Episode 4
Previously
By the time Episode 3 ended, Kelsey had broken Adam’s heart in the most classic, high-school way possible: rejecting him for prom, only to watch her “perfect” date abandon her on a dark road.
Adam picked her up without a word of judgment.
She barely saw him for the rest of senior year.
But life has a way of circling back.
College was supposed to be a clean slate.
It became something else entirely.
Chapter 3: The Long Way Around
UC Davis was supposed to be a fresh start.
But on her second day in the dorms, Kelsey saw Adam walking across the quad. Her heart jumped — relief? Excitement? Guilt? — and she raised her hand to wave.
He saw her, changed direction, and took the long way around to his next class.
It happened again. And again. Adam went out of his way to avoid her, taking stairs instead of elevators, walking extra blocks to dodge the paths where he might see her.
After two weeks, Kelsey had had enough.
She learned his schedule. On Friday afternoon, she waited in the long narrow hallway just before the corner that led to the cafeteria. When Adam came around the corner, she stepped directly into his path.
He tried to walk around her. She moved to block him.
“Adam, I’m sorry.” The words tumbled out. “I can understand why you’d be mad at me. I’ve done a lot of growing up, and I hope you can forgive me.”
Adam stared at the floor. For a long moment, she thought he wouldn’t respond.
“I liked you,” he said finally, voice tight. “I was starting to fall in love with you. But I know now that was just me wishing. Being immature.”
“I was getting used to having you around,” Kelsey said softly. “I like you. And maybe… maybe there was a little longing in my heart too. Will you forgive me? Please?”
Adam met her eyes. “I think I’m a sucker, but yeah. I forgive you.”
Kelsey’s face split into a grin. “Good. My roommate’s gone. Today’s Friday, and I want to celebrate. My old man bought me a Beamer, but I like your little Echo.” She leaned in close, whispered something in his ear.
Adam’s face went scarlet. “I’m not allowed on the female floors.”
“Don’t be silly. I can escort you.”
After classes ended, Adam called her. Kelsey met him in the small lobby by the elevators wearing a nightgown over a t-shirt. They walked to her room in silence, the air between them electric with possibility.
Inside, Kelsey slipped off the nightgown. Underneath, she wore just the oversized t-shirt — one of Adam’s, actually, that she’d “borrowed” senior year.
She reached up to grab a bottle of wine from the top shelf of her closet. The shirt rode up, revealing that she wasn’t wearing anything underneath.
“Do you want a glass of wine?”
Adam swallowed hard. “I haven’t had alcohol before, but I guess it couldn’t hurt.”
“I’ll bring you out from under that rock you’ve been living under.” Kelsey poured two glasses, handed him one.
“You know I’m a virgin,” Adam said suddenly. “And I’m sure you’ve done it many times.”
“No. I’m actually a virgin too. Believe it or not.”
Adam set down his wine glass. “Let’s just plan to do it another time. When we’re both more ready. I really don’t know what to do, and I want everything to go right. I hope you don’t mind.”
Kelsey felt something warm expand in her chest. “I think you’re right.”
She kissed him instead — deep and slow and full of promise. They spent the rest of the night talking, kissing, falling asleep tangled together on her narrow dorm bed.
For the first time since that night in Jason Stryker’s limo, Kelsey felt like maybe she was exactly where she was supposed to be.
EPISODE 4 — OUTRO
Kelsey and Adam didn’t define anything that night.
They didn’t need to.
What mattered was this:
For the first time in her life, Kelsey chose the person who had been choosing her all along.
But love, even young love, is never simple.
And the road ahead would test both of them in ways neither could imagine.