I laugh at that. “Why me?”
“I see a little of myself in you, and if someone had come along when I was your age with this opportunity things may have been different for me. I like you, Liri.”
“Thank you so much. I don’t know what to say.”
“Say you’ll come.”
“How long do I have to decide?”
“I’d like to know by the first of the new year. We open our doors officially in March, but I’m leaving after the holidays, and you could join me as soon as you secure an apartment. I know it’s a lot to think about. We’re starting small, but I think we can do big things.”
“I’ll be in touch soon.”
“Here’s my card. My personal number is on the back.”
“Great.”
I get up from the chair and she comes around the desk and gives me a hug. “You have a bright future.”
“Don’t give me a big head.”
We part ways and I let out a sigh. Chicago isn’t Paris, but it could be a fresh start.
I walk to the dorm I used to share with Hayley, and it feels like so long ago that the two of us laid in my small bed watching Vampire Diaries and giggled about boys. So much has happened since then. I knock on the door and hear her giggling on the other side. Some things don’t change.
“Stop it. That might be Liri.” The door swings open, and Liam grins at me. Red lipstick stains his jaw and the collar of his shirt.
“Hey, Liri.”
“Um. Hey.” I blink, and he moves past me going to the elevators. I walk in and Hayley is pulling her sweater down. “Well that was unexpected.”
She sighs and smiles. “You’re telling me. He came over to see if I had one of his shirts he couldn’t find.”
“That boy didn’t come over here for no damn shirt.” I laugh.
“Well he got a hell lot more than a t-shirt,” she says with a soft laugh.
“Are you guys seeing each other again?”
“Actually, we’re not. He has been talking to Beth. I think that’s her name, and I’ve been seeing Woodrow. I had no idea he was going to come over and when he showed up, I don’t know. I let him in and told him to help himself and he did. Just not to my closet.”
I shake my head. “You’re asking for trouble. You know that, don’t you?”
“It’s nothing. It won’t happen again.”
“Right.” I plop down on the couch next to her and put my feet up on the coffee table.
“Can I please tell you how horrible of a bitch I am and that I’m sorry for all the shit. I was a cunty catty whore who had no business doing you the way that I did.”
“You can.”
“God, Liri. I’m sorry. I wish I had told you from the start about Killian, but I could see the way the two of you watched each other, and I had never seen him look at anyone the way he stared at you. I didn’t want my past to get in your way, but it did, and I hate myself for that.”
“It doesn’t matter. That’s in the past. We’re moving forward. No looking back.”
“Have you seen Killian since…”
“A few days ago. I had to go by the apartment to get some of my stuff. I’m moving the rest out tomorrow.”