Page 7 of This

Guys in my bedroom are supposed to try to get me naked, not ask me to expose myself. But his stare stays steadfast, wanting just that.

Keaton giggles in the living room. In the time it takes to look at the door and back, he’s returning everything to the box. She swings around the corner through the doorway. “We’re ready to carry stuff to the truck.” Her attention lands on Dane. “I see you found that big, strong man you were looking for.”

“Hey, Keaton.” He glances up. “You have sex hair.”

She gasps and dashes away in search of a mirror.

“That was mean,” I say, picking up the box he repacked.

“Honesty can’t be mean. It can hurt, but it’s better than the alternative.” He pulls the box from my hands and walks out, leaving me in a room that no longer belongs to me.

It’s bittersweet, setting our keyson the kitchen island. I wrap my arms around Keaton and rest my chin on her shoulder while we say a silent goodbye to the walls and carpet. It feels like the end of something much larger. It is in a way.

She cries on the drive over to Liam’s. Between sobs, she asks if I think the apartment will miss us. I tell her it won’t have to. Everything around us absorbs some of our energy. Apartments, used shoes, a family heirloom. They all carry a piece of us and everyone else that comes into contact with them. It’s why we need to be careful not only of what we let into our lives, but also of what we send out into the world.

She sniffs and asks, “How many beers have you had?”

I scrunch up my nose at her, and she laughs.

We claim emotional overload toget out of unloading boxes. I’m not proud of it, but neither Liam nor Dane objects, so we relax on the tailgate of Liam’s truck, sipping our iced lattes and bossing them around.

Once they finish, Liam carries the last and arguably most important thing in. Keaton laughs as they disappear up the stairs. On the surface, they’re two people you wouldn’t expect to work. She’s wanted to be a grown-up since we were kids, and despite what his finance degree would lead you to believe, he isn’t interested in becoming an adult anytime soon. But they bend in the other’s direction, bringing out qualities in one another that were previously undiscovered. Most people lose a part of themselves to a relationship, but they found themselves when they found each other.

“You staying here tonight?” Dane shuts the tailgate.

“Couch surfer tonight, drifter tomorrow.”

He taps away on his phone and heads toward the parking lot. “I’ll be back later then.”

“You’re coming to dinner with us?”

“I am now,” he says, not looking back.

I stay on the sidewalk, curious who he is when no one watches. People walk like they live, and he takes each step as if he might change course at any second but never does. Sure of himself while being ready to adapt. I can’t even step up onto a curb without rolling my ankle or sidestepping to keep my balance.

I make a mental note to sign up for a yoga class.

The rest of the afternoon, we work to de-man the apartment to Keaton’s satisfaction. From Liam’s face when Snort goes front and center on the bed, the little guy will find himself in the back of a closet sooner rather than later.

We take a short intermission to shower and change before dinner.

True to his word, Dane meets us at the restaurant. He slides into the seat next to mine at the table without acknowledging me.

An older man in a suit approaches almost immediately. He holds his arms out in greeting. “The Masters boys.”

Liam stands halfway to shake his hand and conducts introductions. Mr. Willis, the owner of a chain of clothing stores and one of their grandfather’s oldest clients. From what I understand, Masters Financial Group specializes in financial planning and wealth management. Money shuffles from here to there and back again. If the amount grows, they are doing their jobs. I tend to glaze over whenever Liam uses numbers, but that’s the gist of it. Now that Liam’s graduated, the grooming for them to take over the company can commence. It’s the entire reason Dane moved back.

Mr. Willis sets his hand on Dane’s shoulder. “Your grandfather told me he’d twisted your arm into coming back.”

“More like threatened to disown me, sir.” Dane’s light tone mismatches the tight smile.

“Well, I know Miles is grateful you two are coming on board.” He points a finger at Liam and shakes it around. “He’s been talking about handing the reins over since this one declared a major freshman year.”

Dane leans over, no longer interested in the conversation. “Coffee, dinner—if we’d met under different circumstances, I’d think you were trying to date me.”

“You invited yourself to dinner,” I say, playing with the stem of my water glass.

A ghost of a smile appears. “And I’m inviting myself back to the apartment after.”

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