Personal Jurisdiction (17 page)

And focus she did. As she took her seat in the classroom and warmed her laptop up for Professor Neals’ final, she could literally feel her heart pounding. Everyone in the room wore a grim look. Even Alex looked tense, a change from his normal disdain for those who took law school too seriously. As the text proctor said the words, “You may begin,” Whitney took a deep breath and started typing. Three hours later, the first final was done. Whitney had done everything she could, and it was out of her hands now.

A feeling of relief slowly started seeping into the atmosphere of the law school as the finals period continued. It increased after the second final, and even more after the third final. As soon as the proctor called time at the fourth and last final exam, the mood turned jubilant. Even Lincoln was uncharacteristically ecstatic. He gave Whitney a big bear hug and then fist pumped into the air.

“We did it!” he exclaimed.

Whitney could not help but giggle. It was nice to see Lincoln relax a little bit. Elise and Jamie were not far behind Lincoln in hugging Whitney, and Alex gave her a high five.

“Way to go, Kid!” he said, and Whitney rolled her eyes at him for calling her “kid,” but then embraced him in a big hug. She could hardly believe they had all made it through the first semester of law school.

“Where are we celebrating, guys?” Lincoln asked. He looked like he was going to explode with joy.

“Sounds like a lot of people are planning to go to that same bar in Lakeview we went to during orientation. You guys all want to do that?” Elise asked. Everyone nodded.

“I can’t stay too long, though,” Whitney said. “I booked a flight back to Texas for 7 p.m. tonight, and, of course, I still have to pack.”

“Why in the world would you do that to yourself?” Elise asked.

“It was a lot cheaper. The flights start getting more expensive every day closer you get to Christmas,” Whitney said with a shrug, and resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Elise probably did not bother to even look at the price difference on flights when she booked tickets home.

“Okay, well come out at least for a little bit! We have to have at least one celebratory drink together!” Elise said.

“Of course! Let me go home and pack, and I’ll just stop by on my way to the airport. I’m only taking a small carry-on, so I’ll just drag it to the bar with me.”

As Whitney started shutting down her laptop and putting away her things, she could not resist stealing a quick glance in Ben’s direction. As usual, Kate was leaning over the desk at him. Ben did not pay much attention to Kate’s overt flirtations, but that never seemed to deter Kate. Whitney turned away and pushed Ben and Kate out of her mind. Today was a day to celebrate, not wallow in self-pity. She had completed the first leg of her journey toward a law degree and a better life.

A few hours later, Whitney stepped into the familiar Lakeview bar, pulling her wheeled carry-on behind her. She spotted Elise and Jamie and made her way over to them. Elise squealed when she saw Whitney and gave her a big hug, spilling a little bit of the beer she was holding in the process.

“We’re halfway done with our first year!” Elise said, and then did a little dance, spilling more beer.

“Ha, looks like you’ve had a few already,” Whitney said. Jamie gave Whitney a hug as well, just as Lincoln and Alex arrived back from the bar with drinks in hand.

“Lincoln, you look so much more relaxed!” Whitney said.

Lincoln shrugged. “It is whatever it is, now. I did the best I could possibly do, and it’s time to enjoy the holidays!”

“How long before you have to head to the airport?” Alex asked Whitney.

“I have an hour,” Whitney said, and Elise made a pouty face.

“Only an hour? That’s not long enough to properly celebrate!”

“I know, but at least I can have one toast with you guys. Let me go grab a drink.” Whitney headed to the bar. It was crowded with law students, many of them already well on their way to being drunk. Whitney smiled. She had not been out drinking for almost a month, and it was somehow strangely comforting to see the familiar sight of rowdy, buzzed law students. The fact that she felt that way probably showed bigger issues overall with the profession of law, but she decided not to worry about that right now. She got a few hugs from students she recognized as she edged up to the bar. Everyone was in a good mood, and relieved to be done with their first set of finals.

Whitney flagged down a bartender and ordered a beer. While she was waiting for him to pour it, she turned to find Ben standing next to her. At first Whitney thought he had not seen her and would try to leave as soon as he realized she was standing right there, but he looked right at her and smiled awkwardly.

“Hey,” he said.

“Hey,” Whitney said, her tone wary.

“Look, I’m sorry I kind of disappeared and left you hanging. I just…have been going through a lot and I didn’t handle it well. You didn’t deserve that.”

“Okay,” Whitney said. She was not quite sure what to say in this situation, and it did not help things that her heart was pounding with excitement at being in such close proximity to Ben. His eyes were tired, but his face looked as handsome as ever. He was wearing a navy fitted Henley shirt, and the color made his blue eyes pop. Whitney had forgotten how gorgeous he was up close.

“I hope you can forgive me, and we can still be friends. I miss you, and I don’t want things to be awkward between us. I miss hanging out with you. And with the group.”

Whitney was disappointed that he had added the part about the group. It made it seem less like he missed her specifically, and more like avoiding her was inconvenient because it meant he had to avoid their mutual group of friends as well. Still, this apology was better than nothing. Whitney had been doing her best for the last several weeks to push down every thought of him that popped up in her brain. His standing in front of her now made her realize she had missed him much more than she allowed herself to admit.

Whitney put on a brave smile and decided that, at this point, some contact was better than none. “Of course we can still be friends! In fact, I’m about to go toast the end of our first semester with the group. Why don’t you grab a drink and come join us.”

Ben gave her a grateful smile and flagged down the bartender to order a beer. A few minutes later, they walked back to the rest of the group. Elise raised an eyebrow when she saw Whitney and Ben together, but even in her tipsy state she had enough sense not to say anything right then. Alex gave Whitney a questioning look, but also said nothing. Whitney was sure that both of them would be texting her later, demanding to know why she and Ben were suddenly speaking again.

