Spring was on its way,and with it would come seven birthdays, two college graduations – Carson and Cory – and two high school graduations – Maggie and Aspen. All were happy occasions, but they were also instances where I’d need to answer uncomfortable questions about why Keli wasn’t with me.
Unless, of course, by the time I saw them again, they’d forgotten about her or Brody told them I’d intended to break things off. Either one was a good solution, in my opinion.
It’d been less than a week since Keli had left my office and I hadn’t heard from her since. The last two times I’d thought she’d had enough, however, had led to her trying to seduce me in my office. I didn’t want a repeat performance, which meant I wasn’t getting my hopes up.
At least things at work were going well. I hadn’t hired a replacement for Miranda yet, but her team had risen to the challenge of working with me, and we’d completed her project on time. The presentation had been this morning, and the client had been thrilled enough that they’d promised to use MIRI for all future needs.
I’d just finished sending an email to Da to give him the good news when a call came through.
Keli.
I shook my head. If she wasn’t calling to tell me that she didn’t want to see me anymore, I’d finally take matters into my own hands. I couldn’t let this go on any longer.
“Hello?”
“Alec, hi.” She sounded strange, but I couldn’t put my finger on why. “What time are you leaving work tonight?”
I glanced at the time. “I can leave in ninety minutes.”
“Wow, out at a decent hour. How do I rate?” Sarcasm practically oozed from the words.
I ignored the tone. This was almost over.
“Doesn’t matter,” she muttered. “Can we meet after you’re done?”
“Where would you like to meet?” I kept my response cordial.
“Can you come here?”
Having this discussion in a college dorm room wasn’t exactly where I would have chosen, but I’d reached the end of my patience. One way or another, this would be done today.
“I’ll text you when I’m on my way.”
She ended the call without saying another word. I closed my eyes.
Fuck.
I gave myself a minute to appreciate how little I was looking forward to the rest of the day, and then it was back to work. With an end in sight, I was able to put everything else aside and focus on work. Then, once it was time for me to leave, I used the drive over to Keli’s dorm to switch gears and prepare myself as best I could for what was sure to be the worst of the types of confrontation I usually avoided.
I pulled into the parking lot next to the dorm and remembered why I’d rarely left my room when I’d been in college. With the exception of classes, of course.
People. Everywhere.
Still, if I handled this now, I’d never need to come here again. My life would go back to normal…and I’d never be this foolish again.
With that in my head, I ignored the looks and whispers sent my way. Not everyone was staring, but enough were that I found it annoying. I didn’t think anyone knew who I was, but I was wearing a suit that cost close to a semester’s tuition. A suit alone would be out of place, but this particular suit wasextremelyout of place.
By the time I knocked on Keli’s door, I’d decided to ask her if we could move this conversation elsewhere. Maybe Ester would be there, and Keli would have already thought of leaving. Except when Keli opened the door, it was clear the room was empty.
“Come in.”
And then I saw her.
Sweatpants. A hoodie. Pale skin. Hair back in a ponytail.
It wasn’t that she lookedbadper se, but she’d always been so together, as if she planned every aspect of her outfits down to the last accessory. At least, that was how she’d been every time I’d been with her. Maybe this was how she was when we weren’t together. Maybe she thought she had to dress a certain way because of who I was–
It didn’t matter.
