Chapter 21

Leah shifted nervously. “Um ... hi.” She ventured a smile and I suddenly remembered my manners.

I took her suitcase and overnight bag, and invited her into the apartment. “Seriously, what’re you doing here? Not that I mind,” I added hastily, “but ... um ... did we plan something and I just forgot?”

“You didn’t forget. I’m still on Spring Break and thought I’d surprise you,” she said. “Is that okay?”

“Sure!”

“Who is it?” Christy called from the kitchen. She came around the corner and stopped abruptly. “Oh. Hello.”

“Leah, this is Christy,” I said, and the two girls shook hands.

Leah’s smile was forced. She still hadn’t forgiven Christy for her part in the Wren fiasco.

Christy reacted better, but her smile didn’t reach her eyes.

Luke stuck his head around the corner. “Who is it?”

I introduced them and hid a grin when Leah didn’t give him more than a token smile. She wasn’t rude, but she didn’t swoon over his good looks and Cajun accent.

“We’re planning a surprise party for Trip,” I explained. “We just got back from the grocery store.”

“Oh, that explains it,” she said. “I got here about an hour ago, but no one was home.”

“Sorry about that.”

She shrugged.

“Well, we’re here now, and you’re here, so...”

“How ‘bout those drinks?” Luke suggested. “I’m makin’ hurricanes, my specialty.”

“Your specialty is anything alcoholic,” I said.

“I am not an alcoholic,” he said with great dignity. “I just have a high tolerance. It’s my Cajun blood.”

“Yeah, right.” I glanced at Leah. “Hey, lemme get her situated and give her the nickel tour. Then we’ll take those drinks. Cool?”

“Laissez les bon temps rouler,” Luke said.

I started to explain what it meant, but Leah cut me off.

“‘Let the good times roll,’” she said. “I take French, you know. I swear, sometimes I think you don’t pay attention to my life.”

“Tell me about it,” Christy muttered.

I ignored the jabs and grabbed Leah’s bags. “Ready for that tour?”

We returned to the kitchen a few minutes later, and Luke handed us drinks. “How’s about I whip us up somethin’ to eat?” he said. Then he looked at Christy. “What you say, sha?”

The rum in the hurricane had improved her mood, so her eyes lit up and she nodded.

“I hope you don’t mind spicy,” I said to Leah.

“You really don’t pay attention, do you? My mother is Indian. Hello?”

“I thought you looked too exotic to be plain ol’ American like me and your ugly friend,” Luke said. “What tribe?”

I rolled my eyes, but Leah didn’t miss a beat. “Kshatriya,” she said.

“The warrior caste?” Christy asked.

Luke and I shared a look. He was as clueless as I was.

Leah nodded. “Mmm hmm. My great-grandfather was an officer in the British Army. But caste is an inherited thing these days, and doesn’t mean much for me. My father’s white, and I’m American.”

“Well, dis-moi la vérité,” Luke said.

Christy and Leah explained at the same time. “‘Tell me the truth.’”

They’d done it for my benefit, and I almost laughed when each grew annoyed at the other.

Leah recovered first. “I just did,” she said to Luke.

“You mentioned dinner?” Christy said to him.

“My pleasure!”

We hung out in the kitchen and made small talk while Luke cooked and entertained us with stories about “life on the bayou.” It was mostly an act for the girls (Luke had grown up in the suburbs, just like the rest of us), but he had a flair for storytelling. It also didn’t hurt that he could cook with one hand and pour drinks with the other.

After dinner we sat in the living room and listened to the stereo. Luke’s drinks had a way of sneaking up on people, and none of us were feeling any pain. Leah curled up next to me on the couch and snuggled close. Christy and Luke carried the conversation, flirting back and forth like dueling fencers. In a way it was fun to watch, since I was pretty sure that he wasn’t going to get into her pants.

By the time Jeff came home around midnight, we were all winding down. Christy held her liquor as well as Luke did, and he’d finally realized that he wasn’t going to get lucky. So we all said goodnight and helped Christy make up the couch.

In my bedroom Leah began taking off her clothes as soon as I closed the door. She normally slept in her birthday suit, but I gave her the same Riverwood T-shirt that Christy had borrowed.

“Just in case you need to go to the bathroom during the night,” I explained.

