Fly With Me | ✓

46

"How are we feeling?"

"Like I'm going to puke." It was probably a good thing that Everleigh'd had therapy the day before. She might've opened the door to Roman's car and let traffic take her out if she hadn't.

"Hopefully you don't do it on stage."

"Thanks for that image. I hate you." Everleigh tried to run her hands through her bangs with nerves. Forgot she'd gelled it to keep it away from her face while she was reading. Damn it. At least if it was bleached, it could've been dead enough that Everleigh's tic could've come to fruition. The gel simply made her hair crackle and her fingers get stuck.

Roman laughed. Sitting Everleigh in the back seat with Navi was the first straw that broke the camel's back. The second and third and fourth were Roman's stupid ass commentary while he drove and tried to make her laugh instead of think of every way that day could go wrong. Wrong like she could trip on stage walking to the podium or ugly cry or choke on her tassel or slip up during her speech like she had that time in class when she read orgasm instead of organism and promptly dropped the class as soon as the hour was over. Maybe that was why she got delayed for her graduation.

The moment Everleigh had woken up, she felt nauseous. It was nerves, sure. The idea that the entire grad class was riding on her speech that she hoped was all right, but at least it had been approved by the Dean. She had braved a call to Maverick in hopes to catch him despite the terrible time difference between Vegas and London. Anything he could say would be better than being stuck in her own head. But, there was no answer. Straight to voicemail. Almost too fitting from someone who had texted her I'm so proud of you. Knew you could do it. Can we please talk soon? and then did not manage to speak to her for the next couple weeks.

Everleigh would've called Stevie if LA wasn't eight hours behind. A call at two in the morning with Everleigh panicking in her bathroom was embarrassing, even if it was Stevie and it was unlikely Stevie would judge her. If she'd given her more notice, maybe she could've flown Stevie over to read her speech for her. Be Taylor Swift at NYU. Everleigh would share her degree with her. Anything to keep Everleigh from barfing on stage in front of her peers, their family, her family, and the faculty.

Hell, Everleigh would've called Brendon if she could keep track of where he was in the world at any given moment. Ironic, how the turns tabled. (Christ, she missed Maverick.)

"Leigh," Florence said, "You're going to be fine."

"That's easy for you to say, you don't have to do it." Everleigh's leg needed to stop bouncing before it went straight through the bottom of Roman's car.

"You've been practicing for a solid week, and sporadically before that. I doubt you even have to look at the cue cards at this point."

"That doesn't mean anything."

"You're going to be amazing. I can't wait to hear it."

"I've already read it," Roman said. Smugly.

"You ran it past him and not me?" Florence asked.

"You mean he caught me ready to throw my laptop across my flat and took it from me so I didn't have to start over?" Everleigh asked. "Yeah."

"It's a damn good speech."

"Can't wait," Florence said. "It'll be great. I hope boy wonder knows what he's missing."

"Why the hell would Bash be missing my grad speech?"

"Huh?"

"Never mind. You meant Kingston, didn't you?"