Eminent Love Read Free

“Layne—my sister—hasn’t been out in a while…kinda been in a funk. The drive-in is playing her favorite movie, and she’s mentioned wanting to see it. So Colin and I talked about it today and decided to take her there after picking her up from the restaurant. It may not make much sense to you, but it does to us.” She dropped her attention to the table between us. “Never mind. Stay here. You’ll probably end up boring her to death, anyway.”
    Without glancing at Colin, she grabbed his forearm and began to lead him toward the front door. Even if I hadn’t already made up my mind about going long before now, the despondency in her eyes would’ve been enough to change my mind. It left me with a deep yearning to know more. It appealed to the attorney part of my brain, the part always needing all the facts and information, so that expression of hers forced me off the couch. It was no longer about this girl being Drea’s twin sister, no longer about the temptation of going out instead of studying. My decision to go came down to an unexplained pull toward Layne, to find out why she made Drea so sad and Colin so quiet.
    I grabbed my keys from the small kitchen bar and met them at the door. “Fine, I’ll go. But I’m driving myself. I’m not sitting in the back seat while you two make out the entire time. I’m not into this whole sharing shit you seem to have going on.” I slapped Colin on the shoulder and offered him a smirk.
    Drea’s face lit up with genuine joy, adding a spark to her eyes. Her utter happiness became indisputable as she bounced on the balls of her feet. “Good. Then you can drive Layne.”
    I followed Colin’s car, not having a clue as to where we were headed. I never once asked a single question. I didn’t know where Drea’s sister worked, where this drive-in theater was, nor what movie we were watching. All I could think about was how I’d managed to get myself into this situation in the first place.
    I hadn’t dated anyone seriously in years, not since high school, nor did I have any desire to. I’d spent my first three semesters in college meeting new people and having fun—pretty much being a typical nineteen- and twenty-year-old guy on his own for the first time in his life. I’d hung out with a lot of girls, hooked up with a few, but never dated any of them. I’d wanted my freedom.
    Not only had Colin been my roommate, but he’d wanted to be a lawyer, too. Sticking together seemed like a good idea since we both had the same goals. Although, by the time we’d entered sophomore year, I’d started to notice my grades slipping. Freshman year had been easy, and it quickly became evident how much harder school would get if I didn’t start to get serious about it. I’d slowed down, though not as much as I should’ve because Colin had a way of convincing me to go out, even when I knew I needed to hit the books. By the end of fall semester, my low As had turned to low Bs, and I knew it’d only get worse if I didn’t stop what I was doing. Once I came back from winter break, I’d made the conscious decision to put my future first. And while Colin continued to enjoy the college experience, I chose to stay in and focus on my future.
    The partying had eventually caught up with him, though. At the end of our sophomore year, his grades had suffered so much, law school was no longer an option. I wasn’t willing to risk the same fate. I’d always dreamt of going to law school at Duke and becoming an attorney like my grandfather, even though it wasn’t an easy program to get into. I needed unbeatable grades, and I’d never get them if I continued to follow Colin’s lead. Girls and parties were a distraction. Colin was proof of that.
    I still hung out with a few friends, but they weren’t the same ones as before. I’d surrounded myself with likeminded people, other students who had also been focused on excelling in college. They had been a positive influence, pushing me to be