Page 86 of Bachelor

We ordered lunch and sat in companiable silence for several minutes, both of us lost in our own thoughts. Eventually we started talking about our plans for the next week.

We’d secured a weeklong rental on the East Side in Manhattan. A two-bedroom apartment in a high-rise building overlooking Central Park. It was expensive but worth it. We’d have the next week to explore the city and go back to our favorite spots.

Becoming close friends with Jessica my senior year of my undergrad meant I’d missed out on stuff like this with her. I’d always flown away for Spring Break, joining my sorority sisters on vacations in tropical locations and coming back with sand stuck in my hair and a horrible sunburn.

But now, I got to just enjoy some peace and quiet. We planned on spending most of our day walking through the museums, eating at bistros, and going shopping for books. I couldn’t wait to get going even if just to watch campus, and my problems, fade into the background.

We finished our lunch and began the trek back to campus but decided to take our time. Instead of getting back on the bike trail, we decided to walk through the old, historic neighborhoods surrounding campus instead. The stone and brick houses rose around us, the streets lined with large, bare trees. The air was warm but a cool breeze still rustled through the branches, sometimes showering us with whatever icy, powder-fine snow still remained on their branches.

A silent, calming walk was just what I needed, and by the time we turned onto Greek Row, I was feeling better than I had in several weeks.

“This street is so different when it’s empty,” Jessica said, looking around at the mansions lining the road.

“It’s really pretty, isn’t it?”

“It is,” she agreed with a sigh. “I went through rush, you know. Didn’t make it.”

“I didn’t know that.”

“It’s true. It’s hard to break into student life here when you’re a charity case.” Her laugh was hollow.

“You got in on merit alone. That speaks volumes.”

“I know.” She sighed heavily as we crossed through a grassy area leading back to the bike trail. “I always wanted to go here. It was my top choice. And then I got here and realized I was a total outcast.”

“Do you regret it?”

“Not anymore. I wouldn’t have met you, for one, if I’d transferred like I thought about doing.” She gave me a little nudge with her shoulder, her smile finally reaching her eyes. “And I wouldn’t have met Bill, even though he can kick rocks right now for all I care.”

“Don’t be mad at him for my sake. If he’s keeping a secret for Rhys, it’s because they’re friends, and he’s probably pretty torn up about keeping anything from you, Jess.”

“He’ll just have to make it up to me.” She grinned with mischief in her eyes as we turned a corner and started walking to our building.

We sat in the common room with our suitcases for the next half hour waiting, and waiting, for Bill to pick us up. We both started feeling a bit nervous that he wouldn’t show. It was silly, in retrospect. My anxiety over Rhys had bled toward Jessica and consumed her, and now she was just as on edge as I was.

But then Bill walked through the door, his hands tucked into the pockets of his jeans. Jessica stood up, glowering at him.

“Don’t be like that, Jess,” he said as she stormed past him and grabbed her suitcase. He sighed heavily as she marched out the door to his car.

His car was just out of my line of sight. I gave him a tight smile and reached for my own suitcase, but he stopped me.

“Let me,” he said. “I need the points with my girlfriend.”

“She’s not mad at you. I’ve just been stressing her out for the last two days.”

He gave me a regretful smile. “I’m sorry I couldn’t help you with Rhys. I gave him my word.”

“Can you at least tell me if he’s gone for good?”

He furrowed his brows. “You really think he’d just walk on you?”

“I don’t know what to think right now,” I admitted.

“He didn’t leave for good. That’s all I’m supposed to say.”

I nodded, resisting the urge to grab him by the collar and pin him to the wall until he admitted what he knew. “This is some kind of surprise, then?”

“Perhaps.”

---