Personal Jurisdiction

by Minot, Diana

  “How are you?” Whitney asked.

  “Alright,” Jamie said, a bit sullenly.

  “Really? Because you sound kind of pissed off.”

  Jamie sighed. “It’s just been a long day. Lincoln is driving me insane. He is so upset for no reason.”

  “Why don’t you just ignore him for a while?” Whitney asked. Jamie gave her a longsuffering look in response.

  “You know it’s impossible to ignore him when he’s in one of his moods,” she said. It was true. Lincoln could be very persistent. Jamie and Lincoln had become close friends over the last few months, which led Elise to occasionally question whether Jamie had a thing for him. Jamie always rolled her eyes at Elise and declared that Lincoln was too high maintenance for anything more complicated than friendship. Sometimes, Whitney thought he was too complicated even for that.

  Whitney did not ask Jamie about her grades, and Jamie did not offer any information. Jamie had probably done well, and, besides, she wanted a permanent position in the legal department of the nonprofit where she had interned. They already knew and liked Jamie, so she did not have to worry about grades as much.

  The doorbell rang and Jamie hopped up to get it. “That’s the delivery guy,” she said.

  “You guys already ordered?” Whitney frowned. “But you didn’t even tell me you had switched to Thai food, let alone ask me what I wanted.”

  “We got you chicken pad Thai,” Jamie said. “It’s what you order every single time we go out for Thai food, so no complaining.” It was true, although Whitney was still a bit annoyed that they had not bothered to ask her.

  Elise emerged from the kitchen. “I think I’ve found all of the ingredients,” she announced proudly. “Let’s eat in the living room so we can watch TV. Then I’ll finish the cookies when we’re done with dinner.” Elise grabbed the bottle of wine and two more wine glasses, and followed Jamie and Whitney to the couch.

  As soon as they had started eating, Elise asked whether either of them had given any thought to Barrister’s Ball, and Jamie groaned.

  “Please tell us you’re not going to campaign for us to go to Barrister’s Ball,” Jamie said.

  “Actually, I was going to campaign for you guys not to go,” Elise said.

  Barrister’s Ball, informally known as “law school prom,” was a semi-formal event with an open bar, held by many law schools in February. It was an excuse to get dressed up in a short cocktail dress and then get so drunk that you probably would have been a lot better off if you had been wearing pants instead of a cocktail dress. Whitney had just assumed they would all go. Getting dolled up was a favorite pastime of Elise’s, so Whitney was surprised that she would suggest they skip the event.

  “I met this cute guy who is on the junior board for some boring sounding organization,” Elise explained. “Anyways, the board is holding a cocktail fundraiser the same night as Barrister’s Ball and he wants me to go with him. You guys should come, too. Tickets are sixty bucks, but that’s the same price as Barrister’s Ball. And it will be way more fun. You can meet some hot Chicago men. Lord knows there aren’t enough good-looking men at this law school. Plus, business men are more fun than lawyers.”

  Jamie shrugged. “I wasn’t planning on going to Barrister’s Ball,” she said. “So I don’t mind going to this. I could stand to meet a few young professionals in Chicago who don’t currently have their heads up their asses about their law school grades.”

  Elise looked expectantly at Whitney. Whitney had been planning on going to Barrister’s Ball. More specifically, she had been dreaming of going to Barrister’s Ball with Ben. Whitney had been brainstorming things she could use as excuses to hang out with Ben, with the eventual goal being to break through the “friend zone” barrier that seemed to have gone up.

  “I kind of wanted to go to Barrister’s Ball,” Whitney finally said.

  Elise sighed. “Why? Has Ben asked you to go with him or something?” The sarcasm in Elise’s question was unmistakable, and Whitney looked hurt.

  “Look,” Elise said, her tone softening, “I know you want things to move along with Ben, and, of course, I think he’s an idiot if he lets you slip away. But you shouldn’t let your whole life revolve around him. Come to the fundraiser. It will be fun. You’ll meet new guys. New, cute guys. You don’t have to decide you like any of them. But, sometimes, it’s nice to have a reminder that there are other options out there. Don’t get in a Ben rut.”

