“That is kind of strange, but it’s probably nice for you. I hate feeling angry and not being able to do anything about it.” The fact that she dwelled on everything, especially negative things, really didn’t help her cause. It just seemed to make her feel worse about herself and about life. “I don’t know if I could just let something really hurtful go. I’ve tried, and it just… doesn’t work.”
Jia Li thought about it. “I don’t usually go very far off campus.” Especially with others. “I’m not a fan of driving. There are quite a few restaurants around or near the campus, though. “We could always go to one of those places?” The dryad decided to think about it as they ran.
“Ah, that’s true. A guy that lives to make fun of others probably has some major self-esteem issues. If he’s straight and you even give an innocent inquiry about his sexual orientation, he’s going to be pissed enough that he won’t ever want to see you again.” Then again, guys who were in the closet had a tendency to be the same way. Jia Li had made the mistake of just making a joke that her friend’s perverted boyfriend was gay, and he’d exploded. That was probably the only thing that had saved her from his wandering hands.
“So, your parents are encouraging you to be free with your sex life? If I ever have sex and my dad found out, his brain would probably crack. I mean, he’s cool and everything, and he wants me to date and have a normal, fulfilling life, but I don’t think I’ve ever met a parent who wanted their kids to have sex.” She chuckled softly at the idea. Kissing wasn’t anything, but sex was kind of a big deal.
The way she responded to Jia Li’s question about her former instructor made it obvious the topic of him at all was dangerous territory, so the dryad was perfectly fine when the conversation moved to other subjects.
“I don’t entirely blame them. I mean, the world can be a dangerous place no matter what race a person is.” Of course, some races seemed a little safer than others. She’d heard about vampires and djinn, and those kinds of people seemed almost untouchable with their abilities and prowess as long as they weren’t super young.
“Yeah… I know what that’s like a little. I thought I was in love once, but he was kind of a jerk, so I broke up with him. He told me I never loved him at all, and part of me wonders if that’s true. I think it really hurt his pride more than his heart when it happened, though.” Jia Li left out the part where he’d gotten even with her. She felt kind of stupid even mentioning it at all. “Anyway, I don’t think it’s horrible when someone has sex when they’re not in love. I’d never do it, but that’s just me. You just have to be careful because some people seem to be doing something casually, but their heart is in it more than their hormones.”
Jia Li glanced over to Kaydence. “How early did you visit him? Most college students don’t wake up until they absolutely have to do it.” Not everyone was wake-up-with-the-dawn sort like the dryad was. Well, she didn’t usually wake up at dawn, just when she had important things to do like exercise and such. Even so, her kind – the early risers – were extremely rare.
“Yeah. You’re probably right. Maybe if I apologize, I can just let it go. Who knows, maybe that one show of kindness will give him a reason to be nice to me back? I’m not counting on it, but it’s kind of a neat thought.”
The dryad nodded. “It’s not that weird. I mean, people who grow up near oceans often can’t imagine their lives without it. I knew a girl in high school who visited the coast every other weekend because she used to live in a city by the ocean and she missed it when they moved a little inland to where I lived.” It was true. The girl had taken Jia Li once when they’d first started becoming friends, but then things changed part way through the year, and she stopped wanting to do anything that involved showing off her legs. It was a shame because, aside from the scar, the young woman’s legs were in great shape, and they could have been considered sexy if one only looked at her left leg and not the right.
“I know a good place that isn’t too far away. It’s only about a mile if you want to walk. I still have energy if you do?” Jia Li offered. “They have pretty good breakfast.”