Page 92 of Keller

The mood shifts. I feel it in my shoulders, the way they tighten without permission.

"That was my feeling for a day or two, but things shifted. I mean, nothing definitive, but not absolved. Something is up, but I can't tell if it is Stone, or someone that works there."

"Well shit. Hopefully you will be able to clear them sooner than later and you can move onto another project and you and glasses guy can live happily ever after. He'll never even know what you've been up to these last few weeks."

"Keller. His name's Keller."

We round a corner. An old man sits on a bench, fanning himself with a newspaper. He watches us pass without interest.

"I keep hoping I can close it cleanly, find some reasonable explanation. Document it and move on."

Leah's breathing steadies as we slow our pace. Sweat glistens on her forehead.

"You want it to be nothing."

"I would prefer not to be auditing my boyfriend's family."

The words leave my mouth before I can catch them. Leah stops running.

I take three more steps before I realize she's not beside me anymore. I turn back. She stands in the middle of the sidewalk, hands on her hips, grinning.

"Your boyfriend."

"That's not what I meant."

"That's exactly what you said." She points at me. "Boyfriend. Direct quote."

"It was a slip."

"A very telling slip." She catches up, her grin stretching wider. "Quinn Mercer has a boyfriend. An actual boyfriend. Someone call the papers."

"You're being dramatic."

She bumps my shoulder. "You said it. You can't take it back."

I don't try to. The denial sits on my tongue, but I can't push it out. Because it doesn't feel wrong. Because maybe I want it to be true.

"I might add, you're not denying it, either." Leah's voice softens. "That's new."

"We definitely haven't defined anything. I told you I like him, we're spending a lot of time together, he said he would text me when he gets home today. These all lined up would pass an analysis test. Semantics."

"Whatever. Patterns equal proof. Just saying."

We pick up the pace again. My lungs burn and my legs ache, but my mind keeps circling back to that word.

Boyfriend.

Simple. Loaded. True.

We talk a little more about Keller, about the fact that he left me a note this morning before flying out and how he has been so patient with me as I've had my unspoken spirals and pushed and pulled.

Then we moved onto other things like the annoying new hire in her office and her ex showing up in her DMs. I'm glad for the change in subject, but Keller never leaves my mind.

We loop back to where we started and I check my watch. "Twenty three minutes. Not bad."

Leah slows to a walk, hands on her hips, chest heaving.

"Okay. I need to process something."