The only thing that mattered was getting out. Spreading my wings like a hummingbird poised to take flight. It was…liberating.
When I enrolled at UT Austin, I fell in love with the city. With the thriving nightlife. The culture. The tacos.
With not carrying the weight of other people’s expectations.
My chest tightens at the prospect of leaving it all behind.
“And on top of everything else, I’ve got stress hives.” I hold up my arm, which is now covered in anti-itch lotion.
“That’s a lot to unpack.” Sofia taps a manicured nail on the side of her glass. “Slow down and tell me what happened. From the beginning.”
When I’m done, Sofia’s fighting a crooked grin. “I would have loved to see the look on his face when you walked out on him. Bet he never saw that coming. Serves the pompous ass right.”
She’s not wrong. The man may ooze sex appeal, but he’s insufferable. In less than five minutes, he’d validated every whispered rumor and proven he was just as cold and demanding as his reputation suggested.
But that doesn’t change the fact that I’m screwed.
“Sof, this is serious. I insulted his time management.”
I may not have said those exact words, but it was strongly implied.
“Oh, no. Not his time management,” she deadpans in mock horror. “Imagine if you’d insulted his manhood.”
How can she be thinking about his penis at a time like this? Can’t she see I’m in crisis mode?
“I’m going to get fired! From my first real job. With one measly paycheck in the bank.”
She snort-laughs. “Well, when you put it like that, it does sound pretty dire.”
“So not helping,” I mutter, darting a glance at Professor Donnelly. He’s still chatting away on-screen, completely oblivious to my career crisis. Which, honestly, is pretty much on brand.
“Relax.” Sofia reaches over and pats my knee. “If he was going to fire you, he’d have done it on the spot.”
“That’s not as reassuring as you think it is.” I groan and flop back against the couch cushions, fighting the urge to scratch my arm. “Besides, I didn’t mean to insult him. He was asking me all these questions about Miles and my job, and I panicked. Then it just sort of…popped out.”
Who are you kidding? You snapped like a twig.
Whatever. I didn’t mean to sass the irritating, entitled CEO. That’s not who I am. I was raised to be nice. And, yes, I have an internal snark-o-meter, but thanks to years of Mama’s admonishing looks, it’s just that—internal.
Or it used to be.
“Maybe if I apologize—”
Sofia rolls her eyes. “You need to stop apologizing for your existence, Scarlett.”
My whole life I’ve been underestimated and overlooked for being too small, too studious, too weird. And when I realized I’d never blend in, I’d resolved to not make waves. I’d gotten into the habit of apologizing, even when things weren’t my fault.
And what’s that gotten you?
Not a damn thing.
“As women, we’re trained to soften our actions,” Sofia says. “To never cause offense by word or deed.” She snorts. “When was the last time you saw a dude apologize for speaking his mind or grabbing the last seat at the table?” She gives me the side-eye. “That’d be never.”
Sofia’s right. No one’s out there whispering “pretty is as pretty does” to the Nick Harts of the world. Why should I apologize for taking up space and making other people uncomfortable?Fuck. That. Let them be uncomfortable if they’re going to be so damn judgmental. Gram never apologizes for anything, and she’s larger than life.
She’s also the family pariah.
“Girl, you should be celebrating right now, not drowning your sorrows. You stood up for yourself and didn’t let that jerk walk all over you.” Sofia raises her glass to toast my badassery. It’s a first, and we both know it. “That’s a victory in my book.”
