"Be careful, Stevie, or she might think you're blowin' her off to spend time with me."

Steve got his notes and homework in order for the next day, as he and Soda caught one another up on their evenings. "Nah. She knows I like her. She also knows I'm just not up to being physical yet. But, hey, I can't blame her for trying, now, can I? Especially not after that kiss. Maybe she wanted more where that came from."

Soda chuckled, as Steve wiggled his eyebrows. "Well, you're hot stuff now, aren't you, buddy?"

"I'd like to think so. It's nice to be liked in this way. It's nice to be wanted."

"Not that you need it, but I want you to know you've got my blessing here. There's nothin' else like seein' you happy."

"Actually, I think I do need that, man. It's one reason I wanted all of you to meet Katie. It's important to me to know what you think."

"I think you've got somethin' good. Even if ya'll don't agree on everything as far as God and stuff."

"Yeah. I think we can work around that too. I can't make her believe, but it's not like she'll try to stop me either."

"And who knows? Maybe she'll change her mind one day."

"Maybe. I'm going to tell her this week, Soda."

"Does that mean what I think it does?"

"Yeah. I'm going to tell Katie about the abuse. It's still kind of soon, but I think it's time."

"If you want somebody to be with you, just let me know, buddy, and I'll be there."

Steve looked at his best friend, the first person who had listened to him when it came to the pain of the abuse he'd experienced as a boy, the first person who had been the support he'd needed to start healing. He then reached for Soda's shoulder, as nearly two decades of memories echoed in his mind, their reflections like gentle whispers that had created who he was today.

"You okay, Stevie? You look like you're gettin' lost in your thoughts."

"Yeah. I guess I am doing exactly that. I'm okay though. It just gets me sometimes, you know? Because of how me and you are so solid. I think I'm going to talk to Katie by myself, but thank you for offering. It means a lot just for you to mention being there with me."

"Hey, there's no way I couldn't mention it. You've been watchin' out for me so much lately. You always do. So if you change your mind, please say somethin'. Or even if you don't, let me know when you're about to talk to her, so I can be whatever you'll need after. You never leave me on my own, and I don't want to miss a chance to return the favor."

"Where are you going, Steve? We still have class in a little while."

Steve walked toward his car, Katie following right behind him. "Yeah, but I'm leaving campus til then. I told my dad I'd meet him for lunch."

Katie watched Steve unlock the Ford and climb in, hearing its engine start up, as the window rolled down. "But you just saw your dad yesterday."

"Like I've said, we're close."

"Yes, you did say that."

"I'll see you after, okay? I'll even have a little bit of time before work this afternoon, so maybe we can spend that together."

"What about tonight?"

"I don't know yet." Steve shifted the car into reverse, starting to peel out of his parking space. "I've gotta go though, so we'll figure it out later on today."

"Sodapop! I didn't know you were coming over right now."

Soda held a small bouquet of daffodils out to Penny. "Here you go. I picked these for you, sweetheart."

Penny took the flowers, then led Soda into the house, where she filled a vase with water. "Thank you. They're so pretty. I was just thinking about you."

"And here I am. I must've known you wanted to see me."

Penny put the flowers in the vase, setting it near a window, where the sun could shine right on them. "Are you on your lunch break?"

"Yeah. So I just need to be back by 1:00."

"Will you have time to talk after work?"

"Sure. But I can talk now too. Is anything wrong?"

"No. It's just- Sodapop, I think I'm going to take the job in Oklahoma City."

"Wait, what? You've made up your mind already?"

"Just about. I need some distance. It hurts me to be so close to Emily. I know it's the best thing for you, but for me, it just makes the pain fresh and raw all over again."

"Do you still love me, Penny? I mean are you in love with me in a way where there's a future for our relationship?"

"I do love you. Just like I've always loved you."

"Is it a problem if I'm close to Emily like I am? Does that bother you?"

"No. But it isn't what I want for myself. I do want that for you and for her since it makes you both so happy. I'm not the same though. I want contact with her, but not so often."

