Chapter 15

My breakup dinner with Gerri went well. We'd chosen a restaurant with booths that afforded privacy, which meant we could enjoy our breakup meal without trying to give Oscar winning performances to any prying eyes. Gerri even offered to meet with me discreetly from time to time, if things didn't work out with Kendall, as long as I cleared it with Sharon first. I guess you could say our post-romance relationship was off to a good start!

When I got back to the frat, there was a party going on that I ignored and went to my room. I was mildly surprised when Wes came to see why I hadn't joined in the fun, even expressing concern for me. I was pretty sure I convinced him that I'd broken up with Gerri on good terms, but that I was naturally still a bit down. I'd been feeding him information about our problems while Gerri was doing the same with her sorority sisters, and he didn't appear suspicious as he offered his brief condolences.

Then he reverted to form and asked if I thought Gerri was really serious about 'this Alan guy.' He never passed on an opportunity to find sex, regardless of whether the girl was on the rebound or otherwise had her guard down. I said I thought it was pretty serious.

It occurred to me after our conversation that I didn't know what Kendall had said to discourage Wes from pursuing her until I was publically available. That confirmed that Kendall being gone over the weekend was a good thing. I needed to get my story straight with her so I didn't contradict whatever she'd told Wes.

I managed to fall asleep at a decent hour despite the revelry around my room. It wasn't surprising that when I got up fairly early the next morning, I was the only one in the house showing signs of life.

I stepped over empty beer bottles and other party debris, walking through the silent halls to the kitchen for a bowl of Cheerios. As I finished my breakfast bowl, it occurred to me that with all the Pikes recovering from the night before, that I could still catch Kendall before her dad picked her up for the drive to Chattanooga. I could safely ask about how she'd left things with Wes, and act accordingly over the weekend.

I didn't want to call and wake up her roommate, so I cleaned myself up and ambled on over to Carrick. I knew how long it took to get to UT from Chattanooga, and was pretty confident she'd still be there.

But when I turned a corner, I was surprised to see Kendall already standing at the curb in front of the dorm, a small suitcase by her side. I was crossing a parking lot and still too far away to call to her, when a Jeep approached from my right. It stopped directly between me and Kendall, and I realized I must have arrived too late.

I couldn't run over to talk to her about another guy and our relationship in front of her dad. He'd probably heard of me from Kendall or her mom, but it would still be impossible to keep our stories straight in front of dad-the-cop.

I began drifting towards the side of the parking lot bordered by a hedge, to be out of their direct line of sight. For some unknown reason I continued to approach.