“Just…one…question,” I manage to say though I’m nearly blacked out with all my nerves ignited.
“Yes, Kitten.”
“Where do we go after this?”
“Probably the shower,” he huffs.
Again, I have to laugh, and soon Crosby is laughing. The two of us laugh until we’re howling out our release.
“I love you, Kitten.”
“I love you too, Teddy Bear.”
We’re still laughing when we begin the long walk home, still not sober enough to drive.
On the way, Crosby’s phone rings.
He looks at the screen, then back up at me. “Jason.”
“They found him?” I ask.
Crosby shakes his head. “I don’t know.”
I watch his face as he answers the phone.
“Kiddo. Are you okay?”
After all this time, after everything Jason did, Crosby is still concerned about Jason’s well-being. I love this man. So much.
“I see…well, it was gonna happen sooner or later…listen, I can’t bail you out…no, it’s because I don’t have access to any credit cards anymore…yeah, that… But I may be able to put you in contact with a lawyer in Boulder….”
He looks up at me, eyes pleasing. I blink and nod my head. Absolutely I’ll help.
“But listen,” Crosby continues. “You have to do exactly what she says, no funny business. Got it? If you manage to avoid jail time, great. But I still got beef with you, and you still have consequences to deal with. Understand?”
While he talks to Jason, I madly text everyone in my family. “My second cousin in Colorado will be there shortly.”
“Thank you, babe.”
I hug him. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” he says, kissing the top of my head. “It’s just weird to hear from him after all this time.”
“Can I do anything?”
“You’ve done enough. Thank you for helping.”
“Anything for family. Even the family that does you wrong.”
We hold hands and enjoy the quiet as we make our way back to Beta Beta Psi. Thank god cicada season is over, and all we can hear are crickets chirping, squirrels, and the occasional stray cat in the hedges.
I think I had a dream like this once: we walked together at night, hand in hand, content and unafraid. Not bothered by what anyone thinks and confident that we’d deal with whatever comes our way.
When we arrive at the sorority house, I’m carrying Leela on my back while she carries her high heels in her hand. Both of us are still a little tipsy.
“Something just occurred to me. Why didn’t we just walk home in the first place and do the thing here instead of in the jacuzzi?”
I laugh as I sloppily work the key into the front door and open it, letting the air conditioning cool my face. I’ve gotten used to this place, but I still refuse to move in as a paying guest, as is allowed under the bylaws. She needs her friend time, and I need time away to study in my little hovel.
The plan is to get married after we earn our undergraduate degrees, then get married before we set off to med school and law school. We’ll stay here at Pine Mountain but move in together. Hopefully in an apartment good enough for my queen. She’s said she doesn’t mind living in my studio, but she’s just being generous. And she still doesn’t believe me that she’s nice.
Still laughing, I set her down on the bed. “That was a lack of judgment.”
She snorts and shimmies out of her dress and pulls me down on top of her. “It’s not like we got together by making wise choices in the first place.”
I look down at my angel, Kitten, and sweet, bad bitch. “I disagree. Buying you was the best decision I ever made.”