Leah modeled it as a gag. She filled more of the shirt than Christy did, so it only reached her hips. She wasn’t wearing panties, and her bare pussy peeked from under the hem.

I pulled her toward me and settled her on my lap. We began making out. I reacted predictably, even after so much rum. Since I was still fully dressed, I held her around the waist and stood up to unbuckle my pants. They didn’t even fall to my ankles before I freed my erection and thrust into her. She was hot and wet and very ready, and moaned softly as I fucked her standing up.

A little while later we moved to the bed, and finally rolled apart in the wee hours of the morning, exhausted but happy. Leah caressed my chest as she rested her head on my shoulder.

“Thanks for letting me stay,” she said quietly.

I woke up the next morning with a pounding headache and a taste in my mouth like I’d eaten year-old oranges. I slowly disentangled myself from Leah and staggered to the bathroom. Christy surprised me in the hall after I finished. She blinked and took a step back, and I belatedly realized that I was bare-ass naked.

“Um, sorry.”

“That’s okay,” she said. “I almost didn’t recognize you. I mean, it doesn’t look like the picture.”

“Wha—?” I belatedly realized what she was talking about.

She grinned.

I couldn’t help but look down at my limp manhood. Then I covered myself with my hands. “Sorry,” I said again. “I didn’t mean to ... you know.”

“It’s okay. I have brothers,” she said. “I know what men look like.”

“You saw your brothers like this?”

“No,” she said primly. “They usually wore clothes around the house. You should try it sometime.”

I felt my cheeks flush.

“Now if you’ll excuse me,” she continued, “I need to use the bathroom.”

I stepped aside. Seriously? I scolded myself. I picked that moment for small talk?

Christy closed the bathroom door and then locked it for good measure, which bothered me for some reason.

“Yeah, right,” I muttered. “I’m going to walk in on you in the bathroom. I have a sister. I know what women look like.” I shook my head in annoyance. Why do I let her get to me?

“Wha’?” Leah asked groggily.

“Nothing,” I said. “I’m going for a run. I’ll be back in an hour.” I kissed her forehead and covered her with the blanket.

“M’kay.”

I didn’t see Christy when I emerged from the bedroom—fully dressed this time—so I grabbed my keys and headed out. Unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy running as much as I usually did. For one, my brain felt like it was bouncing around my skull. For another, I was so thirsty that I could barely work up a good spit. For a third, I kept reliving the conversation with Christy and trying to think of snarky comebacks.

She was gone when I returned to the apartment. No note. No nothing. The only sign that she’d been there was the pile of neatly folded blankets and a pillow on the arm of the couch.

“Fine, whatever,” I said to myself, and poured a glass of orange juice. My head was starting to ease off, but the juice felt like ballast in my stomach.

Leah shuffled into the kitchen as I was brooding. She had brushed her hair and donned the Riverwood T-shirt over a pair of panties.

“Ugh,” she groaned. “I’m never drinking again.”

“Here.” I poured her a glass of juice. “This’ll help.”

She took a whiff and almost gagged. “Oh, God. Too much like a hurricane. Do we have any coffee?”

“You too? Jeez. Am I the only one who doesn’t drink the stuff?”

“Yes,” she said, and spotted the Mr. Coffee. She opened the cabinet above it and found Luke’s can of Luzianne coffee. Once she filled the machine, she stood there looking miserable and clutching her mug.

I gave her a quick kiss. “I’m gonna shower,” I said. “We don’t have class ‘cause of Good Friday, but the dining hall is open and a bunch of us usually get breakfast together. You wanna go?”

She made a face. “Food? God, no.”

“No problem. We have stuff here if you get hungry.” I still wanted a shower, so I headed down the hall.

Jeff emerged from his bedroom. “Do I smell coffee?”

“Yeah,” I said. “Leah’s making it.”

He looked puzzled. “The Indian girl? I thought you broke up with her. What? Last year, right?”

“That was her sister,” I explained.

He shook his head. “Jeez, Hughes, you sure keep it in the family.”

“We’re just friends,” I said, which rang hollow. It also made Leah sound cheap, which wasn’t what I intended. “Well, more than friends, but ... it’s complicated.”

“Sounded pretty simple last night.”

I started to bristle, but he defused me with a grin.

“Relax. I’m just fucking wit’ ya,” he said. “She seems like a nice girl. Besides,” he gestured toward the kitchen, “she made coffee, which is more than you ever do.”

