He sat by the door waiting. He knew she was in class. They had driven by the parking lot where she normally parked and saw her car in its usual place. He had then maneuvered the wheelchair to the walk path outside the door to greet her when she left class.  

Frank tried to quell the nervous feeling in his stomach. He had never felt this nervous before. He knew he really liked her and that things needed to be straightened out if their relationship had a chance to go somewhere.  

Glancing at his watch, he saw that it was just about time for students to be dismissed. Frank was anxious to see Caren and finally talk.  

At that moment, people started exiting the building. Frank noticed several of his classmates walk by and carefully kept an eye out for Caren.  

As she left the building, Frank caught her eye and saw the surprised looked on her face. She excused herself from the people she was walking with and moved over to him.  

He offered her a smile as she got closer. “Hi,” he said when she reached him.  

“Hi,” Caren said shyly.  

Frank knew he needed to initiate the conversation. He looked up into her warm hazel eyes. “I was hoping you and I could talk.”  

Caren was quiet for a moment and then said, “I guess.”  

They moved over to a bench that was unoccupied and Caren sat down. Frank took a breath and got started. “Caren, I want to explain about what happened the other day.”  

“Frank, you don’t have to.”  

“I do,” Frank stated. “The girl who came in that day was my ex-girlfriend. She had gone to school on the west coast and when she heard I was injured, she came back to see how I was.”  

“She could have called,” Caren murmured, but Frank heard her.  

“You’re right. She could have, but she didn’t.” Frank reached over and took Caren’s hand in his. “But that’s in the past now. She has gone back to college and things are back to the way they should be.”  

“Until she returns again.”  

“Caren, she and I made this agreement that we wouldn’t be exclusive with one another because we didn’t want to miss opportunities if we were a couple.” He looked Caren in the eye. “And I think this was the best decision we could have made. If we were exclusive, I may not have met you.”  

“But what if she still wants you?” Caren asked. “Will I be tossed to the gutter because you still have feelings for her?”  

“In all fairness, my relationship with Callie has changed. Since we’ve been apart, I’ve realized that I care for her as a dear friend and nothing else. I don’t see us being together after we finish our education.”  

Caren was quiet for a moment. He figured she was absorbing everything he had said. He decided to go in for the big one.  

“And the reason my feelings have changed is because of you.” Caren smiled and he continued. “Since the day you helped me, I haven’t been able to get you out of my mind. When we were locked in that building, I wanted to do everything in my power to make sure you got out safely because I didn’t want to see anything happening to you.” Frank grinned. “You are definitely like a ray of sunshine and I look forward to seeing you and talking to you daily. You’ve really made an impact on my life.”  

Caren’s grin grew bigger. “You’ve impacted my life as well.” She squeezed his hand. “Until the day I helped you, I didn’t think I was going to stay here. I felt very alone with no one to really talk to. But then you and I seemed to really hit it off. I finally felt comfortable here.”  

“I do hope you plan to stay,” Frank said. “I definitely want to get to know you better.”  

“I’m looking forward to getting to know you better as well,” Caren said, with a grin. “There’s a lot about you I don’t know.”  

“There’s a lot about you I don’t know either,” Frank said. He reached over and cupped Caren’s face in his hand. “I’m hoping we can take the time to find those things out.”  

Caren’s smiled grew even bigger. “I think that can be arranged.”  

Caren leaned close to Frank and their lips met. Frank’s hand slipped to the back of Caren’s head and held her close. When they broke apart, Frank leaned back and saw a beautiful smile filling Caren’s face. This felt right to him.  

Caren opened her eyes and looked at him. Frank said, “I’m glad I met you, Caren.”  

“I’m glad I met you too, Frank.” She reached up and brushed his lips with her fingers. He figured she was wiping her lipstick from his lips. “So, how did you get here? I didn’t think you were up to driving yet.”  

“Actually, Joe brought me,” Frank explained. “I knew I had to find you. I had to talk to you and get things straightened out.”  

“I’m glad you did come. But how are you going to get home? Is Joe wandering around the campus?”  

“Actually, Joe headed back to school. He got out for a little bit, but he had to go back for a test.”  

“So, how are you getting home?”  

Frank smiled at her. “I was hoping you could give me a lift.”  

“Of course,” Caren said. “If you’re ready to go, we can head on out.”  

“Don’t you have another class?”  

“Normally I do, but the instructor cancelled it the other day for today’s session. So, I’m free for the rest of the weekend.”  

“That’s great,” Frank said.  

“So, are you ready?”  

“Absolutely,” Frank said.  

As they made their way to the parking lot side by side, Frank was pleased with how things turned out. He was looking forward to learning more about Caren and seeing how far their relationship would go. He was looking forward to a future with her.

 

-The End-

 

The Hardy Boys belong to Simon and Schuster and the Stratemeyer Foundation. The authors have just borrowed them for an adventure or two. The authors promise to put the boys back when they are done with them. The authors do claim copyright to the original characters in this story. Please do not borrow original characters without express permission of the authors.