Page 28 of Elusion

He drives your Jeep like a madman.

You rode with him?

She replies,Why wouldn’t I?

Challenging woman.

I smile at the screen like an idiot. It’s our longest text exchange yet, and she initiated. Other than the first time, she has only responded, and then she keeps to the point. I would have introduced her to Benji on day one had I known the effect. He’s my personal Callie whisperer.

“Bro, no.” Dustin’s returned his attention to me as his girl exits. “We don’t do that.”

“Do what?”

He swipes the phone from my hand. I reach for it, but he pulls it away. Flashbacks from childhood commence. His head shakes as he scrolls through my messages. “We don’t text girls and then gaze all starry-eyed and shit at their response.” He tosses my phone back, setting his sights on another conquest. “Excuse me…”

Jackass.He insisted we meet and then spends the entire time talking up women, only to stop long enough to give me shit about something he doesn’t understand. Of course, neither do I anymore. I’m living in a shoebox of a room for the next six months and refer to my pursuit of Callie as wooing.

I’m an uncharted Waters.

I roll my shoulders to relieve a building tension—a residual effect from my lingering mood further amplified by everything else from the day.

Girl three loses Dustin’s interest in record time, and he twists around in his chair. “She talks too much.” He dazzles the waitress with a grin as she returns his credit card and receipt to our table.

Shameless.

I chuck part of a muffin at him. “Why am I here?”

“Mom and Dad want you to meet with Dad’s buddy, Stan. His recommendation goes a long way with admissions officers.”

“What if I don’t want to go to law school?”

He chokes on his coffee. “What?”

My brother and I rarely discuss topics of a serious nature, but I have no one else to bounce my concerns off of. “I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately, and—”

“No,” he cuts me off and straightens up in his chair. “You made the same deal I did. An all-expenses paid trip through undergrad in exchange for law school. What else could you possibly want to do?”

I shrug. A million things carry more appeal than what they have planned for me. “What if I continue with my music? Or get a master’s degree in philosophy?”

He laughs and leans back again. “Who do you think you are? Kant? Law school is the plan. You follow the plan.”

“What if I come up with a different plan?”

His brows pull in, morphing his face from one of mocking to one of alarm. “You’re serious about this?”

I shrug again, unsure of what I want. A common theme found in my life all of a sudden.

Callie sends,You like a challenge, remember?

A well-timed reminder makes me smile. Yes, but I prefer the challenge to deal with beautiful girls and not decisions that will potentially affect the rest of my life.

“Romeo.” Dustin kicks me under the table. “If you’re set against law school, you need to come up with an alternative. Not a whim. A solid plan. Commit to what you want to do with your life and present it to the parents.” He smirks. “They might die from shock, seeing you put forth an effort, but that would also get you out of going.”

His advice helps—not something I ever thought would happen. He’s introducing a previously unseen scenario. One where I don’t go to law school, yet my parents don’t view me as a complete failure.

“Let me have Stan’s number,” I tell him. “I need to think about it.”

He scribbles on a napkin with the pen the cashier left with his credit card receipt. I put the number in my wallet and listen to him detail the trip to Tijuana for spring break. He’s doing little to persuade me to jump onboard, throwing around the wordshookeranddonkeyway too often to pique my interest.

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