  Whitney did not want to admit it, but she knew that Elise was right. “Fine,” Whitney said. “I’ll tentatively agree to go to the fundraiser, but I reserve my right to change my mind if I have the chance to go to Barrister’s Ball with Ben.”

  “Fine. Fair enough,” Elise said. Whitney could tell that Elise was not happy with this answer, but there was not a high likelihood that Ben would ask Whitney to go to Barrister’s Ball with him, anyways. Elise probably knew this, and thought it was better not to argue over what would end up being a nonissue.

  “Alright,” Elise said. “Next order of business. I want to be warm for Spring Break, so I’ve decided to go to Saint Thomas. You two should come. Pretty please? It would be so fun to be on vacation together for a week. We can laze at the beach all day and let men buy us drinks at the bar all night!”

  Jamie jumped in before Whitney could respond. “Yes! Now you’re talking. I’ve been thinking about how much I need some sunshine. New York for Christmas wasn’t much better than being in Chicago, weather-wise. Have you looked at hotels yet?”

  Elise’s face lit up. “Yes. There’s this one I love that has awesome rooms with balconies overlooking the water. We could even get a big suite and share it. And seriously, if you don’t want to lie on the beach all day there is so much to do there! Whitney, please say you’re in, too!”

  Whitney shook her head no. She was mentally trying to guess what the cost of a flight to Saint Thomas would be over spring break. And she was sure that the hotel that Elise was eyeballing was not going to be cheap. “I’m sorry, Elise. That’s a definite no. There’s no way I can afford to swing that.”

  Elise’s face fell. “What if I paid for you?” she asked.

  Whitney shook her head no again. “Absolutely not. I’m not letting you do that.” Elise knew fighting with Whitney about this would be futile. Whitney usually refused to even let Elise cover cab fare.

  “Okay. Well, let me know if you change your mind. It would be fun for all three of us to hang out in the Caribbean together,” Elise said.

  Whitney smiled and nodded. It would be fun, and she felt a sharp pang of regret. She had not thought too much about what she was going to do for spring break, but it was unlikely that it would be anything spectacular. She had considered going to Texas for the week, but she did not want to spend the money on a plane ticket. Flights everywhere during spring break had been so expensive when she checked. Maybe she would just take the week to explore more of Chicago. There were a lot of things in the city she wanted to see, but during the semester everything fun got put on the back burner.

  Whitney wondered what Ben was doing for spring break. Elise had been hinting lately that Whitney needed to move past her crush on him, but Whitney was not giving up hope yet. After all, they had just come back from winter break. She had barely had a chance to spend time with him. Maybe, once she did, things would heat up between them again.

  Whitney frowned. She should try to nail down some plans with Ben. Kate had not slowed down in her quest for him. One would think that after Kate’s crazy outburst at Whitney in the library last semester, Kate would be embarrassed to be around Whitney. But even though Whitney sat near Ben in every class, Kate always found reasons to come talk to Ben after a lecture. Kate simply acted like Whitney was not there.

  “Come on, no more sad faces! Let’s head back to the kitchen,” Elise said, gathering up the remnants of her Thai food. “I want to make those cookies.” Whitney smiled and resisted the urge to point out that Elise had sported a sad face most of the last
twenty-four hours due to her supposedly awful grades.

  The rest of the evening was spent eating an ungodly amount of cookies, drinking plenty of wine, and indulging in juicy gossip about law school classmates. Whitney laughed and joined in on the gossip, but she could not shake the nagging, uneasy feeling that the evening had given her. Their conversation earlier had been a reminder that she and Ben were still in the friend zone. Whitney realized that if she was going to have a chance at Ben, she needed to be proactive. If Kate could do it, so could she. Whitney would not let Ben slip away without a fight.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  The next Thursday, Whitney convinced Elise and Jamie to go to Bar Review with her. Bar Review happened every Thursday, and consisted of the law students meeting for drink specials at a local bar. Whitney, Elise, and Jamie rarely went, since neither the bars themselves nor the drink specials were ever that spectacular. However, Whitney knew that Ben loved to go to Bar Review, and she made no effort to hide her motivation for attending this week. Elise balked.

