Mistakes Were Made

“You were!” Acacia said, preventing the awkward silence that would’ve undoubtedly come next. “You fucking killed it. And now we’re gonna go fucking kill the after-party.”

A cappella parties, it turned out, were messy. And loud, because everyone sang all the fucking time. But it was fun, too. Cassie spent most of the night on a couch pressed tight between Parker and Acacia, and even though Parker spent more time singing than talking to her, it was great. They took about twenty selfies together and drank too much, until Parker and Acacia disappeared to the bathroom, leaving Cassie to stake their claim on the couch. She stretched herself across it and scrolled through the pictures they had taken.

They all looked good in all of them, thank you very much, but she found her favorite—they were laughing over something Cassie couldn’t even remember anymore, none of them looking at the camera, Acacia almost falling off the couch, Parker’s nose pressed against Cassie’s cheek. She hadn’t sent Erin a picture today, so she sent her this.

Erin [11:58 PM]

My favorite girls!

Cassie felt warm as she slipped her phone into her pocket. The couch was so soft. Her eyes slipped closed. Members of the Sky High Notes were belting Olivia Rodrigo songs, but still, Cassie almost fell asleep before the other two got back.

It was a great way to start spring break, and it just got better from there. Three days later, in Cassie’s humble opinion, she’d nailed the interview. She’d worn a black jumpsuit with a red fabric belt and red flats—professional and as femme as she was willing to go.

“I’m glad you’re in closed-toed shoes,” Joel, the head of the lab, told her. “Means I can take you on a proper tour.”

That’s right: it wasn’t just an interview. It was a lab tour and so many introductions Cassie had already forgotten names and they even took her to lunch. That had to mean something, right? And yet, when she’d asked when she might hear from them, Joel had only said “Soon,” with an enigmatic smile. It’d been the low point of an otherwise excellent six-hour interview process.

The day had been long enough that when Cassie got back to her hotel in the late afternoon, even buzzing from the interview, she lay down for a quick nap, which turned into a not-so-quick nap. At least she woke up refreshed instead of wondering what year it was.

She was still in the hotel bed, passively scrolling Yelp reviews on her phone when it rang. It was the UAL number. Cassie gave herself time to take a breath, then answered.

“Hello, this is Cassie.”

“Cassie, hey, it’s Joel from UAL.” This seemed like a really good sign.

“Hey, Joel, how’re you doing?”

“Pretty great,” he said. “I’m calling because—now, we don’t usually do this so quickly, but there was unanimous enthusiasm in the lab today, and we want to offer you the position.”

Cassie couldn’t stop herself from asking, “Really?”

“Really.” Joel laughed. Cassie leapt out of the bed and pumped her fist as he continued, “You’d be an excellent addition to UAL. If you accept, I can’t wait to see where you’ll take us.”

“Of course I’m accepting, Joel,” Cassie said. “This is an amazing opportunity. I’m so excited.”

“Great. You’ll get emails from HR with the details tomorrow, and we’ll see you in a couple of months. Feel free to call or email me if you’ve got any questions.”

“Thank you so much.”

“Thank you. I look forward to working with you, Cassie.”

She ended the call and collapsed back onto the bed. She got it. She couldn’t believe it—or she could, sure, she’d totally rocked today, but—she got it. Holy shit. She let out a little scream of joy.

She had to tell someone. Fuck, she was so excited. She had to tell someone.

“This is Erin Bennett.”

“Erin,” Cassie laughed into her phone. “What are you doing right now?”

“Cassie?” She sounded tired. “What’s going on?”

“What are you doing?” Cassie repeated. She paced in front of her hotel bed.

“I was—resting,” Erin said. “Napping. I worked an overnight yesterday.”

“Shit, I forgot. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you. I just—I’ve got some kind of exciting news!”

Erin was quiet, and then, “Well, tell me what it is already!”

“I got a job!” Cassie practically screamed it. “A really great job. I toured the labs today and killed my interview so hard they offered it to me barely two hours after I’d finished.”

“Babe, that’s great! What’s the job? Where is it? Tell me everything.”

Cassie grinned. “It’s with United Aerospace Laboratories.”

“What?” Erin said. “The one in Boston?”

“The one in Boston,” Cassie said. “I’m in my hotel at Copley Place right now.”

“You’re in Boston right now?”

“That’s what I just said, Erin,” Cassie said, laughing. “And you should come meet me for a celebratory dinner.”

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me you were in Boston!”

“I’m telling you now! I didn’t want anyone to know in case I didn’t get it.”

“But you got it.”

“I got it.” Cassie couldn’t stop grinning. “Come to Boston. Let’s celebrate.”

Erin took a moment to respond. “I can be there in an hour and a half.”

“Drive faster.”

“Cassie.”

“Safe, but fast,” she amended.

Erin laughed. Cassie laughed, too, thrilled. She was just so damn happy.

“The Westin at Copley Place,” she said. “Let me know when you get close, and I’ll come down to meet you.”

“What should I wear?”

Cassie’s grin widened. “Something sexy.”

“Cassie.” Erin laughed again. “I mean, do you want to go someplace fancy? What’s the dress code?”

“I am way too hype for someplace fancy,” Cassie said. “Just dress normally, Erin. You always look great.”

“Flattery will get you nowhere.”

Cassie cracked up. “That’s blatantly untrue.”

“Whatever,” Erin said, and Cassie could hear the smile in her voice. “I’ll see you soon.”

“Hurry.”

She had an hour and a half, but Cassie got dressed right away anyway. Just jeans and a white T-shirt—she’d throw the blazer from her jumpsuit on before she left. She wanted to look good, because she felt good, and because of Erin. It seemed unreal that she hadn’t seen her in more than two months. They texted daily, sure, but like, she actually got to see her. In person. And touch her. Yeah, she wanted to look really good.

She turned on her pump-up playlist on her phone and rocked out as she did her makeup. God, she got an amazing job, and she was about to see Erin. She wasn’t sure she could be happier.

She was on the sidewalk when Erin pulled up, hadn’t bothered to stop smiling. She climbed into the car, leaned over the console, and kissed Erin. Erin giggled into her mouth.

“Well, hello,” she said.

Cassie sat back, grinning. “Hey.”

“It’s good to see you, too.”

Cassie shrugged. “It’s been way too long since I’ve gotten to do that.”

“Maybe you should do it one more time, then.”

Cassie laughed and kissed her again.

They were probably taking too long in the hotel roundabout, so Cassie made herself stop. She considered suggesting they just go to her room, but her stomach growled.

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