Trip came home after lunch. Wren had taken him to his favorite record store as part of his birthday present, and he’d bought a stack of vintage vinyl. He gave us a cursory wave and made a beeline toward his baby. Then he plopped in front of the McIntosh and adjusted the dials as the vacuum tubes warmed up.

“It’s cool,” I told Leah. “He gets like this sometimes.”

“Whatever,” she said.

“I need to talk to Wren, though,” I said in a lower tone. “Can you keep an eye on him while I slip away for a few minutes?”

He was holding his new LPs up to the light, one by one, looking for scratches or dust.

“Sure, I guess.”

“Thanks.” I gave her a quick kiss and headed downstairs.

Wren invited me in.

“So,” I teased, “you had a good time last night?”

“Uh-huh. You did too, huh?”

“Christy told you?”

“Of course. But how’d you get on her bad side this time?”

“Who knows?”

Wren had the good grace to change the subject. “So ... you had company last night?”

“Yeah. Leah came for the weekend. It was kinda out of the blue, but...” I shrugged.

“What’s the story with you and her?”

“It’s ... complicated,” I said.

“Well, she’s not your girlfriend, so...”

“Why do you say that?”

“The whole Daphne thing. I mean, you wouldn’t have sex with me ‘cause you were dating Kendall at the time. So why Daphne if you had someone like Leah at home?”

“Yeah, well, like I said, it’s complicated.”

“What isn’t? You wanna talk about it?”

“Between you and me?”

“Of course.”

I trusted her more than anyone but Susan and my family, so I told her about Leah and Daphne and the rest. It felt good to get it off my chest.

“Wow,” she said when I finished. “So Leah’s a swinger too?”

I nodded. “Her whole family.”

“And Daphne and Sara really used to be strippers?”

Another nod.

“Your life is complicated.”

“No kidding.”

She laughed and teased, “Poor Paul. More women than you can handle, but you still don’t know what to do.”

“When you put it that way...,” I said with a laugh of my own.

“But that gives me an idea.”

“Uh-oh.”

“You’ll find out later,” she said cryptically. “If it works out.”

I couldn’t coax any more out of her, so I changed the subject. “Okay, does Trip suspect anything? About the party, I mean?”

She shook her head. “Have you figured out how you’re gonna get him out of the apartment?

“Yeah. We need to talk about the houses for this summer.”

“Thanks for that, by the way. For getting him to come to Atlanta. I know you had other reasons, but I hope I was part of it too.”

“Of course,” I said, and she smiled. We shared a companionable moment until I looked at my watch. “Holy shit! I told Leah I’d be back in a few minutes and it’s been almost an hour.”

“She’ll understand, especially if what I’m thinking works out.”

“That again?” I said. “You won’t tell me what you’re up to?”

“You’ll find out eventually,” she said with a secret smile.

Smug little vixen.

Luke needed time to cook, and Wren and Christy had to decorate, so I asked Trip if he had plans for the rest of the afternoon.

“Yeah, I thought I’d make a mix tape. Why?”

“Well, I was thinkin’ ... We still have to talk about the houses for this summer. I want to get started as soon as we can, and since we both have time this afternoon...”

“But what about Leah?”

“I’ll be okay,” she said on cue. “I know you guys need to plan. Besides, I kinda wanna see what’s on the news.”

“We don’t have cable,” Trip said, “and the TV is in Luke and Jeff’s room. You don’t wanna go in there. It’s a disaster area.”

It’s also full of booze and party decorations, I thought smugly, but you don’t know that.

“I think I can handle it,” she said. “I grew up with two older sisters.”

“But what about my records?” Trip complained. “I got a Beatles promo LP.”

“Dude,” I said, “you can listen to those after we figure out what we’re gonna do with the houses. Come on. You know we need to get started on this stuff.”

“But ... why now?”

“‘Cause we have time now. Now c’mon. You know I’m right.”

He put business before pleasure, but not gracefully. “Fine,” he said, “but you better have another brilliant idea like Atlanta.”

“Oh, I’m full of brilliant ideas. Now let’s go. I figure we can grab a booth at the Grill or OCI’s and sketch things out.”

He grumbled as he gathered a couple of notepads and some pens and pencils.

I grabbed my own sketchbook and said to Leah, “We’ll be back in a couple of hours.”

Trip goggled. “A couple of hours?”