“Ben, good to see you! Where have you been, man?” Lincoln asked, oblivious to the fact that there had been tension between Whitney and Ben for the last several weeks. Lincoln may have been a genius when it came to the law, but his emotional intelligence seemed a little bit below par at times. What else could be expected, though, from someone who had spent the majority of the semester with his head stuck in a casebook?

“Um, I’ve been around. Just busy with studying and stuff,” Ben said.

Before there was any chance of things getting awkward, Jamie jumped in and raised her glass to start the toast. “Congratulations, guys, we did it!”

They all clinked their glasses and shouted, “Cheers!” Whitney looked at her new friends and felt an immense sense of relief. The first semester was the hardest part. Next semester would bring its own challenges, but at least she had some great friends, and a better idea of what to expect.

Whitney listened to her friends talking and laughing for the next forty-five minutes. She did not say much, and tried to steal furtive glances at Ben. At one point, Alex poked her in the ribs, and Whitney knew he had caught her. She just stuck her tongue out at him. She was not going to apologize for the way she felt about Ben. She hoped next semester would bring a chance for her and Ben to cautiously resume their relationship.

When it was time for her to leave for the airport, she said goodbye to everyone and promised to stay in touch over winter break. She wished she could stay longer, but she could not afford to miss her flight. Everyone gave her a hug goodbye, and when it was Ben’s turn they looked at each other awkwardly for a moment before he reached in and gave her a quick hug. Whitney’s heart ached with the familiar feeling of his arms around her, and she had to force herself to leave to catch the train to the airport. She boarded her flight for Texas and closed her eyes as the plane backed away from the gate, smiling as she replayed Ben’s apology over and over in her mind. Law school would be better next semester. The worst was over.

The relative warmth of Texas was a welcome change for Whitney. Although Dallas was still cold in the winter, it was nothing like Chicago. And with no snow on the ground to worry about, Whitney could enjoy wearing shoes that were not snow boots.

Whitney’s parents picked her up at the airport, and peppered her with questions the whole forty-five minute drive back to their house. Whitney was tired, but she did her best to sound upbeat and give answers that showed law school had been a good decision. She knew her parents were trying to find a reason to claim that her choice to go to law school had been a mistake. She was not going to give them that satisfaction.

When they arrived, Whitney went to bed and fell asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow. She did not wake up until 9 a.m. the next morning, which felt wonderful after all of the recent mornings that she had risen early to study. She got out of bed, showered, and put on comfortable jeans and a fitted t-shirt. Then she headed out to meet Rachel for an early lunch.

Rachel wrapped Whitney in a big bear hug as soon as Whitney arrived at the restaurant. Whitney returned the hug and sat down with a huge smile on her face. It was so good to see her best friend’s familiar face. There had been some tense texts over the last few months, and Whitney had worried that things might be strained when she saw Rachel. Those worries had been for nothing.

As Whitney scanned the menu, Rachel launched into a long summary of what Whitney had missed while she had been in Chicago. Whitney laughed at the juicy gossip about their mutual acquaintances. She had already heard some of it through calls or texts with Rachel, but there was nothing quite like Rachel’s animated, firsthand accounts of scandalous events.

“Oh, and Ethan proposed to that crazy girl he’s been dating. At a Cowboys game no less. He made a big deal out of it and got the local news to cover the story. Their first date was a Cowboys game or something, so it was ‘just perfect.’”

Whitney froze. Ethan was her ex-boyfriend. The one who had dumped her after eighteen months of dating because he found someone new. “Well, their first date was before Ethan and I actually broke up, so of course it was just perfect.” Whitney did not even try to keep the bitter edge out of her voice.

“Whoa, are you still hung up about that?”

“Well, I just think it’s shitty that he wasted a year and a half of my life acting like he was into me, and then ran off with that bimbo.”

“It was shitty of him. But look how much better off you are than him now! You’re going to law school, Whitney. You’re going to be a lawyer! He’s going to be stuck working low level management jobs his whole life, trying to scrape together enough money to pay for the kids Ms. Bimbo has with him.”

“I guess.” Whitney stared intently at the list of chicken entrées on her menu. Rachel reached across the table and pushed the menu down so she could see Whitney’s face.

“You guess?”

“At least he has someone. I’m still alone.”

“Oh, god, Whitney. Are we on that again? I thought you had vowed to be an independent woman who did not need a man to be happy.”

“Yeah, well, I tried. I can’t. I suck at life.” Whitney picked her menu back up and moved on to studying the steak section.

“Okay, fine. You don’t want to be alone. Fair enough. But are you really going to tell me that out of all the guys at law school, you can’t find a single one worth pursuing other than Ben?”

Whitney sighed and put her menu down. “You don’t get it, Rach. They’re all way out of my league. Expensive undergraduate degrees and perfect pedigrees and the latest and greatest of everything money can buy.”

“No, you’re right. I don’t get it. I don’t get how a smart, beautiful woman like you feels that someone else is better than her just because of his bank account.”

“It’s just hard not to feel out of place. But…I think I still have a shot with Ben,” Whitney said, watching Rachel’s expression carefully. She had predicted Rachel was not going to be thrilled about this, and she was right. Rachel’s eyes narrowed but she did not say anything, waiting for Whitney to continue.

“A bunch of my friends went out for drinks yesterday to celebrate the end of the semester. Ben was there, and he apologized to me for disappearing. He said he had a lot going on, so he was feeling overwhelmed. He told me he missed hanging out with me and hoped we could still be friends.”

“And you’re going to let him get away with trying to sleep with you one day and dropping off the face of the earth the next?”

“We weren’t even officially a couple yet!”

“No? So you weren’t a couple but he would have been okay with sleeping with you. And this is the guy you think is law school’s finest.”