Page 53 of Elusion

I flash her a grin. “I am.”

She nods, unimpressed with my current state.

“Oh, don’t be like that, Gibson. I’m much more tolerable this way.”

“I somehow doubt that.” A small smile develops as she warms to me.

“Where’s Callie?” I blurt out. Maybe she’s with my filter.

Felicia fidgets. “I think she’s studying.”

Seeing no reason not to go for broke, I ask, “How is she?”

“Uh…” She drops her gaze. “She’s fine.”

I stare, willing her to continue. Desperate fails to describe me right now. I know nothing other than what Johnny and Benji have reported over the past week. Johnny saw her when he hung out with Jess at the dorms. Callie smiled at him as she went to her room, not saying anything. A more detailed account came from Benji after he ran into her at a party the same night. He said she was talking to a guy whose intentions were obvious from across the room. Being my best friend, he took it upon himself to drag her off to a secluded area away from anything testosterone-driven. A valiant effort, but she gave him the slip within a few minutes.

“Jordan, I don’t feel comfortable talking about her with you.”

“Come on, Gibs.”

She shakes her head. “I’m sorry.”

My once-trusty sidekick is now on edge around me, which bothers me more than I thought it would. On top of everything else in a life I vaguely recognize as my own, I add losing Felicia to the pile. I take a deep breath and rub my numb face. “Yeah, I’ll see ya around.”

An apologetic expression from her bids farewell to an unenthusiastic wave from me.

Terrance hasn’t moved from her spot at the bar. Her surgically enhanced smile greets me. “You’re back.”

She displays an uncanny resemblance to a picture my father once showed me of my mother in college. That alone gives me a sufficient reason to dodge her. I join Benji several stools away, not acknowledging her. Mother’s mini-me storms off in response to my disinterest. An unhappy call from Carol will wake me in the morning.

Benji slides a beer toward me and holds out his hand. I set my phone in his palm without further prompting. He shoves it in his pocket, keeping his promise to stop me from calling Callie.

“Two most stubborn people I know, man,” he says, shaking his head.

We were both stubborn, but apparently, only one of us is suffering. Callie goes to parties, talks to guys, and carries on as if nothing happened. Meanwhile, I torment anyone who attempts to engage me in human interaction and drink to avoid dealing with the hole she carved out and set on fire in my chest.What if I actually run into her?The thought alone threatens to send me spiraling. I need to get away from here—from her—and employ a hard restart.

In the morning, I’ll book a plane ticket. Tijuana will play host to both of the Waters brothers for spring break. Somewhere at the bottom of a tequila bottle or buried beneath a stack of girls, I will rediscover pre-Callie Jordan. And I really want to find him.

The week after my run-in with Felicia, my future sits in front of me. Both his suit and haircut, no doubt, possess an exorbitant price tag. A rigid demeanor matches an uncomfortable pair of loafers. He also wears an all-important expression of superiority required of anyone running in the same circle as my parents.

Stan and I discuss sailing—well, he discusses while I feign interest. Our parents insisted both their children learn, preparing us for moments such as these. I dutifully laugh at a corny joke he made about how much port wine is left on the port side or something equally irrelevant.

“Down to business then.” Stan sips his brandy and crosses his legs. “When do you plan on completing the LSAT?”

“I’ll be taking the test in June, sir.”

“Excellent. Plenty of time to study and retake in the fall.”

“Oh, I doubt that will be necessary.” I smile, confident in my abilities. If Dustin managed a one-sixty-seven, then anything less on the first try I’ll deem unacceptable.

Stan wags his finger. “The Waters’ self-assurance. I have yet to see anyone in your family unable to back it up.”

“That’s because those who do are swiftly locked away, and all records of them are destroyed.”

A deep chuckle shakes his entire body. “Your mother warned me about your spirited wit.”

Her response to my “spirited wit” was anything but pleasant after I dismissed her attempt to find me a suitable match with Terrance. The look on her face when I dug out an old picture of Terrance Newhouse pre-nose and chin job as proof our children would not be as attractive as she’d claimed still makes me laugh.

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