Free Letting Go (Vice, Virtue & Video) by Bianca Giovanni Page A

experience that affection we share.
    He holds my head and tilts it up so I’m looking at him
before he kisses my forehead. “This is going to be fun,” he says, smiling. “I
can’t wait to check out your campus and see how you roll.”
    “I think you’ll be pretty disappointed,” I joke. “I’m not
down with the cool party scene. Actually, I’m kind of a nerd.”
    “I don’t need to go to parties to have fun,” he replies
genuinely. “I have the most fun when I’m hanging out with you, so partying like
an undergrad is not required for me to have a good time.”
    “Good.” I rest my cheek against his chest and breathe a
content sigh.
    “It’s you and me, cupcake, and I could not be happier about
it.”
    I giggle, but stand on my tiptoes so I can kiss his cheek,
which makes him smile broadly. I make a mental note to plan little visits like
this more often. I can’t go this long without seeing him. Talking on the phone
is not enough. We need to work out a schedule, because I don’t think I can
handle another long year without frequent hugs from James.

Chapter 2 –
James
     
    I’m trying to remember the names of Lola’s friends as we all
stand around by the staircase in the frat house. The blonde, Mackenzie, said
she was premed, I think. The brunette with the long hair is the roommate. Her
name is Kate, which I know from Lola’s conversations about her occasionally
bringing guys back to the room. There’s a tall girl with long, light brown hair
named Joanna. Pretty sure she said she was an English major. The dudes are
Travis and Daniel—I remembered them because I spent the first half of the
evening sizing them up. Lola’s most comfortable around guys, but not all guys
have pure intentions like me, and I was worried these guys were just playing
the friend card so they could wait in the wings until she wanted a boyfriend.
One of them is an econ major, and the other is pre-law, but I can’t quite
remember which is which.
    Lola seemed really psyched to be going to a frat party, and
she wanted to take me with her so I could experience the college scene. It
seems pretty cool so far—fun, but not too wild. The kids are more serious
than the ones who attended the university in our hometown. They just give off
that smart vibe, like they’ll all be future business leaders and entrepreneurs.
I’m trying my hardest to act like I fit in, even though I barely went to class
during my brief stint at our state school back home.
    “So, James, you’re not in school out in California, right?”
Mackenzie asks me. “I thought Lola mentioned UCLA, but I couldn’t remember. I
have some friends who go to Stanford, and my sister goes to USC.”
    “No, I’m actually out there for work,” I reply.
    “Oh, cool,” she says, smiling. “What do you do?”
    Lola gives me a nervous look, and it’s clear that she
doesn’t want me to tell the truth. I know it’s not because she’s ashamed. I’m
guessing she just thinks it’ll lead to a big discussion, and she’d like to
avoid dwelling on it. She’s started a whole life here, and she doesn’t need to
open up the porno can of worms.
    “I’m an actor,” I reply. “I’ve done some modeling too, but
I’m kind of focusing on acting right now.”
    “How exciting!” Joanna says. “Have you been in anything we
would have seen?”
    Not unless you watch porn . “It’s mostly indie stuff.
I’ve done a lot of student films—and sometimes they even pay you.”
    She laughs and gives me slightly flirty eyes.
    “One of my friends is in film school out there and says it’s
always hard to find talent who will work for free,” Travis chimes in.
    “Yeah. There are a lot of actors who want stuff to add to
their reel, and some of those student films are really artistic and original,
but you gotta make a living too.”
    “I hear you, man,” Daniel says, nodding to me. “It seems
like Hollywood is just void of ideas. Everything is a remake or a