. Lacing their fingers together, Andrew ushered her out towards the parking lot where his Honda Civic was located.

“Where are we going?” Rowan inquired once she caught on to the fact that Andrew was leading her to his car. Scratching the back of his head, Andrew flushed slightly as he informed her,

“Well, I remembered that last weekend you had this strange notion that I owed you dinner. So I thought that I would take you to St. Michael’s Alley and maybe make a date out of it.”

Andrew had come to the realization over the past week that they had never gone on an official ‘date’ and that they usually just hung out around campus. He wanted to take her out to show her how special she was to him and that this wasn’t just some kind of meaningless relationship that she was wasting her time on. He wondered if St. Michael’s was too much for what he considered to be their first real date.

“Oh, Sparky, it’s on Homer Avenue, right? Why don’t we just walk there instead? It might be easier than trying to find a parking spot.” Rowan offered, placing her hand on Andrew’s forearm. She almost took it back because she hadn’t thought about how tired he might be right now or how much energy he had used during the game.

“Um… Okay. I think you might be right. Besides it’s a Saturday night and there will probably be a lot of drunks out. I’d rather not get in on of those accidents.” He agreed, even if he didn’t really feel like walking anywhere. He hadn’t thought about the safety concerns of driving when he had driven to the Stadium this morning before the game. So they turned back in the direction that would take them off campus because that was where all the good restaurants to eat were located including St. Michael’s.

The fall evening was colder than normal which caused goose bumps to rise upon Rowan’s arms and she cursed herself for not bringing a light jacket with her. It hadn’t been this cold during the game but in the student section there was plenty of body heat to go around. Now, outside of the stadium walking in its shadow towards Homer Avenue, the air was cold enough to make her shiver. Andrew took notice of this and dropped her hand before he wrapping his arm behind her shoulders to tuck her into his side. It was strange how perfectly she fit there, it was like she had made to be there and it felt so right. Blushing, Rowan wrapped her arm, tentatively, around the middle of his back and placed her hand on his hip in response to his embrace. She couldn’t believe that they fit together so naturally.

“So, what are your friends doing tonight?” Andrew decided to bring up causally as they continued towards their destination. He peered down at his girlfriend to gauge her expression, which could only be described as pained.
"Are things still rough between you two?" Andrew inquired with a raised eyebrow. He had sensed that there was still some bad blood between the two because he would texts or calls from Rowan after she had spent time with Quinn or if she had lost sleep over something.

When he saw her nod, his heart ached because he felt like he was the root of the problem. He also hated that she had to deal such a frustrating situation. It wasn’t to her or even him because he usually had to calm her emotions whenever something happened between the roommates.

"My life is hell now." Rowan scoffed, but sounded as if she was on the verge of tears as she looked down at their feet, "We used to get on so well together and now she treats me like I'm dirt. No, lower than dirt."

"I'm sorry-" Andrew began but she jumped in quickly to stop him from apologizing,

"No, this isn't your fault. You weren't the one who stood up your friends to have breakfast with someone you had just met. You didn't lie to them about it either. I did. I forgot about them the moment I looked at you and-"

It was Andrew's turn to interrupt Rowan's mini rant, "Look at where you are now? You're happy, right? Do I make you happy?"

"You brighten my day even if I just receive a text from you, Sparky." She informed him with a watery smile causing pride to blossom in Andrew’s chest when he learned that he made her day whenever he texted her.

"But besides me, don't you think that she might be a little jealous that you're getting all these opportunities to expand your resume with in your major? That she isn't doing much at all compared to you?" Andrew offered from a different point of view that Rowan could look at it from.

"Yeah, you're right. The biggest project she's gotten this semester is an article about the homecoming game preparations in Campus."

"And you have a TV show and a radio show. You've been working on. Don't you think she feels a little in adequate?" Andrew prompted, smoothly.

