How Did Things End Up Like This?

“H-hey so I guess we’re partners.” Blake said a bit awkwardly as he walked up to Carmen Williams with the project assignments sheet in his hand.

“Yeah,” Carmen responded as she stood from her seat in the classroom, “I’m looking forward to it. But I really have this thing I need to get to… It’s kinda urgent. Maybe tomorrow we can meet at the library and talk more about it then?” She offered as she grabbed her bag. She seemed a little eager to leave, but Blake didn’t take offense.

Carmen Williams was a gorgeous dark skinned girl in Blake’s Physiology class whom he had a big crush on. She was the type of girl who seemed effortlessly pretty and popular. In actuality, she probably put a lot of effort into her looks and social life, but she did so in a manner that appeared so nonchalant that it only added to her allure. She was so far outside Blake’s league that even being randomly assigned partners for the end of year project seemed like it must have been a mistake.

“Uh, yeah sure, of course…” Blake replied, “Ummm… Do you just wanna meet at a certain time or…”

“Yeah that works,” Carmen responded, seemingly unfazed by Blake’s lack of tact, “I have some time around one.”

Carmen was already heading out the door as she finalized the plans with Blake.

“Oh, okay.” Blake said as he followed her out the door, “I guess I’ll see you then…”

Carmen nodded, and Blake stopped following as she continued to walk away towards the exit to the old college building they occupied. Blake sighed, and turned around, heading in the opposite direction. He actually needed to go the same way, but walking alongside her after ending the conversation was definitely not going to happen.

I should have asked for her number…

He thought to himself, disappointed with how he had handled their first direct interaction. Blake was 23 years old and still had trouble talking to girls, at least ones as attractive as Carmen. He wasn’t completely inexperienced; he had kissed some, and been on a handful of dates, but he had never made it past first base. 23 years and no long, or even short, term girlfriend to speak of. He liked to imagine it was his own priorities that got in the way of him finding a romantic partner, but deep down he had to accept that his height was likely a big contributing factor.

Blake’s appeal as a man was handicapped by the fact that he was only 5 foot 4. Body positivity be damned, he knew that not too many girls were interested in a guy like him. The cosmic hand he had been dealt weighed on him day in and day out, but over the past few years, he had started to come to terms with who he was. Knowing he wasn’t bound to be an incredible athlete or charismatic leader, Blake had committed himself to his studies, and found plenty of excellence there.

He walked the long way to the library thanks to his earlier blunder with Carmen and found his usual spot. Only about 10 minutes after settling in, a pale redheaded girl plopped down in the seat across the table from him.

“Hey Blake!” She offered him with a smile, pulling her own resources out of her book bag.

“Hey Hannah.” Blake replied without looking up from his textbook.

“Physiology hmm?” Hannah said, recognizing the

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