Coffee? I can’t handle this anymore.
“What is wrong with you?” I snap.
He breathes out, stuffing his hands deeper in his pockets. “Listen, I’ve been thinking. I’d really love if we could talk about what happened.”
“You want to talk?”
“Yeah, I’ve been—”
“Doing a lot of thinking?” I scoff. I’m so tired of this shit. “Yeah, I got that part. Today doesn’t work for me, Kirk.”
And with that I turn on my heel and walk away. I’m not even the slightest bit curious. Life has a funny way of reshuffling the deck, sometimes. I never get what I want when I want it. I wanted Kirk—and I got Lane. And now Kirk’s back on the scene, and all I can think about is Lane. All these guys do is fuck with my head. I’m slipping into my empowered-woman phase, and they can all suck it.
“Leave me the fuck alone!” I cry as I shove open the doors to the building, slamming them right into a student as I go.
“Ow!”
I gasp. “I’m so sorry!”
“No worries, Lois.”
I freeze. I recognize that voice.
“I was just looking for you.”
Adam is standing right there, beaming at me.
“Hey…”
“How you doing? It’s been a while.”
I glance over his shoulder, checking whether the others are with him.
“It’s just me. I could tell something was up with you and Lane, and that you were avoiding us, too.” He smiles. “Lewis is devastated, you know. He told me to tell you it’s an absolute disgrace.”
I roll my eyes. “That guy seriously needs to expand his vocabulary.”
Adam laughs. “We miss you, you know. Don saw you get on the bus earlier this week, and he was so mad.”
As I listen to him tell me about the other Campus Drivers, I start to realize I’ve missed them all more than I thought.
“Anyway—Lewis and I are having a birthday party next month, and we’d love if you could make it.”
“Oh, I…”
I don’t know what to tell him, and Adam seems low-key offended.
“This year’s a leap year, so it’s gonna be a big one. It would mean a lot if you were there.”
“Why?”
He stares at me incredulously. “Why? Because we want to celebrate with friends. And that means you.”
I stare back at him, just as surprised. I hardly know what friendship means, these days.
“Lois, I don’t know what exactly happened with you and Lane, but that doesn’t change how the rest of us feel about you. And I’m pretty sure things will work themselves out.”
That’s where he’s wrong. The stuff with me and Lane changes everything: there’s no way I can spend another evening with them, and there’s especially no way I can hang out with Lane—not until I’ve moved on.