“Oh, pipe down. You know you’ll enjoy it once we get going.”

We decided on Presidential Grill, and found a table near the back. Trip grumbled about leaving his music, so I launched straight into my pitch for the two houses in the neighborhood near mine.

He picked up the thread and started asking questions. I answered them all, until we hit our first sticking point. I wanted to do some major renovations to the backyard of the rancher, but he wasn’t convinced.

“Seriously, dude,” I said, “that backyard is going to sell the house, especially if we fix up the pool area. We can add a gazebo or rose trellis and turn it into a little sanctuary. People pay big bucks for that kind of thing, especially within thirty minutes of downtown. Trust me. This isn’t like Franklin, where most people work a few miles from home. Atlanta is big.”

“A lot of people commute from Franklin to Nashville,” he said defensively.

“But a lot more in Atlanta. And to get that kind of yard with any privacy, most people have to move out to Marietta. That’s a long way.”

“I guess,” he said. “I’m still not convinced that we’ll make our money back from something like that. I mean, kitchens and master bedrooms still make the best return.”

“I’m not disagreeing. I’m just saying that for this house, we need to spend on the backyard too. We’ll make it back and then some. I swear.”

“We’ll see,” he said, which meant he’d at least think about it.

“All right,” I said. “Let’s talk about the Tudor...”

Since we didn’t have actual plans to work with, we covered the details fairly quickly. Then I had to come up with something else to keep him occupied.

“Hey,” I said, “do you wanna take a short vacation between school and work?”

“Probably not.” He gestured at his notes. “We have a lot to do.”

“I dunno...,” I said. “I mean, we should take some time off. I’m not talking about a month, but maybe a week.”

“That’s an awful long time...”

“Not really. Besides, I was thinking ... we could go to camp.”

“Camp? Wait, you mean... camp?”

“You could introduce Wren to the ... um ... fresh air. I mean, you know she tans in the nude at home, don’t you? Well, she does. And at camp you’ll be nude too, so you won’t have to waste time if the mood strikes.”

I threw out some more bait. “Besides,” I said, “you know how many good-looking women are there. And since Wren likes ‘em too, you can both admire the ... um... ‘scenery.’ Trust me, girls like it as much as guys do.”

“Do you really think she’ll go?”

I nodded. “I’m surprised she hasn’t said anything. I mean, have you told her you’ve been?”

He shook his head.

“Why not?”

His eyes widened. “Are you kidding? I can’t tell her any of that stuff!”

“Nonsense,” I said. “She knows you had a life before you two started dating. She knows you had sex too. She doesn’t think you figured it out from magazines, does she? And you’re definitely keeping her happy. I mean, I’ve seen how she looks after you spend the night together.”

“Really? She has a look?”

“Cloud nine,” I said.

“You honestly think she’d go?”

“Sure! Here’s what you should do...”

The camp conversation lasted longer than I thought, so we were late getting back to the apartment.

“Why’s it so dark in here?” Trip asked. He stepped inside and flipped on the light.

“Surprise!”

The wall of sound hit him and he took a half-step back. Then Wren rushed forward and gave him a hug.

“Surprise, baby,” she said. “Happy birthday!”

Trip held her with one arm and turned an accusing glare on me. “So that’s why you kept me out so long. You knew about this?”

“Of course.”

People started wishing him happy birthday as he waded into the crowd. Luke shoved a drink at him as music suddenly filled the apartment. Trip and the crowd moved into the living room.

Leah slid under my arm and handed me a Bartles & Jaymes. She raised her own bottle and we clinked. We each took a cautious sip and shared a grin that said it all: no more hangovers like last night. Then we watched the commotion around the birthday boy in the living room.

“So ... you survived Luke and Wren and Christy?” I said at last.

“Yeah. Luke’s funny. He’s a bit full of himself, though. Thinks he’s God’s gift to women.”

That was Luke all right.

“Wren is ... okay,” she added grudgingly. “She knew there was some tension between us—her and me, I mean—but she went out of her way to make me feel welcome. That was ... really nice. And...”

“And...?”

“I couldn’t figure it out at first, but then it hit me. She is seriously protective of you.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. Christy said something catty about you walking around naked or something, and Wren shut her down cold. Even Luke noticed, and he isn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer.”

“Um, no.”

