Deep Surrendering: Episode Four Read Free Page A

echelons of society in Boston, I’d probably know. But I’d left a lot of that behind, and I would have ignored it even if I had heard something.
    “Nothing worth repeating,” he said, and that was the end of asking about that. Rory had never mentioned anything, but then she would have gotten most of the gossip from her parents, and they didn’t like to talk badly of others. Unlike my parents who spread gossip like it was going out of style.
    “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pry. I just don’t know much about him besides what my friend Rory told me.”
    “Rory Clarke?”
    “Yeah.”
    “She’s a lovely girl. The elder Mr. Herald wanted her for Mr. Fin, but they weren’t compatible.” That was putting it mildly. At least now they were friends. Their parents had tried to push them together so forcefully that they rebelled and all it did was push them apart. Knowing both of them, they definitely wouldn’t work as a couple.
    “She is. She’s one of my best friends.” Speaking of Rory, I hadn’t heard from her in a while. I knew she was having a secret dalliance with her new assistant. She was trying to keep it quiet, but of course Sloane found out and told us, as friends are wont to do.
    She also didn’t know what I was doing with Fin. Only Chloe knew about that, and she was keeping it in the vault.
    By the time Carl dropped me off, it was already tomorrow, and I was exhausted from the dancing and the drama with Fin. We’d gained so much ground when he opened up to me about his suicide attempts, but now I felt like we’d taken two steps forward and one step back.
    Time was dwindling and I didn’t want to spend what we had left at odds with him. There was nothing more I could do tonight, but tomorrow? I was going to fix this.
     

     
    My alarm interrupted my fitful sleep far too early.
    “No,” I said to it, but it didn’t listen, and I had to smash the button on my clock to make the sound go away.
    I had classes and a meeting, but I couldn’t muster up the desire to do any of them. All I wanted was to lay in bed, watch TV marathons, and order takeout. Alone. Sometimes you just needed to spend the day by yourself.
    I couldn’t, though. I really couldn’t. My classes were too important and if I missed the meeting, I’d end up hating myself. So I pulled myself out of bed and headed for the shower.
    When I got out, there was a text from Chloe letting me know that the party was a smashing success and that she’d drop my supplies off later today. That was a bright spot, at least. I messaged her back thanking her profusely for doing that for me and that I’d catch up with her later. I didn’t want to get into the date with Fin and how it had crashed and burned.
    Of course she texted right back asking how the date was. I stared at my phone, wondering how little I could get away with saying and satisfy her at the same time.
    It was good. Talk later. Late for class J
    Adding a smiley always made a message seem less serious.
    I dried my hair and got dressed, then headed to class, stopping off at Starbucks to get my caffeine fix.
    For the time being, I shoved aside my issues with Fin and focused on my lectures and planning yet another group project. You’d think in grad school professors would have figured out that group projects never went well. Most of the time, I went ahead and did the entire project, just in case someone else dropped the ball. It had saved my group’s ass more than once. I immediately volunteered to give our presentation, because at least I knew I could nail that. I owned at giving presentations.
    It was actually nice to get back to something that I was comfortable with. Writing papers, research, making plans and spreadsheets, and sharing what I’d learned was my safe place. It was probably why I’d stayed in school for so long when my cohorts were out in the workforce.
    Sometimes I wondered if I was ready to leave the classroom. Here, if I made a mistake, it usually only resulted in a