"You'll find your person soon enough, babes. Hell, I'll be your person for life, you just have to share me," she winks. Casey is probably my platonic soulmate. She's right. If I don't find the right person I'll always have her and that's all I can really ask for. We continue talking through dinner and I recall my conversation with Dr. Harrison about the easiness of things. When I first left for college in Greenwell things were super hard. I lived in the dorms and even though I had a roommate and a whole bunch of others living around me, I never felt so alone. Casey wasn't by my side, and I no longer had Dylan. I tried my best to get into activities on campus and befriend my roommate, but everything always fell through. After the first grueling year, I found my footing and I felt comfortable being alone. Casey, my aunt, and Anthony were all just a phone call away and that kept me afloat. Now, I fear I've gotten too comfortable being alone. I love Casey with all of my heart, but after dinner I feel exhausted. Not of her, but of the interaction itself. It's like my energy has drained from my body. If I go back to my aunts house too soon I might hurt Casey's feelings, especially when I specifically made this trip to see her. She's driving to the new bar she's obsessed with and I grow anxious. The possibility of running into old high school friends makes me more anxious than I thought it would. High school is something I'd like to leave in the past. What was done is done and that's that. Ben crosses my mind and I think of texting him. I'm not sure how far this thing with him will go, but I appreciate the conversations with him. He actually wanted to know my dreams, my aspirations, my home, and he hasn't turned out to be an idiot. After our second hookup, I gave him my number and he sent me a cute message the next day. I haven't heard from him since. Casey pulls her car into a lot near a building with a large outdoor patio. Loud music is coming from the area and my energy comes back, like being awoken by the loud sounds. As we're walking towards the building Casey says, "They always have live music. Usually local bands and the occasional bigger band." We show our I.D.'s to the bouncer before heading inside. There's a huge crowd of people, mostly on the younger side. The music being played sounds like newer wave and it looks like everyone is enjoying it. Casey grabs my hand as we weave through the crowd and images from Raven's in high school flash in my mind. It seems like we were in this exact scenario so many years ago. She finds a small circular table and we quickly sit down before anyone can take it. From the table I have a clear shot of the band playing in the patio. "I'll go to the bar. What do you want?" Casey asks me, raising her voice so I can hear her. "Just an Amaretto sour," I tell her. Soon Casey is coming through the crowd with our drinks in hand. She hands me my drink and plops down next to me. "Not bad, huh?" "It's nice," I agree. "The last time I was here it was with Levi, Anthony, and some girl he was dating. Apparently it didn't last because she didn't like that he has Olivia." I remember the day Anthony called to tell me the news. He'd gotten a girl pregnant and he was freaking out because he didn't want to be a dad at such a young age. The girl he slept with wanted to keep the baby and he came to terms with it. They had agreed to co-parent because neither of them wanted to be in a relationship. When baby Olivia came into the world, the mom decided she couldn't handle it after the first year and gave Olivia up to Anthony. Olivia, who's four years old as of yesterday, is Anthony's whole world. He's always posting about her on Instagram, and he gushes over her when we talk on the phone. Olivia has probably been the best thing to happen to him. "Is he bringing Olivia tomorrow?" I ask her before taking a sip of my drink. "Well, we're going to another bar so she's not allowed in. I think he said his mom is going to watch over Olivia tomorrow," she says. "We saw them yesterday for her birthday. Olivia didn't want anyone else but me to hold her. I think it hurt Anthony's feelings." She laughs and shakes her head. Seeing Anthony as a dad warms my heart and I wouldn't have ever imagined him being one so quickly, but the job suits him so well. "Just wait until you have a kid of your own," I tease her. "He's going to love his auntie Lacey way more." She smirks. "How do you know I'm going to have a boy first?" "We know everything about each other. I'm highly confident I'll know the sex of your baby before the doctor does," I laugh. "I hope you're wrong. I really want a girl," she says, resting her chin on her hand. "Between Penelope and Olivia, I think we need to throw a boy into the mix." She lets out another laugh. "And what about you? It's not only up to me." "At this rate, I'm going to have a kid at thirty-five through surrogacy," I shrug. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but it's different when you have a kid with someone you love. And just like that the hopeless romantic in me is jumping out. Casey nods her head to the music, but rolls her eyes at me. "Oh, please. You act like you're an old hag already. You haven't even hit twenty-four yet. Just live a little for now. Keep texting your boy toy to hookup, and worry about marriage and kids later." It's so funny. I sincerely thought the roles would be switched. I always imagined myself to be getting married first while Casey enjoyed the single life. I'll be twenty-four in a few months and everyone else seems to have their life together already. If Ben sticks around, or if I let him stick around until the wedding I might just ask him to be my plus-one. I can't let myself think that far ahead into the future though. Casey is right. Live it up for now and leave the feelings for later.