Rowan mulled over his statements for a moment or two before she came to the conclusion that Andrew's reasoning must be why Quinn is acting the way she is. Her superiority complex was acting up and she needed a reality check. Usually, Dallas gave the best dose of that kind of medicine but it seemed like he was only fueling her issues instead of helping ease them.

"I think you might on to something, my dear Watson!" She declared with a little more enthusiasm and pep in her voice than the flat, monotone she had picked up when she was taking about Quinn. She seemed to be a little less uneasy now that she had been able to find the true root of her problems.

"You're welcome, Holmes. Now, why don't we talk about something a little happier? I hate seeing you so distraught over something so trivial." Andrew offered because he hated dwelling upon the negatives aspects of life.

"I got above passing grades on all my midterm exams." Rowan informed him with a bounce of excitement easing into her stride with each step she took, "I think I might make the Dean's list for 4th time now."

"That's pretty impressive. I don't have much leniency for my GPA. I have to keep it up to graduate at the top of my department." Andrew informed her of how competitive the architecture department was.

"Yeah, the Journalism department isn't that competitive about that. They look more at what we've done within the departments like what student organizations we've been involved in and what internships we've had. I've interned for the Chicago Blackhawks back in 2010 when they won the Stanley Cup. I also got to work the Winter Olympics in Vancouver. This summer, I worked for NBC as an associate field producer at Le Tour de France. I'm hoping to get a job with them after I graduate this spring." Rowan informed him about some of things she had gotten to do over the last three and a half years at Stanford.

"Well, aren’t you getting your name out there. Your resume must be top notch for what you want to do." Andrew gapped. He had not expected her to have such a long list of experience. He knew about her work with the department here at Stanford but everything else she had done blew him away, “I interned for the San Jose Earthquakes, a pro soccer team, back in ’09 at their sales department.”

"Sales? I wouldn’t have pinned you to be a sales department guy, but whatever floats your boat, I guess. But my resume is nothing compared to yours." Rowan pointed out to him, "I mean, you're the prefect candidate for a first round draft pick in the NFL then there's me, who is-"

"Going to be a sports broadcaster." Andrew assured her with a smile, "I mean you're prefect for the job."

"Thanks, Sparky, but you don’t have to say stuff like that to make me feel better.” Rowan blushed as they neared St. Michael’s. The restaurant wasn’t as crowded as it normally was, so that was a relief. Considering they hadn’t made any reservations before hand.

“I’m saying anything to make you feel better. I am simply trying to get you to look at the truth.” Andrew pointed out, giving Rowan a nudge when she rolled her eyes at his statement, “Seriously, do you think that you would’ve gotten those big internships if you didn’t have a talent for broadcasting and producing?”

Rowan only shrugged in response. She knew his words were true but that didn’t stop her from feeling slightly inadequate compared to her nationally known boyfriend. Normally, she didn’t feel this way about it so she chalked it up to watching him live and that she was a little star struck because of it. She could let it get her down, she was on a date with her boyfriend and she was going to have a good time with him.

Once inside, the waiter set them up with a table for two outside on the patio. Rowan was quick to order a soft red wine from one of the local wineries, which turned out to be a little churchy but it was something that went along with the type of wine that she was drinking. Andrew also ordered wine, only his was of the pinot grigio variety. They sat across from each other in silence as they looked over the menus. There was a wide variety of food to choose from and it was slightly difficult to decide what they were going to have. But in the end, Andrew chose to have a grilled New York steak with bacon and shallot confit while Rowan chose Moroccan lamb potpie. Afterwards the pair indulged in quiet conversation as they waited on their food to be brought out to them.

“So why the sudden change?” Andrew inquired after taking a sip off his wine, looking across at the girl who was so close to capturing his heart. Rowan smiled at him from over the top of her own glass with a shrug and explained as she placed it on the table,

“Well, I was standing in the student section, watching you play and the thought dawned on me that we had been seeing each other for almost a month. But neither of us had made any move to make it official or even attempted to take it to the next level and then the urge to kiss you came over me and I had to do something about it.”

