“Wait, you’re not from here?”
I wince. “No. Moved from Colorado.”
“Wow, you’re a long way from home.”
“Oh! No,” I say. “I lived there for a while, but I’m not from there. I grew up in Illinois.”
He leans on his doorframe. “Just not the city.”
“No, not the city.”
He folds his arms, and he seems fully engaged in this conversation. I can’t remember the last time I had a meaningful conversation with a guy.
Oh, wait. I do.
I was in a fountain.
“Are you just, like, popping in and asking for applications?”
I stop. “Is that a bad idea?” My stupid insecurity, and possibly my age, is showing.
He shrugs. “No, not at all. It just depends on what kind of job you want, I guess. Mostly everything’s done online.”
“I’m not looking for a career here,” I say. “Just a job. A coffee shop, retail, or maybe the Lincoln Park Zoo?”
He chuckles. “The zoo?”
“Yeah.” I smile. “It looked kind of fun. And, I don’t know, different.”
“You’re looking for different,” he says. Not a question but a conclusion.
My gaze falls. “I don’t have a lot of work experience. And I...” I look for a way to say something without sayingeverything. “I maybe just don’t know exactly what I want. Yet.”
He seems to consider this. “Hmm. Well, okay then. I’m coming with.”
“What?” I gasp. “No!”
“I’ll just put my shoes on.” He starts to back away. “Don’t leave.”
“You really don’t have to do that!” I call after him.
He disappears inside, leaving me standing there trying to decide if I should wait or run.
I’m thinking the latter.
After all, I’ll be the third woman in the past two days he’s walked to the gate.
Chapter 7
Miles joins in on the job hunt. It’s a little unnerving having him there, but in a way, it breaks the ice everywhere we go.
Because Miles is a people person. He has this easygoing way about him that instantly disarms people, and everyone seems drawn to him. Which is why I shouldn’t be surprised that he also disarms me.
The next day, when I leave my apartment, hehappensto be leaving at the same time and comes along, this time with a list of places I hadn’t thought to apply. We stop for coffee and walk around our neighborhood, and he patiently waits as I fill out job applications in person or online.
Most of the managers in charge of hiring are Minnie’s age, which is its own kind of humiliating, but if Miles is embarrassed for me, he doesn’t say so.
This goes on for the rest of the week, and while most of our conversation is surfacy, I’m getting a sense of who he is. Sort of. And I have to admit to myself that maybe my first impression of him was a little skewed. Biased. Judgy.
