5

She snorts. “Don’t you dare throw that bullshit at me about how you are too young? That’s just his cop-out and you know it.”

“Do I? Because he’s been pretty clear about it from the start. I thought we got past it, but it was the first thing he threw at me while he shoved me out the door just now.” I push the elevator button while I wipe my tears off with the back of my hand.

“What did he say?”

“You’ll understand when you’re older.”

She grunts, indignant. “That son of a bitch.”

“I know.” Our call is interrupted by the beeping of my tone, and when I glance at the screen, I see another call coming through. “He’s calling me,” I inform her.

“He’s calling you now?”

“Yeah, Agnes probably told him I left. Can you hold?”

“Sure.”

The elevator arrives and I get in before filling my lungs with air to settle my nerves.

“Yeah?” I answer while pushing the button to get to our floor.

“Where are you?” Bodi barks at me. The aggravation of his voice gives me chills, reminding me of Trent. For a split second, I turn into that bleak little girl, still feeling trapped at Stanford until I realize I’m not. Atlanta changed me. Bodi changed me. And though he might be part of my growth, it doesn’t give him the right to talk to me like this.

“Excuse me?”

By the sigh that follows over the line, he can detect the menacing tone of my voice and he clears his throat.

“I’m sorry,” he offers. I imagine him sitting behind his desk with a scowl on his face, that same troubled look he can have when he’s visiting his father. But his sorry lacks a certain sincerity I need, so it fails to change my attitude.

“Where are you?” he asks, a bit calmer this time.

“Home.”

“You’re upset.” It’s a statement, but not one that’s laced with regret.

“Wouldn’t you be if your boyfriend kicked you out of your office?” It’s a bold move from my side to call him that, but after he brought up my age after so many weeks of silence, I need to push out the answers I want. I need him to tell me where we stand. I’m not willing to pretend we are just friends or co-workers. Not anymore. Friends don’t sleep together in the same bed every single day. We are more than friends and he knows it.

“I’m not your boyfriend, Kayla.”

Well, there is my answer. I swallow my tears away as the elevator doors open and I get off, sauntering toward the front door with lead in my shoes.

“Then what are you, Bodi?” I ask with contempt.

“Your boss.”

“Right.”

“Your friend,” he quickly adds.

“Friends don’t sleep together every night. Friends don’t treat each other like shit,” I yell, the frustration wanting to burst out of me like an active volcano. My voice echoes through the hallway, and I’m pretty sure anyone who’s home can hear me, but I don’t care.

I hear him exhale through the phone, and when I walk through the door, I flop my body on the couch with a heavy heart, my fingers pricking in my eyes to prevent my tears from falling.

“I’m sorry I was harsh. But we have to keep this how it is. We can’t blur the lines.”

“Newsflash, Bodi. The lines are already blurred as fuck,” I blurt viciously. I clench my teeth at this stupid conversation.

“I know. It’s why we need to set the boundaries again.”

“Set the boundaries again. Do you hear yourself talking? This is ridiculous. It’s too late for that, McKay.” I want to pull my hair out listening to him. He can’t seriously think we can go back to how we started? Isn’t that the thing with relationships? You grow them. You can’t un-grow them. You can’t just say hold up, I’m getting too many feelings and then just expect your feelings to disappear. It doesn’t work like that. And I don’t even want to try.

“Look, I’m coming home. Let’s just talk when I get there, okay?”

“Fine.” Angrily, I hang up the phone before he can utter another word, pressing the button to get back to Rae.

“Are you still there?” I ask.

“Yeah, I’m still here. What did he say?”

There is a tremor in my hands as the anger rushes through my veins like an unstoppable train waiting until it crashes into a wall.

“ARGH!” I yell, wanting to throw my phone through the air.

“Are you okay, Keeks?”

“No!” I shout. “I’m not. He was talking all this bullshit about setting boundaries and all that nonsense.”

”Isn’t it a bit late for that?”

“That’s what I told him!”

“Look, just calm down. Breathe.”

I grind my teeth.

“Breathe, Keeks,” Rae orders, and reluctantly, I suck in a deep breath, then push it out before doing it again.

“Good,” Rae praises. “Now calm down. Is he coming home?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, take another deep breath, because yelling doesn’t make anything better. Chill. Call me after, okay?”

I nod, even though she can’t see me.

“Yeah,” I concede. “Yeah, okay. I’ll call you after.”

“Don’t bite his head off.”

“I can’t give you any promises,” I growl, then hang up the phone.