Andrew felt a grin grow as he listened to Rowan tell him about what had been going on in her head during the game and he was relieved that she had come to the same realization that he had. He wanted to make some kind of move before but he just hadn’t been able to find the right time to bring it up to her. He wasn’t surprised that she had decided to act upon her findings and emotions. It also took a lot of pressure off of him when she decided to kiss him first because he didn’t want to make it awkward if he tried to initiate a kiss with her.

Reaching over the table, Andrew took her hand in his and as he did so Rowan’s own smile grew even wider than it was before as she watched him. His eyes caught hers and all he could think about was how he would just love to get lost in her liquid hazel eyes. They were one of her most stunning features. They were also the initial things to draw him to her after she knocked him over on her morning run. It must’ve been fate that had brought them together because he couldn’t get enough of her charismatic personality or her colorful sense of humor whenever they were together.

“Ro, you have no idea how glad I am to hear you say that because you’re the first girl that I’ve been truly attracted to. To have more than just a casual relationship with you was something that I had been pondering since last weekend, I just didn’t know how to broach the subject with you. I’m glad you made that first move.” Andrew informed her, breaking the silence of the intimate moment they had been sharing before.

Rowan’s face flushed and was about to comment on her actions from early that evening when a voice that was familiar to her interrupted their conversation,

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t little Rowan Kowalski.”

Both Andrew’s and Rowan’s head whipped around to see a man, just slightly older than both of them standing on the other side of the rod iron fence. He was the usual GQ type that was rather Tom Brady-ish in its essence. He flashed a 1000-watt smile at Rowan, not even noticing whom she was there with.

“Long time, no see. What have you been up to?” He inquired, his eyes traveling over Rowan’s body, which caused Andrew to want to punch him in the face. He also realized that he had some kind of past with her, but when he looked to his girlfriend he saw that she was upset because of this man’s presence.

“Oh, the usual.” Rowan shrugged, indifferently, “But you have no right to show up here after two years and act like you did before to me. I’m happy right now and I’m not gonna let you ruin it.”

“Oh, how you pain me.” This Erik guy winced, placing a hand over his heart for dramatic effect, “Now, how can you say those things after all the good times we had together?”

Rowan raised her hand up to signal that she didn’t want to talk with him anymore and turned her attention back towards Andrew. She couldn’t believe that Erik had the nerve to show up and interrupt her date with Andrew. The first date she’d been on since Erik and her had been an item. It pained her to think about all the time she had wasted with him. At one point, she had thought he had ruined her so that no other man would want her.

“Come on, sweetheart. I didn’t mean anything I said back then,” Erik ignored her gesture and continued talking much to Rowan’s displeasure.

By this point, Andrew decided that he couldn’t just sit back and let this douchebag rehash whatever bad memories he had caused Rowan. Andrew could see tears beginning to well up in her eyes. Fend up with this man’s interruption, Andrew rose from his seat to glare down at the short man with his arms folded across his chest in a rather imposing manner, “Hey, pal, isn’t it obvious that Rowan doesn’t want to talk you anymore. Leave her alone. She was actually having an enjoyable evening before you decided to butt in.”

Erik was taken aback by Andrew’s now intimidating presence, having not noticed the other man was there until his much larger figure had risen from his seat across the table from Rowan. He took a step back to create some space between him and the man, whom had obviously become Rowan’s new flame.

“Who gives you the right to say that Rowan doesn’t want to talk to me? You Goliath? Who do you think you are? I bet I’ve known her longer than you have,” Erik egged Andrew on, arrogantly.

“I’m her boyfriend, you little prick. So it gives me every right to say that she doesn’t want to talk to you. But if you’d open your eyes, you would be able to see that she really doesn’t want to continue to hold a conversation with you.” Andrew informed Erik as moved to the other side of the table to place a comforting hand on Rowan’s shoulder. She aligned her hand with his and nodded in agreement to Andrew’s words with a newfound confidence.

