Page 83 of Priceless

“Alexis, that weekend is literally in the middle of finals. We start on Thursday and end the next Wednesday.”

“Just one night, then. Friday. I know — I’ll visit you at school! It’ll be so fun — like being in college again. That way, you don’t have to drive anywhere. You’ll be studying so hard, you‘ll deserve a break. But I know you, honey, you’re going to be on top of everything anyway.”

“Can we do Saturday instead?”

She shook her head apologetically. “I don’t think so…I already have this thing…”

“Fine, Friday.” I put the date in my calendar.

“Perfect!” she said. “I’m glad we can do it before the summer. Once I’m a summer associate it’ll be even busier than law school, and I’m sure you’ll be busy with an internship too.”

The server handed back my change, and I counted out a tip. “Probably. I haven’t looked yet.”

“Christina!” Alexis gasped and clutched my arm. People in the cafe turned to look. “It’s February. You need to applynow.The summer before senior year is the most important! This is how you get a job after you graduate. This is yourlife.”She shook my arm. “It’s okay, honey, it’s not too late. You just need to get on it right away. I’ll help you.”

“Don’t,” I said without thinking.

Alexis blinked, her eyes widening. Her face fell, and I felt like the worst sister in the world. Then she brightened and patted my arm.

“You’re right. You need to do this on your own. I keep forgetting that you’re not my baby sister anymore. But I’m just a phone call away if you need me.”

“Thanks,” I murmured, thumbing through my calendar because it was hard to look at her right now. “That means a lot.”

Alexis leaned over. “What’s that?”

She pointed to a purple bar on Monday.Patrick,was all it said. Repeated every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

“Nothing.” Casually, slowly, like I was dealing with a dangerous animal, I closed my calendar and put my phone in my purse.

“Patrick? He’s the boy?”

I nodded.

“You guys have a schedule?”

“He’s busy too. Really busy.”

“Oh?” Her face lit up with interest. “Tell me. I want to know everything about him.”

God, what did Patrick do with his time? Did I even want to know? “He’s majoring in economics,” I babbled, “and he works out like a maniac. He’s on the wrestling team and he’s super involved with his frat. He also likes to paint. He can do it for hours. Oh, and community service, obviously. We need to have a schedule just to make sure we see each other. You know how it is.”

“I do,” she sighed. “I wish I could see Daniel more. Sometimes it feels like—”

“Like what?”

“I just wish—” she began, and shook her head. “Anyway,” she went on. “It’ll be amazing when we’re finally married. I saw you have Patrick on your calendar until the end of the semester. It’s so sweet that you want to commit to him. And Valentine’s Day is coming up this Wednesday! Perfect timing. What are you going to do?”

I fiddled with my napkin and crumpled it in a ball. “I’m sure he has a surprise planned. He’s full of surprises.”

“Awww. And what are you guys doing over the summer?”

“I don’t know,” I murmured. “I don’t know anything about the summer.”

14

Paper Heart

Christina

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