“Wait.” Garrett set his bottle of water on the table. “What’s the story with prom?”
Drew frowned. “I was planning to ask her, but my bestfriend at the time beat me to it. Then they started dating, and Kacey and I grew apart. If I’d mustered up the courage sooner, I could have asked her out myself.”
“You know what you have to do. Tell her how you feel now.”
Drew’s phone buzzed. He flipped it over and found a missed call and a voice mail. He listened to the voice mail and his mouth dropped open.
“What is it?”
“It’s about the teaching job in Charlotte. They want me to come in for an interview next Tuesday.”
“You applied for a job in Charlotte too?”
“Yeah, it was a whim.” Drew took another bite of his sandwich.
Garrett nodded. “Well, I’ll miss you, buddy, but Charlotte could be your future.”
Drew let his friend’s words soak through him, and hope lit in his chest.
***
Kacey perused her work email Friday morning. She found one from her supervisor and began responding just as her phone started to ring. Her friend Jackie Campbell’s name was on the screen.
“Hey, Jackie. What’s up?” Kacey leaned back in her desk chair.
“I heard you were looking for a roommate. Is that right?”
“Yes, it is. Ginny Sorrentino got married, so I’m staying with my mom until I can find something affordable in Charlotte.”
“I might have the solution to your problem. My roommate is moving out January first. Would you like to come back to Charlotte? You’ll have a nice big bedroom and your own bathroom.”
Kacey sat up straight. “What’s the rent?”
Jackie gave her all the details, and the rent and utilities were within Kacey’s budget.
“I know you don’t go in very often, but it’s right near your office too,” Jackie added.
“This sounds too good to be true.”
“It’s not! You’d be doing me a huge favor, because I can’t afford this on my own, but I love the location.”
“Well, it’s perfect. I’m in.”
“Fantastic. I’ll call you after Christmas, and we’ll work out the details.”
“Thank you for thinking of me,” Kacey said before disconnecting the call. She stared down at her computer screen, and a mixture of gratitude and sadness filled her. She’d been worried she wouldn’t find a new roommate in the city she’d grown to love, but she was going to miss her family. And her heart began to break at the idea of leaving Drew behind. What if Charlotte wasn’t her future anymore?
As if on cue, her phone buzzed with a text from him:
Dinner tomorrow night? My treat.
She grinned as she typed back:
Yes. Only because you’re paying.
Pick you up at 6.
Don’t be late.
