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"Okay," I said, wondering what I was supposed to do with this information. "Sure. I guess so."
"Good," Kieran said. "Maybe the best thing for you two to be thinking about is how to simplify. How to put down roots a bit more." And with that, Kieran clapped her hands on the arms of the chair and stood up. "Get out of here early, will you? Go home and celebrate, but don't get too drunk. Starting tomorrow, you're a real lawyer."
I was left there, still grinning and holding the paper in my hand. I had passed. I knew I would, but I was surprised by just how good the knowledge felt. My life had somehow become a stranger to me in the last several months, full of so many changes, good and bad. This was a reminder of what had been important to me before Brandon, before my life had gotten so swept up in his.
The paper rustled under my fingers, material and real. I smirked. Kieran had said to celebrate, and that was exactly what I was going to do.
~
After spending two hours with Father Garrett talking about the concept of absolution, I had desperately needed a drink, and was thrilled to find that Eric, Cherie, and Steve wanted to celebrate their own exam results. It had been way too long since I'd taken a moment to enjoy the fact that I was still only twenty-six––almost twenty-seven. That my life, despite all the recent pressures, was still relatively wide open.
Twenty minutes later, I was sipping on a whiskey soda, flipping through a deposition while I waited for my friends.
"Hey, Cros," Eric said, interrupting my train of thought as he dumped his briefcase into the booth and hung his suit jacket on the hooks mounted next to us.
I watched behind him as Steve and Cherie jostled into the pub, clearly bickering about something while Steve kept reaching behind Cherie to tap her shoulder. Eric followed my gaze.
"Oh, those two," he said with a disdainful roll of his eye. "Don't even get me started. They just reported their relationship to HR last week, and it's fucking nauseating."
"Really," I said with interest as they approached. A year ago, Steve had been trying his damnedest to get me on a date with him. I was frankly surprised he could keep something going for more than a few weeks.
"Hey, Crosby," Steve said as he threw a thin arm around Cherie. "How'ya been? You're looking good these days. Even better than when we worked together."
I didn't answer, since Cherie quickly threw an elbow into Steve's gut.
"Drinks," she said shortly as he stood back up, fixing his horn-rimmed glasses. "Now."
"My lady," Steve said, mimicking a bow before he grabbed her around the waist for a sloppy kiss. Then they both hoofed it to the bar.
"See what I mean?" Eric said. "Nauseating."
I chuckled. "Well, not everyone has what you and Jane have," I joked, then cringed at my misspeak. Yeah, I probably shouldn't have brought that up.
"Jane," Eric repeated glumly.
I rubbed his shoulder sympathetically. "Sorry. I shouldn't have said anything."
He shrugged and folded his hands over the table. "I'm guessing she probably told you about the lingerie she found in my room."
"In your bed, I think it was," I corrected him, earning a slightly dirty look.
"Fine," Eric bit out. "It looked bad, I'll admit that. Okay, it was bad. But in my defense, we werebroken up until about fifteen minutes after she showed up. And we never said we were going to be exclusive to begin with. I tried to do that, and she dumped me."
"You couldn't have at least changed the sheets before she got in them?"
"I had to work late the night before, and I forgot, all right?" Eric looked up at the ceiling and sighed. "You know what our hours are like, Cros, and so does Jane. It was an honest mistake. Plus, you know Jane. She can be really...insistent."
I blanched, and Eric had the decency to blush.
"You never brought girls back to the apartment before Jane," I pointed out. "What gives there?"
Eric just took a long swig of his beer. "Imiphesser," he mumbled over the rim.
"What?"
He sighed and set the bottle back on the table. "I miss her, okay? I was lonely that night, and I miss...Jesus, I can't believe I'm talking about this to you. I miss holding someone when I go to sleep. Jane. I miss falling asleep with Jane. So I invited a girl back so I wouldn't be alone. Except she left a pair of microscopic underpants in my sheets, and in my stupidity, I forgot they were there at all, and now I've fucked up the best thing that's ever happened to me. Fuck!"
He fell forward, clasped his head in his hands, and groaned. I reached out and patted him on the back.
