And if I’d ever doubted how well Frederick knew me, I certainly didn’t in that moment. “A little bit of both.”
“Think on that and get some rest, O.”
“Apparently I have to get some rest if I have to find a new advisor. What the hell are you going to do?”
“I don’t know. See if Steve and Casey need a roommate,” he joked, which got me laughing, but then he turned serious again. “I think you might need to do a little more soul-searching and revisit this before you walk away from the best thing that’s ever happened to you.”
And I knew he was right.
35
Keegan
Keep your cool, Keeg. Keep your cool.
Nance sat in the passenger seat, Serena in the back, as I drove us to Serena’s apartment building. Despite Nance and Serena’s attempts at discussing the success of the evening with me, it only made it that much more difficult for me to keep from slipping into an all-out cry fest.
We’d had a fight.
A big one.
And I wasn’t okay, not even a little.
But as Serena and Nance kept on, I tried to stay in the moment, tried to forget the thing that was most impossible to forget.
“So can we talk about Casey and Steve?” Serena asked.
“Oh, they’re just good friends,” Nance said.
“They were dancing together.”
“They thought it was a hoot.”
As I checked the rearview mirror, I could see Serena’s skepticism by the way her forehead wrinkled. “You can’t convince me that Casey doesn’t have a little bit of a crush on Steve, at least.”
“Well, I didn’t say there wasn’t a crush. But until either of them say there’s more there, I don’t see how it’s any of our business.”
“Keegan, perhaps you can settle this,” Serena said. “What’s the deal with Casey and Steve?”
“You guys, I’m kind of tired. Do you mind if I turn on some music?”
“Of course, dear,” Nance said. “Sorry. I’m sure you’re tired after all the work you’ve been doing for tonight.”
As I turned up the music, I realized it was Adele’s “Someone Like You.”
Because of course it was.
Ah, fuck.
“Well, screw Casey and Steve,” Serena said. “I’m more interested in hearing about what else was happening on that dance floor. You and Prince Owen stole the show.”
My jaw clenched. My grip firmed on the steering wheel.
“Yes, you two were looking incredibly…enamored with each other,” Nance added.
It seemed the only thing they could agree upon was me and Owen.
And it was the very thing that sent me over the edge, had tears filling my eyes, making it difficult for me to see the goddamn road.
