Run, Girl (If You Can)

Ryan watched Keeley happily chow down on her pizza and couldn't help but smile. She was so cute.

It wasn't like he had never thought of her as a woman before the night she got drunk and went on about her ex-boyfriend. She just gave off the distinct impression that she wasn't interested so he didn't ever try.

He didn't even realize he might like her that way until they graduated and suddenly he wasn't seeing her every few days anymore. The absence was noticeable.

Ryan played his cards carefully so he wouldn't scare her off. He became friendly with her roommates and frequently invited them all out to do things as a group with some of his other friends.

It worked. Keeley was as comfortable with him as ever and even occasionally went out to do things with him alone, like right now.

He had been wondering when it would be the right time to make a move until he found out she was still hung up on her ex. It was even worse when she said she never wanted to get married at all—she definitely wasn't looking for a relationship in the near future.

Ryan wasn't sure what to do.

Keeley had wandered through his mind far too often the past couple of years to give up already but he was firmly in the friend zone. He really needed to spend more time with her but she was so busy!

Thanksgiving was coming up. She would have at least a few days off of classes and research where she should be free.

"What are you doing for Thanksgiving?" he asked.

She glanced up at him from her food. "It's only my dad and me left at home so we've invited some people over who also don't have anywhere to go. Valentina will be there too."

Hmm. An opportunity. He was supposed to have dinner with some of his coworkers but they wouldn't blame him for not showing up if he got a better offer.

"Is that an open invitation? I only have Thursday off so I don't have time to drive to my family's place in Rochester."

"Duh! Nobody should be alone on a holiday. We'd be happy to have you—just make sure you bring a pie."

"Awesome, thanks!"

"Valentina will be glad to see a familiar face anyway. I think everyone else that's coming is my dad's age," she explained.

"Are your parents divorced?" he asked. She talked about her dad fairly often but almost never mentioned her mom.

Her expression went blank. "My mom and brother passed away eleven years ago. Our Thanksgivings have been like this ever since."

How did he not know that?! "I'm so sorry, I didn't—"

Keeley's usual smile returned as if nothing untoward had happened. "It's alright, I get that a lot."

All this time he had thought she was an only child. Eleven years ago…she was just a kid. She was such a happy person and yet she had been through the trauma of losing half of her family in one fell swoop.

Ryan's admiration for her grew. She was a fighter. He changed the subject. "What kind of pie should I bring?"

"Anything but banana cream!"

They chatted about various pie flavors on and off until all the pizza was gone. Out of everyone he knew Keeley was the most fun person to talk to, no matter how simple or mundane the subject was.

===

Across town, Jennica was bouncing in her seat waiting for Cameron to come pick her up for dinner. He said after being out of the country for so long that he was desperately craving a cheeseburger so they were going to a diner.

The doorbell rang and she flew out of her seat, frantically combing her hair back with her fingers before putting on her most relaxed smile. She couldn't appear too eager.

"Hey!" she greeted cheerfully. "Weren't you on vacation in the Mediterranean? Where's your tan?"

He chuckled. "I was inside pretty much the whole time. Oh! Before we go, I have something for you."

"Ooh, really? You didn't have to do that!"

"I know but I wanted to. It's no big deal. Here, open it," he encouraged, holding out a square gift box.

Jennica lifted the lid off eagerly and let out a delighted laugh. He brought her back a coffee mug with a colorful picture of the Monte Carlo Casino on it.

She would have liked it anyway because it was whimsical and one could never have too many mugs but what really touched her was that it showed he was thinking about her even while he was in another country.

He texted her on and off throughout the days he was gone but there were always long stretches of radio silence while he worked. She was curious what he had been doing since he hadn't exactly explained it.

"Thank you! I like it a lot."

She immediately rushed to put it in the cabinet with the other mugs before grabbing her purse and locking the door behind her.

When they got down to his car, a silver Lexus, Jennica asked more about his business trip. They mostly talked about random things when he was gone.

Cameron shrugged. "It wasn't that big of a deal; my boss was there for meetings and had me tag along to help with acquisitions."

She didn't know much about business but… "I thought you were a financial analyst. Wouldn't that be someone else's job?"

"I'm the head of the analyst department but that's not all I do. I'm basically at my boss' disposal."

"Sounds stressful."

"It can be but I enjoy what I do. I was recruited into the company straight out of business school by my supervisor so I really owe my career to him."

Jennica smiled. The way he talked made him seem satisfied with his life. She liked people that appreciated what they had.

"Your boss seems like a good guy."

He let out a small snort. "I don't know if that's how I would describe him. He's a ruthless human blizzard but he does look out for his people."

Her eyes narrowed. That sounded a lot like that crazy rich guy she felt sorry for after being paid to be his date. Wasn't he the vice president of the company where Cameron worked?