“I’m not really a numbers kind of guy. Everyone expected Noah to be the one involved in the company anyway, so I dragged my feet.”
I couldn’t tell if this meant Ethan didn’t want any part of it, or if he didn’t think the family wanted him. “Did youwantto be involved in the company?”
Ethan mock shuddered. “Definitely not. Too much responsibility.”
I shot him a look. “Come on.”
“What?”
“I just told you I don’t buy your ‘I’m a carefree goof and nothing more’ vibe.”
Surprise flickered across his face, and he gave me a somewhat twisted smile. “Everyone else does.”
“I guess everyone else doesn’t see how hard my dad works you, then.”
“Thanks.” He paused. “Okay, maybe…I didn’t want to disappoint anyone? I wouldn’t have been good at the job, and my family would have been disappointed in me, and I—I didn’t want to be a failure, you know?”
His words squeezed at my chest. “I don’t think you could be a failure to your family.”
“Yeah, well. I’m not driven the way they are. I can’t sit still for nine hours a day and look at Excel and have it make sense.” He shook his head, like he was shaking the whole thing off. The wind off the sea was strong, and we both briefly shivered in a particularly cold gust. “Your dad did stuff I like—he goes out on the water, explores, experiments—and he has so much energy, you know? I knew as soon as we talked I wanted to work with him.”
I wanted to say his family should appreciate him, should understand there were different ways of being smart, but Ethan wasn’t the one who needed the lecture. “My dad says you’re majoring in archaeology.”
Ethan brightened. “Yeah. It’s all about answering questions and figuring out how people work. And it’s outdoorsy and active and makes you think.”
“It sounds perfect.”
“It kind of is.” He wrapped his arms around his knees and directed his words to them, a little quietly. “Are we good, after last night?”
I flashed back to yelling at him and crying on the roof walk, and gave him a wry smile. “I should probably be the one asking you.”
“I just…I don’t want you to think I’m trying to take your place with your dad. He clearly adores you.”
I looked out at the ocean, swallowing. “Thanks.”
“And…I want us to be friends. It’s nice, talking to you. I don’t feel pressure. I dunno. Maybe it’s because to you, I’m your dad’s assistant instead of a Barbanel? It feels like youexpectme to be smart.”
It hurt my heart a little, the way he described other people’s view of him. I didn’t want to let on though; I didn’t think he’d respond well to pity. “Like I said, my dad thinks you’re brilliant. So you must be.”
He smiled, broad and honest and innocent, and for the first time, I felt like there was no pretense between us, no walls or games or angles. Just a girl and a boy, on a beach, in the night, breathing in the salty, cool air.
“Hey, Ethan.” A girl stood before us, with a pointed, elven chin, wide eyes, and short dark hair. “Good to see you.”
In a split second, Ethan switched his attention to the girl, focusing on her like a spotlight on a Broadway star. “Dawn. You look great.”
Irritation spiked through me, which was a bad sign. I shouldhave been relieved by the interruption. I shouldn’t have wanted to throw sand at this girl’s face. This was a good reminder: Ethan didn’t likeme, he liked flirting. And I didn’t want to fall for someone like that this summer. Or ever again.
“Thanks.” She took a step closer. “How was your semester?”
“It was good, yeah. Yours?”
“Great.”
They smiled at each other, and Dawn’s gaze darted to me expectantly, then back to Ethan. “Okay, well, maybe I’ll see you later.”
“Yeah. Totally.”
She walked away, ruffling her hair, and I watched Ethan watch her go. I spoke lightly. “I think you were supposed to introduce us.”