  “Seriously, Whitney. I don’t want to go on a wild goose chase after Ben with you. I hate Bar Review, and most of the people who go are the annoying, egotistical, full-of-themselves jerks that I can’t stand to be around.”

  “You said yourself that I had to snatch Ben up before someone else did,” Whitney countered. “That’s what I’m trying to do. As one of my best friends, it’s your job to support me in this endeavor.” Elise made a pouty face but did not argue. Jamie did not put up much of a fight. She was used to being dragged to Bar Review now and then, since Lincoln was also fond of attending.

  This was how, that Thursday night, the three girls ended up venturing into a bar overrun by Elise’s least favorite law students and several drunk twenty-one-year-olds. Elise, resigned to her fate for the evening, made her way quickly to the bar. The quicker she took the edge off of being here, the better. Jamie found a barstool next to Lincoln and settled in with a beer, while Whitney nervously scanned the list of drink specials, finally settling on a vodka cranberry. Elise made a face.

  “Whitney, vodka cranberry? You might as well be one of these twenty-one year olds,” Elise said.

  “I know, but it’s cheap. Besides, I need some serious liquor,” Whitney said, scanning the room. “What if he doesn’t show up?”

  “He will,” Elise said, without a trace of doubt in her voice.

  “How can you be so sure?” Whitney asked.

  “I just know,” Elise said. “I have a good feeling.” Elise squeezed Whitney’s arm and smiled at her encouragingly. Elise had helped Whitney get ready tonight, flat-ironing her hair perfectly straight, and then spritzing it with an expensive styling mist. Whitney’s hair fell softly around her shoulders and had a glamorous sheen. Elise had also done Whitney’s makeup. Whitney usually hated it when someone else did her makeup. It made her feel uncomfortable and awkward, like some sort of fake mask had been applied to her face. But Elise had a natural talent for it, and managed to give Whitney exactly the smoky, sultry look she wanted.

  Elise’s prediction that Ben would show up at the bar was correct, but she had not predicted who would walk in with him. A half-hour later, Ben arrived, accompanied by Alex and Kate. Whitney felt her body stiffen when she saw Kate, and Alex’s face took on a worried expression when he realized Whitney had seen Ben and Kate together.

  “Uh-oh,” Elise said.

  “What the hell!” Whitney said. “They aren’t a thing now, are they? He barely even talks to her after class.” Whitney took a huge swig from her vodka cranberry.

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa,” said Jamie, who had seen Ben walk in with Kate and had come over to Elise and Whitney to discuss this development. Jamie took Whitney’s glass from her and set it down on the bar. “Take it easy. The last thing you want to do is make a drunken fool of yourself. Besides, you know how Kate likes to invite herself along whenever she can.”

  Whitney was angry. She had had enough of these games. Either she and Ben were going to be together, or they were not. She was tired of dancing around the issue and pretending that she was happy being just his friend. She grabbed her glass back from the bar, chugged the rest of her drink, and marched off in Ben’s direction. Ben, who had not seen her yet, was ordering from the bar, oblivious to Whitney’s arrival. Whitney intended to walk up to him and kiss him, but as she got closer and saw Alex’s panicked face and Kate’s angry expression, she lost her nerve. Instead, she tapped Ben on the shoulder. When he turned around, she gave him a big hug. Her body exploded with the familiar feeling of electricity when it touched his, and she did her best to keep her voice level.

  “Ben! So good to see you here. I’ve barely seen you this semester! How have you been? I miss you.” Whitney’s voice sounded painfully over-peppy and she knew it, but she forced herself to continue smiling at Ben. She did her best to assume an open, friendly stance. Alex was standing next to them with his mouth slightly agape. Whitney did not dare to look at Kate.

  To Whitney’s relief, Ben hugged her back and then gave her a huge smile. “Whit,” he said. “It’s been too long since we’ve properly hung out. What are you having? Let me buy you a drink.”