“She never came right out and threatened me, but she made it clear that I’ll regret it if I ever hurt you.”

“That’s Wren all right.”

“I can see why you’re friends. She’s a lot like you. I mean, I know you’ll always protect me. Like this weekend.”

“Yeah.”

We fell into a contemplative silence.

“And Christy?” I asked after a minute. I didn’t really know what my own feelings toward her were, so I wanted Leah’s opinion.

“She’s actually pretty nice,” she said, which surprised me. “Cute, too. But she has a bee in her bonnet about you, doesn’t she?”

“That’s probably an understatement.”

“I don’t think she likes me any better.” She paused for a moment. “You know what I think? She has a serious crush on you, and I’m the competition.”

I didn’t want to admit it, but I’d thought the same thing.

“Well, screw her,” Leah said without heat. “She’s not your type anyway.”

“Oh? And who is my type?”

She beckoned me closer so she could whisper in my ear. “Any girl who’ll suck your dick.” She covered her smile with a sip of wine cooler.

“God, there’s a reason I love you,” I said as I hugged her tight.

“It’s because I...” She smirked and left the rest to my imagination.

“That and more,” I agreed. “Now, time for us to join the party.”

We’d invited friends, neighbors, and people I didn’t even know, and they all came. I saw at least a dozen of the second-year architecture students, including Freddie, who brought a girl.

“Hey, fuggedaboutit,” he said, as though he went on dates all the time.

Leah enjoyed meeting all my friends, especially when they thought she was older than she was. Glen and T.J. were there, as well as a couple of other guys we’d known in North Carrick.

A bunch of Wren’s friends showed up, along with Zoë and Peter. Ash even made an appearance, although she didn’t stay long. Gracie showed up, had several drinks, and left in a huff, but I was having too much fun to worry about it.

We managed to avoid trouble until midnight, when one of our homebody neighbors called the campus police. Trip and Glen smoothed things over, along with the football player from the judo club. His name was Reggie, and the officers recognized him. They were reluctant to cause problems for the team, so they pointedly ignored the alcohol and told us to keep the noise down.

They had to come back a couple of hours later, of course, but the crowd had dwindled by then. Still, the officers told us they would shut us down and arrest everyone if they had to come back a third time. We took the warning to heart and people began leaving on their own. We finally kicked out the diehards around four in the morning.

Luke had passed out in his room with some girl. They were both naked from the waist up, so we covered them and left them where they were. Jeff and Meredith had gone back to her place a couple of hours earlier, and Christy had gone home as well.

We surveyed the apartment once we were alone. Virtually every flat surface was covered with party debris. The place stank of cigarettes, alcohol, and a couple of things I didn’t want to identify, so we left the windows open to let it air out.

On the bright side, we didn’t have any fresh stains on the carpet and nothing major was broken. Trip’s record collection might never be organized again, but none of the LPs were broken. Best of all, the donation jar was full of money.

Our bedrooms were also in fairly good shape. We had tried to keep people out, but that was impossible with the crowd we’d had. Someone had obviously gone through my closet, and other things were out of place, but no one had used my bed for anything more than a convenient place to sit.

Leah and I had switched to Coke sometime earlier, so we were more or less sober. Wren was still pretty tipsy, but she’d been drinking plain juice since the cops’ second visit. By contrast, Trip was drunk as a skunk. I was surprised that he was coherent at all, much less upright.

“Thanks, y’all,” he said happily. “This was the bes’ birfday ever!”

“Do y’all want to clean up before we go to bed?” Leah asked. She was about as enthusiastic as I was, which is to say not at all.

“Leave it!” Trip boomed drunkenly. “Magical party fairies will take care of it.”

“Okay, baby,” Wren said to him, “let’s get you to bed.”

“Oh, you wanna go t’ bed, huh?” he said. “Awesome! Le’s go!” He tried to make a screwing gesture, but his finger missed his other hand completely. He gulped like a landed fish and sat down hard.

“Come on, Romeo,” I said as I pulled his arm over my shoulder, “let’s get you to bed.”

He balked. “I’m not goin’ t’ bed wif you! You got a dick. A big one.”

I blinked, and Leah tried not to split her sides as she held back laughter.

“Di’ you know he has a big dick?” Trip asked Wren. He turned back to me. “‘Course she does. She wants t’ fuck you. Whaddya think of tha’? My girlf ... girlfriend wants t’ fuck you.”

