Catapult

How far would a man go to finally say goodbye to the girl who got away? Caleb Miller, a middle-aged anthropology professor, is about to find out. As a student at Washington State University in the mid-nineties, Caleb fell hard for his best friend and roommate Elisa, a wild and promiscuous bisexual art major. Elisa was as beautiful as she was talented but struggled with her sexuality and unrelenting feelings of guilt and anxiety. Caleb was highly intelligent yet self-destructive, continually punishing himself for a tragic mistake he made as a teenager. In Elisa, he sees a second chance at life-a shot at redemption-and makes it his mission to keep her safe from harm. In their three years together, they experienced a lifetime of both sorrow and laughter. Despite their individual struggles, the one thing they could always count on was each other. That is, until one summer night when they risk it all and give in to their desire. Now, over a decade later, Caleb is staring once again at a wedding invitation pinned to his office wall. Elisa is getting married and wants him to be there. He chooses not to go and spare himself the pain in seeing her again yet is unwilling to take down the invitation until the date has come and gone. That is, until the eve of the ceremony when he receives a three-word email from Elisa that says simply, "Are you coming?" In less than twenty-four hours, Caleb must put his life on hold to embark on a cross-country trip to let go of the girl who captured his soul but ultimately broke his heart. Catapult is a story of love, loss, and longing. It's an unapologetic portrait of the hard drinking, bed-hopping hedonism of college life. It's a romance novel befitting Generation X.