“I’m glad you think so.”
“Your possessiveness when you’re glaring at people who slide me their room numbers is fucking hot.”
Laiken chuckles. “I’mreallyglad you think so.”
I grin and stare at the stars for a while.
“I didn’t mean anything by commenting on your age, you know,” Laiken says.
“I know. It’s always annoying to me when someone begins a sentence with ‘you’re young,’ as if my age means I’m not certain of my likes and dislikes. Like they forgot what it was like to be twenty and hear those words. Age is not always accompanied by wisdom.”
Laiken laughs at me. “How cynical of you.”
“No. Just frustrated withadultswho are so convinced that I’m going to change my mind about something fundamental to me, as if it’s my taste buds. Thosedoevolve over time. There’s science that says as much. My hatred for someone snapping their fingers at me and expecting respect in response? Yeah, fuck all the way off.”
He’s laughing still. I like the sound. Deep. Masculine. I’ve heard that sound for years, but it feels different now. He’s never laughed at me, but for some reason, the undertone of his laughter with me feels… more intimate? Is that the word I’m looking for?
“I wasn’t being condescending. I’m actually referring to my experience when I was your age. I thought I knew what I wanted to do until I did something else and realized that I was wrong.Thisis what I love to do. This is where I’m happy. It takes a variety of experiences in your life to find that thing sometimes, and you’re not eighty. You have time to experience exactly what youdon’twant to do, which will narrow down what youdowant to do.”
“What if I never find something that I’m passionate about?” I ask. My tone is quiet, voicing a fear I haven’t shared out loud until now.
“You know what your jobs up to this point have in common?” Laiken asks.
I shake my head.
“Customer service. I think you can rule that off your dream job list.”
“Huh. Yeah, okay.”
“So maybe your next step is exploring careers that have nothing to do with dealing with the public at all.”
My chest feels tight for a second, and I close my eyes to take a few deep breaths. This is the first time I’ve had a conversation about my future, and it feels like someone is truly listening to me and making suggestions based on what I’ve expressed. My mother doesn’t actually care what I do as long as I’m working. My dad is much better, but he’s always asking if I’ve thought about school or work since coming home from my disastrous college failure.
I think it’s made me feel… maybe even more like a failure. I didn’t leave college because I flunked. I know that. But dropping out is still dropping out.
Laiken doesn’t sound like everyone else, though. He’s the first person who’s made a suggestion thatfeelshopeful.
My heart beats a little harder.
Chapter Fourteen
LAIKEN
May
Lie stepsin front of my glass doors and raises his hand to knock. His hand hovers when he sees me standing against the counter, waiting for him. He smirks.
I nod, giving him permission to enter. Lie slides the door open and steps inside, closing it behind him. “You know you can just come in, right?”
“What if you have company?” he asks. “I don’t want to walk on anything I’d rather not see.”
I roll my eyes. “Uh-huh. Ready?”
Lie nods. “Take me to work, chaperone.”
We walk through my house to the front door. In reality, he’d been ready to be on his own at work for quite a while. Even before our conversation the other night, I hadn’t intended to schedule him for a shift without me. I’d lose my mind at home thinking about all those thirsty men trying to get into his pants.
No one is getting into his pants but me.