Wren eyed us nervously. “Sorry.”

“I’m not going to sleep with your girlfriend,” I assured him.

“I know. I trus’ you. Dunno if I trus’ her tho.” He leaned close. “She’s a nym ... nym ... nymphomaniac. Wants t’ do it all th’ time. I swear!”

I gave Wren an apologetic look as I dead-lifted him off the couch. “You’re lucky to have her,” I told him, “but if you don’t shut up, she’ll never sleep with you again.”

He looked genuinely confused. “Why not?”

“Because I’ll kick your ass so hard you’ll have a big brown pucker where your face used to be.”

“Tha’s pretty hard all righ’,” he said, and allowed me to help him stagger to bed.

“Thank you,” Wren said as she took off his shoes. Then she began unbuttoning his shirt. “Come on, let’s get you under the covers.”

“See wha’ I mean?” he said to me. Then to Wren, “Le’s go, baby. I’ll give it to ya.” It was all talk.

We stripped him down to his jockeys and unceremoniously rolled him into bed. Wren straightened from the effort and swayed unsteadily. I reached for her, but she raised her arms and kept her balance.

“I’m okay,” she said. Then she recovered her dignity and looked at Leah. “Sorry you had to hear all that.”

“It’s okay,” Leah said. “It’s the alcohol talking.”

“Not really,” Wren said as she unzipped her dress. She slipped it off her shoulders. “I really wanna sleep with him. Paul, I mean.” She shrugged. “Sorry. But I’m sure you understand.”

I didn’t, especially since she was getting undressed as she spoke. Did she want to do it then and there?

“Matter o’ fact,” she said as she pushed the dress over her hips, “I wanna sleep with you too.” She made moon-eyes at Leah, who looked at me sidelong.

Wren was drunker than I’d thought, so she ignored Leah’s panicked look. “You’re so sexy and exotic. Please tell me you’re into girls. Please!”

Leah gave me another look, this one pleading.

“Tell her,” I said. “She knows.”

Leah’s eyes widened. “Knows? How much?”

“Pretty much everything.”

“We trust each other. Completely,” Wren said. “And I love him too. But not like he wants, poor guy.”

“That I understand,” Leah said.

“You too?” Wren said sympathetically. Then she shook her head in confusion. “Wait a minute ... did I already ask if you like girls?”

“Um ... yes,” Leah said.

Wren beamed but then grew confused. “Um ... yes I did, or yes you do?”

“Both,” Leah said simply.

“I just knew you were bi,” Wren gushed. “I mean, Paul doesn’t like girls who aren’t, does he?” At that point she stumbled toward Leah, who caught her in an awkward embrace.

I smirked for a moment before I came to her rescue.

“Okay,” I said as I gently pried them apart. “Trip isn’t the only one who’s had too much to drink.”

“Yes, I’m drunk,” Wren said with exaggerated care, “but so what? That doesn’t change how I feel.”

“No, I guess it doesn’t,” I conceded, “but it does change what I’m going to do with you.”

“Oh? And just what are you”—dramatic voice—”’going to do’ with me?” Before I could stop her, she popped the catch on her bra.

Leah giggled at my predicament, but didn’t offer to help.

“Okay,” I said to Wren as I lowered her to the edge of Trip’s bed, “time for beddie-bye.” Trip was already snoring softly as I eased her back. “There you go.”

She slipped out of her bra and threw it aside. She thrust her breasts at me and dared me to look.

“Yes, I’ve seen them,” I said. “They’re very nice.”

“Very nice,” Leah agreed from behind me, although I couldn’t tell if she was teasing me or Wren. Probably both.

I pulled the covers over Wren and stood back.

She smiled. “Yep, def’nitely wanna sleep with you.” She looked at Leah, “You too. ‘Specially together. Mmm. A ménage à trois. Tha’s it.” She heaved a drunken sigh and patted Trip’s leg. “Maybe even a foursome. That’d be fun.” She closed her eyes and fell asleep almost immediately.

“Was she serious about all that?” Leah asked.

“Yeah, ‘fraid so.”

“What have you been telling her?”

“Some other time,” I said.

She agreed with a nod and slipped under my arm.

“Was this what you thought you’d be doing this weekend?” I asked.

She laughed. “Honestly? No. I thought I’d hide out for a couple of days and then figure out what to do.”