“Yeah, so I probably won’t get in.”
“You won’t know until you try.”
He seems invested in this, and I’m not sure why.
I sigh. “But I don’t want to go through telling my parents and everything and then not get in.”
“So don’t tell them.”
I laugh. “You think I should just make the decision to go to law school and not tell my parents? They probably have to cosign my application.”
“I doubt it. You’re an adult. And yeah, you can make the decision without telling anyone.” He picks up his sandwich. “Why don’t you just do it in stages? Start with the LSAT. Study for that, take the test, see whether your score is high enough. Then you can go from there.”
I take a bite out of my sandwich as I let his suggestion settle in my brain. He’s making it sound so easy. As if someone like me can end up going to law school and that’s just how it should be.
He stares at me for a beat, then takes a bite out of his sandwich. He looks so sure of himself. So confident. Even though I know he has worries and concerns, I don’t see any of them right now in his expression while he’s talking about me.
“I guess I could get a study guide. You know, for the LSAT. I could order one and take a look.”
“Right,” he says. “In fact, there’s a store a couple of blocks over on 46th and 5th. We could take a walk when we’re finished here.”
I take another bite of my sandwich to buy some time. Do I really want to do this? I haven’t talked about this with Katherine or Mom,or even really thought it through properly for myself. But I’m just buying a book, right? It’s not like I’m filling in an application form for Fordham.
Hunter is looking at me like he’s waiting for an answer. Like he thinks it’s perfectly normal for us to go to a bookstore together and buy an LSAT study book. Looking into his blue eyes, I start to think it might be perfectly normal too.
“I’ve not had time to think about this properly,” I say on a sigh. “‘But why not seize the pleasure at once?—How often is happiness destroyed by preparation, foolish preparation!’ That’s what my mom would say. Well,shewouldn’t. Jane Austen inEmmawould.”
Hunter shakes his head, incredulous. “I’ve never read any.”
“Really?”
“Nope. But she’s not wrong. Sometimes you have to jump in without thinking too hard.” He wraps up our trash and places it back in the bag our sandwiches came in. “Let’s go get you a book.”
He dumps our trash in the can, and we head east. “I’m going to be working late tonight. But do you want to get drinks later in the week? Or maybe this weekend?”
“So we can send evidence to Katherine?” I ask, enthusiastic. She’d really like to see us spending more time together.
Hunter rolls his eyes. “No, so we can hang out some more. Talk.”
A smile threatens at the corners of my mouth. “Are you asking me out on a date?”
“I guess,” he says, scanning the traffic heading north and watching for the crossing to change.
“A real date?” I ask. “Not a fake date.”
“No, Lucy. A real date.”
“We can do that,” I say.
“Good,” he replies.
“Good,” I tease.
The traffic stops, and he scoops up my hand as we cross the street, on our way to go buy me an LSAT book. I’m not quite sure how Hunterand I got to this point. He’s far from the man I first met, drunk at my parents’ house. He’s kind and supportive and encouraging me to lean into a version of myself thathas potential. I’m not sure if I’ve ever been so happy to be out in the New York sunshine. Holding hands with Hunter.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Hunter
