Three.

She’s two months into her sophomore year of college when her and Roy break up for the first time since getting together junior year of high school. She wanted to get married and he didn’t, “at least not right now, Pammy,” she wanted to get a degree in art and he thought a degree in science made way more sense, she prioritized studying and her on-campus job and he thought she spent too much time at school, ignoring him. Overall, she had realized they weren’t on the same page anymore and decided they needed a break.

Having not been in the dating game for the past four years, it takes her a little while to get back into it. It’s Isabel who finally convinces her to give Kameron, the cute guy who sits in front of her in Economics, her phone number. After a couple of phone calls and one study session, he asks her out on an official date. They go out to see a movie and grab some pizza afterwards and she had fun. It reminded her of her and Roy’s first few dates, relaxed and casual. She agreed to a second date, going to the Everhart museum downtown. He listened carefully as she explained the different art styles and waited patiently as she read the plaques next to her favorite pieces. He ended the date with a kiss on her cheek outside of her dorm room and a promise to call her tomorrow.

Their third date was the following weekend. Kameron had decided that the third date was when he would bring his A-game, taking her to a nice steak restaurant just outside of Scranton. She had assumed it was to impress her, to gain access to what the third date usually means, but he apparently had something else in mind.

She had just taken a bite of her salad when he reached over and took her hand into his. She smiles at him and squeezes his hand gently, causing the grin on his face to grow just a little bigger, “Pam.”

She keeps her smile, but she can tell by the tone of his voice that he’s about to say something serious, and she’d be lying if she said that it didn’t make her a little nervous. She liked the guy, could see herself going out with him for a while, but if he was about to say the L-word, she wasn’t quite there yet. “Kameron.”

“Listen, this might be crazy… but I feel like we have a special connection. Even though we have only been dating a couple of weeks, I feel like we’ve known each other for forever.” She watches in horror as he stands up, only to bend down on one knee. She glances around when she hears a couple small gasps, over half of the restaurant looking at them. She suddenly feels thirteen again, surrounded by classmates as Jackson looks up at her, his friends laughing, and she feels humiliated. Only this time, it’s worse. Where she knew Jackson was trying to joke around, completing some stupid dare, Kameron wasn’t joking. When Kameron asks, “Will you marry me?” he has an actual ring in between his fingers and such a genuine look on his face. She tries to whisper, tries to be as discreet as possible as she rejects his offer, but he just looks at her confused, as if she was speaking another language. She quickly stands up, quietly thanking him for dinner and telling him that she will call a friend to pick her up.

She doesn’t look back as she walks out the front door, dialing Isabel’s number. She also makes a mental note to ask her advisor to put her in a different Economics class.