"Well, you could stay then and just see her when you want to, right? If it would help, I'll even try not to say as much about when I see her."

"I can't ask you to do that. And if I'm here in Tulsa, it's like I'm still drawn to her. It'd only be a matter of time before I felt like running away. It seemed so wrong when I left for school, but now, I know what that distance gives me."

"But what will it give us? I always thought we'd be married someday."

Penny put her hands on Soda's face, her heart breaking at the expression she could see in his eyes. "I still want to be with you. I don't want us to break up."

Soda lifted his hands to cover Penny's, tears burning in his eyes, as he saw hers shining with the same. "I don't want to either, but it feels like we should. We keep going in different directions. I can't see a way for our relationship to go forward. When you were in Norman, I knew you'd graduate in four years. But, if you're takin' the job in Oklahoma City, that's a lot more permanent."

"I'll come visit at least once a month, and you can come visit me too. As often as you like. I want to see you, Sodapop. I want you to be in my life, no matter where we end up romantically."

"I know. I feel the same way." Soda drew Penny close, his arms moving to hold her. "I'll always love and care about you, and I want you to do what you need to do and be the best nurse there is. But I feel like, as much as we share, we're going to grow apart til we both decide we have to let go."

"You just love everything I say in class, don't you?"

Katie walked across campus with Steve, the couple going toward a gazebo behind one of the lecture halls. "Of course I do. You're brilliant."

Steve reached the steps, his arm around Katie's waist, as they took a seat on the wooden bench beneath the sheltering roof. "Wow. No one's ever said that about me before."

"Well, it's true." Katie kissed Steve on the lips, as she pressed her body against his. "You're brilliant, and you're mine. How was lunch with your dad?"

"Pretty typical. We just ate and talked. I like having one-on-one time with him."

"I saw you two out on the porch yesterday. I saw the affection."

"Yeah. I'm open like that with my dad."

"So are we making plans for tonight?"

"We can. I get off work about 5:30. I'll go home to shower, and you know, check in with Soda."

"Check in? What are you? Each other's keepers?"

"No. It's just important to us to see one another and talk. You've seen that."

"Yes. I have."

"So I'll do everything I need to after work, then come over to your place. How's that?"

"That's great. I can't wait to have some one-on-one time that's only for us."

"Hey, man, you just get in too? I swear traffic gets worse everyday around here."

Soda sat on the couch, his keys, thermos, and lunch bag on the table in front of him, as Steve was entering the apartment. "Yeah. Been here a few minutes. It does get kind of bad."

Steve set his books down, grabbing a glass of water before joining Soda in the living room. "I told Katie I'd shower, then head over to her place. But I think I just want to sit down for a minute."

"Yeah. You should do that."

"Soda?"

"What?"

"Is something wrong?"

"I saw Penny today. She said she's takin' the job in Oklahoma City."

"Okay. So are you two still staying together then?"

"I don't know. We didn't break up, but it feels like we did. That's what'll happen eventually anyway. She said she loves me the same way she always has, but we're reachin' for different things."

"Did she say why she wants to take that job?"

"Yeah. She needs the distance from Emily. She said bein' close to her makes the pain too fresh. She wants somethin' with her. Just not like this. Not like me."

"So when is she going?"

"I'm not sure. She still has to find an apartment and stuff."

"Are you okay, buddy? Even if you didn't actually break up, this is a pretty big deal."

"Yeah. I've been away from Penny so much, I don't even understand why my heart feels like it does now. Except her bein' away cause of school meant she'd come home. But Oklahoma City will be her new home now, and I kind of feel like I ought to be a better man when it comes to this."

"A better man how?"

"By offerin' to marry her and go too. If not now, at least in a couple of years, you know? So then, we'd be engaged and tryin' to plan a future together. But I can't imagine leavin', and I just don't want to. Penny has things here that are the ones she wants to get away from, but it ain't that way for me. This is home, and my whole life and everybody I love is in Tulsa. Except her. She's not stayin'. We'll still see each other. I know we will, but the future I used to picture is gone."