Definitely, Maybe in Love

She knew I was a sucker for ambiance. “Sounds heavenly,” I admitted. “I haven’t been up there since we were kids.” I smiled, further imagining the peace and quiet I’d been in search of. The perfect place to chill and reboot. “Okay,” I said. “I’m in, although I doubt your Jetta will make it without four-wheel drive. Does your grandpa—”

“Ty!” Mel tipped her chin up. “We’re taking your Durango tomorrow, right?”

“Hell, yeah,” Tyler called in reply from behind us.

“Umm, what?”

“We’re all going,” she said, patting my arm. “Did I forget to mention that?”

“Melanie.” I lowered my voice. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you knew Henry was going to be here all along.”

“I didn’t, I swear,” Mel defended. “But man, I so wish I could’ve seen your face when he showed up. Beyond epic.”

“Yeah, it was a real scream.”

“I’m surprised at the sarcasm,” she said as we passed by a group of guys watching replays of the game on an iPad. “I thought you’d be happy to see him.”

Happy? Was I? “He pretty much disappeared on me in December,” I whispered, a little elbow of resentment poking my ribs.

“But you weren’t dating or”—she cleared her throat dramatically—“anything. Right?”

“No,” I admitted, though I felt another jab of resentment for some reason.

“Okay, then, so, camping? It’ll be fun.”

“It does sound fun,” I admitted. “But I don’t know. It might not be a good idea.”

“It wasn’t my idea,” she said, casually jerking her head behind us.

I glanced over my shoulder. The guys were a few yards back. Tyler had his hand on Henry’s shoulder, saying something I couldn’t hear. Henry looked a little stunned, and I wondered if those two were having the exact same conversation Mel and I were.

…

“How are your classes?”

Small talk. Le sigh. The last thing I wanted to discuss with anyone was school.

I tipped my chin toward Henry, two spaces over in the backseat of Tyler’s SUV. His left elbow was propped on the arm rest of his door. Before answering, I allowed myself a few seconds of thought, deciding how detailed I wanted to be with a guy who might not even care.

“Fine,” I answered. Yes, limited details were best. My murky academic life at present was not my favorite subject, anyway. I stared out the window at the soft morning scenery flying by as Tyler drove us to the campground.

“How’s our thesis?” Henry smiled, teasing me by using the pronoun “our.”

But instead of being amused, more of that repressed bitterness that had resurfaced the night before flicked the back of my neck. How could Henry have just left me high and dry like that? For all he knew, my professor hated the whole thing and I was flunking out.

“Fine,” I repeated.

“What did Masen say about the new theory in part five?”

I gazed out my window. “He hasn’t seen it yet.”

“Why?”

“I haven’t turned it in.”

I heard him shift in his seat, rotating toward me. “Why not?”

“Because I don’t think it’s ready. In fact, I might want to scrap it and start over.” This wasn’t at all true, but I felt like lashing out.

“That’s irrational.” His expression was stern, and I could suddenly see the future Henry arguing a case in a courtroom, throwing out objection after objection. How annoying. Today he was dressed in dark jeans, a white crewneck T-shirt, and a dark gray wool sweater that both zipped and buttoned up the front. Kind of overkill.

He leaned on the cooler separating us. “You do realize that’s going to put you a year behind? Don’t you think you should…”

The act of folding my arms silenced him, my non-verbal communication screaming at him to butt out.

“Sorry,” he said, raising one hand to shield his face. “I’ll spare you all unwarranted guidance.”

“Thank you, Counselor for the Prosecution.”

“I just don’t want you to waste your time,” he said, choosing not to let the subject drop.

“Waste my time?” I echoed. “Is that what you think I’m doing?” I sat back, reeling in my frustration. It probably wasn’t fair to erupt like that. After all, he had no idea how badly I was stressing about school.

“Sorry, that was rude,” I said and leaned my head against the seat. “I’m turning it in to Masen soon. Though it still needs a lot of work.” I exhaled a wistful sigh. “I wish I could take a semester off to get it done. That would be pretty amazing, actually.”

Henry nodded and turned to the window. “Interesting.”

“What about you?” I asked. “Are you going to clue me in about why you moved?”

He seemed confused, as if my question caught him off guard. Did he think I hadn’t noticed that he was suddenly gone?

“It was short notice,” he said while running a finger along the rubber at the base of the window. “The opportunity had always been there, but it didn’t present itself until the end of the year.”

I was aware that he was speaking English words, but the cryptic-ness of their meaning was lost on me. “You never told me there was a possibility of you moving.”

“No.” He dropped his hand and turned to me. “I didn’t.”

I glanced at the front seat. Mel and Tyler were arguing over control of the stereo. “You took Dart, too,” I said, my voice dropping a notch. “And to Switzerland?” I could hear the accusatory tone in my voice.

“I didn’t take him,” he argued. “An opportunity presented itself for him, as well.”

I folded my arms. “That’s quite a coincidence.”

“And not to Switzerland,” he muttered like it was the most ridiculous thing in the world.

“Then why is that what Lilah’s telling everybody?”

“I have no idea,” he said. “I haven’t spoken to her in months. I was there for a few days over the break, but—”

“In Switzerland,” I confirmed, giving him flat eyes.

He nodded but did not elaborate. “I’m living across the Bay now. Oakland.”

“In a castle?” I asked, again with the flat eyes.

“No, it’s a HUD apartment.” He adjusted his glasses. “Furthest thing from a castle.” Before I could ask what the devil he was doing living in the projects, he explained. “We bought a complex that was about to foreclose. Dart and me. Two hundred families would be displaced if we didn’t take care of some major renovation. It was easier just to move in for a while.”

“You”—I couldn’t help saying, deadpan—“are living in public housing and doing construction.”

“Well, Dart did most of it, since he has more time on his hands and needed a project.”

My mind couldn’t frame the picture, so I rewound, snagging on something he’d said. “Dart’s been at school all this time, too?”

“No,” Henry said, looking out the window. “He left California a few weeks ago.”

“Why?”

“Another project,” he said vaguely.

“Where?”

Henry flicked a piece of fuzz off his jeans, then his gaze rolled back out the window. “Uninteresting topic,” he said.

I groaned loudly, wanting him to hear it. It felt like pre-Thanksgiving all over again. One step forward, two