Page 4 of Just for Tonight

"My name is Holland."

"Really?"

"Yeah, really."

He opened the door, smiling at her. "Cool name."

"Thanks."

"I'm Beau," he said. But his momentum had never fully stopped, and he waved as he kept walking.

"Hey, Beau," she hollered quietly at his back as he left. It was a greeting and farewell all wrapped up into one, and he could not stop the smile that spread across his face. He liked her voice, and he liked hearing her say his name.

He let the door close behind him, and he was thinking about the name Holland. He wondered if it was her real name or something she made up. Beau walked down the hallway toward his mom's office, holding her coffee.

He made his way through Lizzy's section of the office toward the mostly closed door that was on the other side. He saw that his mom's door was cracked, and he was about to push it open and walk inside, but then he heard a woman's sorrowful voice cut through the silence, so he stopped short.

"Just p-please think about it," someone begged, sniffling.

"There's nothing to think about, Sophia. You cannot offer that. It's not yours to offer. It's not evenmineto offer."

(More sniffling.) "Please, Mrs. Morgan. Please. Can I just talk to your brother? I feel like if I talk to him, we can w-work out a deal."

"I'm sorry, dear, but I can't go promising accommodations to friends of friends. That's not how life works. I doubt your parents would be comfortable with you asking me this."

"They would not be comfortable with it at all. Please don't mention it to them. I didn't know where else to turn."

Beau had heard enough. He had no idea what they were talking about, but it was none of his business. He set his mom's coffee on Lizzy's desk and walked to a nearby couch, making sure he was out of earshot of the conversation that was happening in the other room. He took out his phone and set it on the arm of the couch, but he didn't turn it on.

Instead, he closed his eyes, thinking about the finals that were coming. He had thoughts about his classes, and he felt like he had just started to productively sift through some of them when he heard his mom's office door open.

Beau stood up when he saw the two women open the door and come into Lizzy's reception area.

"Oh, hey, sweetheart, I didn't know you were stopping by," his mom said.

"Hey, Beau," Sophia said meekly.

He heard his mom say the name earlier but he didn't know it was a Sophia he knew. This Sophia, Sophia Phillips, was not a dancer. She was a friend of the family. Her parents were friends with Danny and Astrid, and their family had gone with the Camerons a couple of times to the lake house in Arkansas. Beau's brain worked quickly, and he remembered a bit of the conversation and wondered if it pertained to the lake house. He didn't have time to think about it because she was standing right there. He reached out to shake Sophia's hand, pretending he didn't notice she had been crying.

"Hey, Sophia, how's school?" he asked. "Are you graduating this semester?"

"Yeah, what about you?" she returned, blinking and trying to look normal.

"I am."

"Are you moving back here afterward?"

"Yes," he said. "I have a job starting in September."

"Cool, cool, cool, well, it was good seeing you and everything, Beau. Thanks for your time, Mrs. Morgan."

"I'm sorry I couldn't help, sweetie." Astrid gave Sophia a regretful expression as she took her into a hug, and Sophia gave Beau a fake smile as her face scrunched against Astrid's shoulder.

She turned and waved while wearing that same fake smile and left without another word.

Beau gave his mom a wide-eyed look that said he knew things had been awkward but he didn't want to mention it right away.

"Your coffee is right there," he said. "I ran into Lizzy downstairs and she asked me to bring it up to you. She said she had to walk to another building for something."

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