“What’re you, a cop?” He grins and brings his cup to his lips.
I take his peace offering. “What if I am?” I challenge. “What if I’m a criminal justice major who’s just taking a business course for her independent elective?”
Jake gives me a questioning glare, and a smile plays on his lips. “Did you just make that up?”
I shrug. “Maybe.”
“You’re not a criminal justice major,” he says knowingly.
“How doyouknow?”
Jake’s lips twist into a sideways grin. “Well, for one, you don’t give off ‘law-abiding citizen’ vibes. You have more of a ‘take no shit, bulldoze my way if I have to’ approach, which is more detective than anything, so I guess youcouldbe a criminal justice major.” He pauses a moment before continuing. “But you’re nice. Like bleeding heart nice,” he adds. For some reason, it doesn’t seem like an afterthought.
An anxious bubble bursts in my belly. I can’t explain it, but his words leave me feeling vulnerable and exposed. I’m not quite sure what to do with it.
“What’s two?” I ask, because clearly, I want to suffer more in this newfound sensation.
“Huh?”
“You said ‘for one.’ What's two?”
“Oh.” He repositions himself in his wooden chair. He shrugs. “You’re just not.”
“You don’t even know me,” I say, and immediately, I hate how defensive I sound. Jake dismisses it entirely.
“I’m not saying I do. It was just a feeling,” he says lightly, not accusatory at all.
I want to shake off the stunned part of me that’s lost in the truth of his words, but I can’t seem to manage.
“Are you good at reading people or something?”
“Why?” He smirks. “Did I get you right?”
“No,” I lie, which only deepens his smirk.
“I used to be good at it.” His expression falls before his eyes trail away. “Or… I thought I was, I guess. I don’t know. Haven’t met anyone worth reading in a while, so…maybe it’s back.” He takes a sip of his coffee and looks out the large window.
A mix of emotion envelops me, making me uneasy. Confusion and sadness fill me, swimming with a flattered little thrill. It sparks a curiosity I probably shouldn’t follow.
“What’s your story, Jake?”
His eyes meet mine again, void of the playfulness they held. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, what’s your story? Who are you? Why are you here?”
He pauses for a moment, his eyes burning holes into mine. “Those are pretty loaded questions for a guy you just met.” He sits back into his chair and spins his cup in his hands.
“Well, like you said, I’m a no-nonsense kind of girl. Any good partnership thrives off getting to know one another—”
“It’s atemporarypartnership,” he clarifies.
“Still a partnership,” I confirm.
A challenging silence falls between us, and I watch as he tries to decide whether he should answer me or not.
“Fine.” He releases a breath. “I’m here to get a business degree in hopes of working at some high-level investment bank after. I was supposed to graduate in May. I was working through a paid internship here in Austin and had one lined up at Stratford Financial, but I got…distracted, so things didn’t work out. Now I’m here trying to fix it.”
I let his words sit between us before I fill the space with more. I can tell he’s let down by his own choices. Maybe even more than that. I don’t want to put a damper on his day, but I can’t help the aching curiosity that has me wanting to know everything about him.
