Free Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin

common
    for that to happen.
    I didn't shed a tear until I saw him at a party holding hands with
    Betsy Wingate, who had also lived in our freshmen dorm. I didn't
    want to be holding his hand, so I knew my reaction was only a mix
    of nostalgia and hurt pride. And regret that maybe I should have
    pursued Hunter, who had long since been snatched up by another
    discerning undergraduate.
    I phoned Darcy in a rare case of role reversal, seeking comfort
    from the relationship pro. She told me not to look back, that I had
    some good, rah-rah college memories with Joey, something I
    wouldn't have had with Hunter, who would have dragged me
    down socially. "Besides," she said earnestly, "Joey taught you the
    basics of predictable, missionary-style sex. And that's worth
    something, right?" It was her idea of a pep talk. I guess it helped a
    little.
    I kept hoping that Hunter and his girlfriend would break up, but it
    never happened. I didn't date again at Duke, nor did I through
    most of law school. The long drought finally ended with Nate
    Menke.
    I met Nate our first year of law school at a party, but for the next
    three years we barely talked, only said hello in passing.
    Then we
    both found ourselves in the same small class The Empowered
    Self: Law and Society in the Age of Individualism.
    Nate spoke in
    class often, but not just to hear himself speak, as half the people in
    law school did. He actually had interesting things to say. After I
    made a decent point one day, he asked if I wanted to grab a coffee
    to discuss it further. He ordered his black, and I remember
    copying him because it seemed more sophisticated than dumping
    milk and sugar into my cup. After coffee, we took a long walk
    through the Village, stopping in CD stores and used-book shops.
    We went to dinner after that, and by the end of the evening it was
    clear that we were going to become a couple.
    I was thrilled to have a boyfriend again and became quickly
    enthralled with most things about Nate. I liked his face, for one.
    He had the coolest eyes that turned up slightly in a way that would
    have made him look Asian but for his light coloring. I also liked
    his personality. He was soft-spoken but strong-willed and
    politically active in a defiant, angry sort of way. It was hard to
    keep track of all his causes, but I tried, even convinced myself that
    I felt the same way. Compared to Joey, who could only muster
    passion for a basketball team, Nate seemed so real. He was
    intense in bed too. Although he had had few partners before me,
    he seemed very experienced, always urging me to try something
    new. "How's this?" "How's that?" he would ask, and then would
    memorize his position and get it just right the next time.
    Nate and I graduated from law school and spent the summer in
    the city, studying for the bar exam. Every day we went to the
    library together, breaking only for meals and sleep.
    Hour after
    hour, day after day, week after week, we crammed thousands of
    rules and facts and laws and theories into our crowded brains. We
    were both driven less by the desire to succeed than by an allpervasive
    fear of failure, which Nate chalked up to our being only
    children. The relentless ordeal brought us closer. We were both
    miserable, but happy in our misery together.
    But that fall, only one of us stayed miserable. Nate began working
    as an assistant district attorney in Queens, and I started my law
    firm job in Midtown. He loved his job, and I hated mine. As Nate
    interviewed witnesses and prepared for trial, I was relegated to
    document productions the lowliest task in the legal profession.
    Every night I'd sit in conference rooms studying piles of papers in
    endless cardboard boxes. I'd look at the dates on those documents
    and think, / was just getting my driver's license when this letter
    was typed, and here it is, still caught in an endless cycle of
    litigation. It all seemed so pointless.
    So my life was bleak except for my relationship with Nate. I
    began