Erik looked like he was about to push things further but some high-pitched bimbo distracted him away from their conversation, “Erik, what are you doing over there? I thought we were going to the Peninsula Creamery?”

Erik only grunted a response in the blonde’s direction before he turned to Rowan with a creepy smile before he walked away, “Well, it was good talking to you again, babe. I hate to say this but my new leading lady wants to go get ice cream so I must do as she requests. You should call me sometime, I’d love to catch up.”

Both Andrew and Rowan watched Erik retreat with his broad until they were out of ear range before Andrew looked down at Rowan to see that she was on the verge of tears. Kneeling down, Andrew took her tear drop shaped face in his large hands and began whispering words of comfort to her, not caring what the people around them thought of him. Rowan didn’t break down and cry like Andrew thought she was going to instead, she looked him in the eyes in almost an apologetic manner.

“Who was that guy?” Andrew inquired, before he straightened up and returned to his seat.

“His name is Erik Farley. He’s-“ She began but Andrew as quick to finish for her, “The reason you were so reluctant to open yourself up to me?”

Rowan nodded, scrunching up her napkin as she looked away from Andrew, “Yeah, he is… I met Erik at the beginning of my freshman year. He was a junior. We had French together. He would always ask me to help him study for tests, then we eventually started hanging out on a regular basis, and before I knew it he asked me out on a date. We dated for two years before he left me. But before that he would emotionally abuse me to try and get me to have sex with him. That’s why he left because I didn’t want to give him my virginity.”

Andrew felt like his heart was going to break when Rowan exposed her past relationship with the man he had just encountered. From one side, Andrew could see why Rowan had dated him. Picturing Rowan with Erik, he could see that they made an extremely good-looking couple. But on the other hand, he couldn’t see why she had put up with the little annoyance for so long. He didn’t understand why Rowan had let him hurt her.

“Why did you put up with him?” Andrew asked his girlfriend, wanting to know more but not wanting to pry too much information out of her that she didn’t want to reveal at the current time. Rowan shrugged and shook her head,

“I put up with him because at the time, I thought that I loved him. He was the first guy to ever really seem interested in me and I liked the attention he gave me good or bad because he was the only guy that didn’t just think of me as one of the guys. At first, he treated me how every guy should treat a lady and then about the middle of my sophomore year, he began to push for sex and I almost caved because I didn’t want him to leave me.”

Taking her hand in his again, Andrew smiled, softly at her, “Rowan, there’s no shame in that. A first love is hard to let go. You didn’t want to be alone so you didn’t break up with him.”

“Have you-?” She began to ask, but Andrew cut her off.

“I have… Everyone has had a bad break up at some point in their lives. Not to make light of the situation or anything like that. It’s a part of life and a part of growing up.”

Rowan nodded in agreement, she had become aware of the fact a few months after dealing with the break up, “I almost left Stanford. I couldn’t handle thought of him still being here and being with other girls. That’s when I started running every morning because I wanted to keep my mind off him and I kept doing it even after I got over him because it helped me focus. But in the end, I’m glad because without him I never would’ve met you.”

Andrew couldn’t stop the smile that grew on his face even if he was sad that Rowan been so distraught over Erik leaving her that she almost left. But he saw her point about if she hadn’t had that relationship with Erik; she never would’ve taken up running in the mornings. If she hadn’t gone on her morning run, their worlds never would have collided and brought them together. He hated to even think positively about that guy but he owned him in some round about way for bringing Rowan into his life.
But before Andrew could say anything else on the subject their waiter finally brought their meals out to them. For some reason, the sight of food seemed to cast away the rain cloud that had been hanging over them since Rowan had began to share with Andrew her past relationship. Her eyes began to lighten up and she seemed to relax as they enjoyed their meals in a comfortable silence.
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Thanks for reading! This is the first chapter that wasn't me solely revising ThePensAreMightier's work. I hope you guys like were I am taking this! Some feedback would be great, just saying.