Page 52 of Things I Read About

“Leave him a note, babe,” Janie says.

“What?”

She smiles. “I can see you’re sad, freaking out about leaving him. Leave him a note and your number. He’ll understand.”

“It’s super weird you guys haven’t exchanged numbers yet, by the way,” Kat calls from her room.

“True.” Janie starts to help me.

“It is, isn’t it?” I wonder aloud. “I was so busy pretending to be mysterious and casual I guess I kind of ended upbeingmysterious and casual.”

“Then maybe that’s how you should leave it,” Kat says as she blurs past to the living room to gather some of her things.

“Meaning?” I call out.

“Meaning, no note. No number. Just leave.”

My head jerks back as if I’ve been slapped. “That would be rude.”

Janie scoffs. “That would be a dick move. As in, a man’s move. Men do it all the time after hook ups, which is what you guys have had, right?”

I whisper the words, as if they physically hurt to say, “A hook up?”

“No. You don’t have hook ups,” Kat says, bringing me a book and some of my hair ties from the living area. “But how does this play out? Are you gonna fess up that you’re a college senior about to go to med school? Are you fixin' to ask him to visit you in Dallas in between his booty calls all over the world for hisconsulting?”

She uses air quotes to emphasize the last word, not that she needs them. Every word she says has emphasis enough, like a stab at my chest. They sting. Because they’re true.

The last four days have been a dream. But that’s really all they can ever be. Not only will he be angry that I lied, he’ll hold my age against me.

Plus, there’s the other nagging issue I have faced before. I am the top of my class, about to go to one of the top medical schools in the country. Nate didn’t even go to college. That says nothing about actual intelligence, of course. It doesn't bother me at all, but it may bother him. It would definitely cause my sisters and father to side-eye each other, as they have with past boyfriends.

Boyfriend.Nate Brenner can never—could never—be my boyfriend. And yet how could any guy ever compare with him? I guess that’s my problem. I’ll just have to try to put it all out of my mind. His eyes, his kisses, his hands.

I do have a whirlwind ahead of me. Finals first, then the MCAT. I’m sure Dad will put me to work at Canton Headquarters over the summer and then, assuming I’m accepted to UTSW, I’ll be moving away from home. Away from Susan and Dad. It’s only a few hours south, but it feels huge.

I will have a lot to distract me.

Nate will too. He’s got his trips and that big partnership to focus on. Not that he would be obsessing over me anyway. We didn’t even have sex.

This is on me. I decided to live out a fantasy, now I will have to forget it. I’ll just have to forget him.

Yeah, good freaking luck with that, Sally.

13

NATE

SIX MONTHS LATER

“Hold that, please,” I yell toward the elevator.

They don’t. Stupid-ass people, they’re everywhere, and always in my way.

I grit my teeth and turn toward the escalator, dodging a stroller and a dog in a vest that I am absolutely positive is not a real therapy dog.

Last contract, Nate. Suck it up.

Of course, it has to be Dallas. This was not the plan. I’ve specifically avoided this city. Not thatsheis even here. She mentioned it, but she never actually said she lived here.