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“Somehow, I doubt most of these people agree.” I gesture to the students all around us, all of whom seem to look fifteen. “Are you starting to feel old?”
She follows my gaze around the room. “Yeah. It’s becoming clearer by the day that it’s almost graduation.” She sighs.
“Can I help you?” the girl at the counter asks.
We step up and give her our orders. Despite me offering, Mackie pays, and we move down the counter to wait for our drinks.
“Why do you seem bummed about graduation?” I ask.
Her gaze drops, and she looks uncharacteristically sullen. “I don’t know. I’m starting to feel like everyone else has a plan for what’s next and I’m here treading water, no idea where I want to go or what I’m doing. Stuck. Stagnant. I hate it.”
A guy slides our drinks over to us, and we take them, then walk to a nearby table and sit down.
“You’re not stuck, Macks. You have a world of possibilities open to you.”
“The freedom is stifling. Everyone else is growing up and moving on. Rae and Aaron are married and moving into their first home. They’ll probably have kids soon. Sarah and Joel are getting married and moving into a house. Trevor and Chelsea will probably get married soon, too. Hyla is off living her best life. And you’re having a baby. I’m going back to work at my family bakery after spending four years in college studying random business and sociology stuff. It was a waste.”
I grab her arm. “It was not a waste. You learned a lot and you’ll find your place. Do youwantto work at the bakery forever?”
“Hell, no. I always want it to be a part of my life, but I don’t want it to be my entire career. That’s the thing. I want to find my passion, but I have no idea what it is. I’m floundering.”
“You’re not floundering. Not everyone has the answers at twenty-two. Yes, I knew what I wanted to do for a job, but let’s face it, everything else in my life walked up and smacked me in the face.”
She presses her palms together and looks up at the ceiling. “Lord, I have seen what you’ve done for others. I can take or leave the baby, but give me a career I’m passionate about and a hot girl.” I nudge my leg against hers and we both laugh. “I don’t know. I thought I’d have discovered something that pulls me in by now. I’m a little disappointed I haven’t.”
I take a sip of my coffee and lean back in my chair. “Disappointment is fine. Resigning yourself to unhappiness is not. You’ve got a beautiful life in front of you, Macks. Live it.”
“Ah, it’s good to hear you back to your normal self. Dropping little nuggets of wisdom.”
I chuckle at that. “My mind is still in overdrive, but I feel a little better. Amelia and I spent the weekend making lists and plans. It’s the best control I can exert over the situation at the moment, so I’m taking it.”
“How’s Amelia doing?”
“She got pretty nauseous right as I was leaving last night. I hate leaving her.”
“Hey, Miles.” A blonde girl named Kacie strolls over. She had a class with Rae last year, and I might have hooked up with her before. Once. She’s definitely the type who hooks up with a guy even if he says it’s a one-time-thing, then keeps showing up, hoping to wear him down. She’s not stalker-ish, but when she sees me, she makes it a point to come flirt. Maybe I flirted back here and there, but I’m over that shit now.
“Hey, Kacie.”
“Mackenzie,” she says, sitting on the arm of my chair. The lilt in her voice says that she doesn’t like Mackie being here and sees her as a threat. Which is idiotic. If anything, she’d have better luck hitting on Mackie than me at this point.
But Macks doesn’t care. She leans back in her chair, content to watch this play out.
“Do you need something, Kacie?” I keep my voice light. I don’t want to be an asshole to her, but I’m not interested in anything she’s offering—not even conversation.
“There’s a party at Kappa tonight. Thought you might want to go with me.”
“Sounds fun, but I’m not interested in a party.”
“We could just hang out.”
Ugh. I hate when people do this shit. Read the room.
“Kacie, I know we had a fun night together, but—”
“You’re not looking for anything serious. I know. This doesn’t have to be.”
She touches my arm, and that’s enough.
