Mason was talking to the barista who was relieving him. When I walked in, he said to the other guy “I’ll get this one” and reached for a tall to-go cup. By the time I reached the counter, he was clamping a lid on top.
“Decaf with cream,” he said, eying me warily.
“Thanks.” I dropped a five on the counter and took my cup.
“Have you seen Kimberley?”
“I have.”
“How is she?”
“What would you expect?”
He reached for the bill and stuffed it into the cash register. “I want to talk to her, but I don’t think she’ll talk to me.”
“Oh, she definitely will.”
Hope shone in his eyes. “Today?”
“Now.”
He raced around the counter and then yanked the door, standing patiently to let me precede him. On the sidewalk, he gave a sharp nod and turned away.
“Mason,” Kimberley called from the bench.
He spun around, his face creased with torment. The sight of her melted something within him, for the smile that broke over his face was a thing of beauty. After a quick check of the street, his long strides closed the distance between them. When her arms opened, he snatched her up against him and buried his face against her neck, his shoulders shaking. She smoothed his hair and murmured in his ear.
She nodded at me. My cue to go. Kimberley had this.
I went into The Reading Corner and found Lacey standing in the front window.
She didn’t meet my gaze. “Thank you for bringing Kimberley.”
“No problem.” I swallowed hard. I hated what I was about to do, but might as well get it over with. “Sorry about last week.”
She released a whistly breath. “What exactly are you sorry about?”
“That I sounded harsh. I’m not sorry about what I said.” I jammed my hands in my pockets and frowned at my feet. “You can’t hang out with me at Piedmont, because I won’t be there.”
“Wow.” She turned to me. “What made you decide that?”
“Piedmont helped me. When they saw the D on my final transcript, they told me I’d have to go on academic probation. I declined.”
“And when exactly were you going to tell us that?”
“Last Monday.”
Her face softened. “You were trying not to spoil my fun.”
“Yeah, and it came out wrong.”
“Then I’m sorry, too. For reading you wrong.”
That was a pretty fast apology from Lacey. Were we both growing up—just in time to go our separate ways? “I’ll attend Newman College instead.”
“Really? I didn’t even know it was on your list.”
“It wasn’t. Grant found it.”