  “Vodka cranberry,” Whitney said sweetly. She sidled up to Ben at the crowded bar, purposely squishing her body against his more than necessary. Whitney finally risked a glance in Kate’s direction, and could not help but feel triumph when she saw that Kate’s face was red with anger. When Whitney made eye contact with Kate, Kate opened her mouth to speak. Whitney braced herself for what might be coming, but before any words came out, Alex grabbed Kate’s arm. He dragged her in the direction of the jukebox, saying something about a song that Kate absolutely had to hear. Whitney breathed a sigh of relief and reminded herself to thank Alex later.

  “How were your holidays?” Whitney asked, accepting the vodka cranberry that Ben handed to her.

  “They were okay. My grandma has been a little under the weather lately, so it was nice to get home and spend some time with her. How was your break?”

  “It was good. Nice to be in Texas where it’s warm.”

  Ben nodded and took a sip from his drink. Whitney tried to think of something more to say, but she was nervous and could not think of anything else to discuss. She took a long sip from her drink to stall for time, and Ben picked up the slack in the conversation.

  “So, I thought of you last weekend.”

  Whitney’s heart skipped a beat. “You did?”

  “Yeah, I went by Francesca’s. It’s that Italian place we went to for dinner last semester. Do you remember?”

  Whitney wanted to laugh. She had only replayed the night in her head a thousand times. She just nodded. “Yeah, I remember.”

  “They’ve revamped the menu and added some seafood dishes that look good. We should go again sometime. I eat there way too much, and I’m starting to feel ridiculous constantly going by myself.”

  “Sure, I’d go again,” Whitney said, keeping her voice casual. Ben smiled and looked at her with those deep blue eyes that turned her knees to jelly. She wanted to lean in and kiss him right there, but her resolve to be bold and audacious about her feelings for him had evaporated. She told herself that taking it slow was not a bad idea, either. Maybe he got scared off last semester because things moved too quickly.

  Ben and Whitney talked and drank for several hours. Ben told funny stories about catching up with old high school friends in San Francisco over winter break. Whitney listened and nodded, laughing here and there. She did not have any friends left over from high school. Even Rachel did not count. Whitney had met her the summer after high school graduation, and they had been close ever since. So when Ben asked if she had seen any high school friends over winter break, Whitney shrugged.

  “No. I haven’t stayed in touch with anyone from high school. I was sort of a loner back then. You know, your stereotypical socially awkward nerd.”

  Ben laughed. “I cannot imagine you ever being socially awkward.”

 
“I still feel socially awkward a lot of the time,” Whitney said, thinking that Ben had probably never truly felt that way.

  “Well, that’s just ridiculous. You’re perfect,” he said, leaning against the bar and eyeing his empty glass. Whitney felt breathless at his words. Her heart pounded and she laughed nervously. The whole conversation tonight had been a little stilted. There was definitely still chemistry between them, but neither one of them seemed able to make the first move back into romantic territory.

  Whitney watched Ben’s profile, while Ben kept staring at his glass. Finally, he looked up and put his hand on her arm. He met her eyes, and Whitney held his gaze. She felt her whole body heating up at his touch, in that familiar, delicious way that it had so many times last October. Was this really happening? Were they going to be able to pick up where they left off? Whitney bit her lip and told herself to keep her mouth shut. The last thing she wanted to do right now was say something stupid and ruin the moment.

  “Whit, listen,” Ben began, but before he could get any further he was interrupted by Kate, who was shrieking and charging toward them.

  “You whore!” Kate screamed, and lunged toward Whitney. Alex was following and trying unsuccessfully to catch her and hold her back.

  “What the hell?” Whitney said, lifting her arms to protect her face as Kate tried to claw at her. Kate reeked of alcohol and was raging drunk.

  “I warned you to stay away from him!” Kate screamed, struggling against Alex’s grip to try to get to Whitney.

  “Catfight!” Someone yelled gleefully as a small crowd started forming and gawking at the two girls.

  “Kate!” Ben yelled, “What are you doing? I told you, we are just friends!”