Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 98909 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 495(@200wpm)___ 396(@250wpm)___ 330(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98909 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 495(@200wpm)___ 396(@250wpm)___ 330(@300wpm)
He sighs. Then his phone chimes, and he picks it up. “Bo seems to think that Luke wanted the internship but didn’t think he could make it work. Bo offered him an unpaid position.”
“Oh.” I feel a pain right between my ribs for Luke. A job he wants but can’t afford? That’s just cruel. “Luke can’t work an unpaid internship. He barely has enough money right now to eat. He works late-night hours every weekend just to make the rent.”
“Isn’t there financial aid for that?” my mother asks.
“He has a full academic scholarship. But it only covers tuition. And his mother calls every couple of weeks asking him for money.”
My father sits back in his chair, a disgusted look on his face. “What kind of mother asks her kid for money?”
“His kind.”
Dad picks up his phone and starts tapping again.
“Honey, at the table?” my mother complains.
“Just a sec,” he says. “I’m telling Bo to offer that kid an actual summer job and one of our corporate studios in Hoboken.”
I wonder if Luke will kill me for interfering? Then again, what difference does it make? He’s not currently talking to me. If he gets this job, he’ll be better off and still not talking to me.
Yup. Worth it.
The waiter puts a plate down in front of me, overflowing with scrambled eggs, two big pancakes with strawberry butter and two thick slices of bacon.
Things are looking up. And let’s face it, everything wrong in my life falls into the category of First World problems.
So I pick up my fork and tuck in.
As we’re finishing breakfast, my mom talks me into visiting the Vermeer exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art with her. “Come on, any good gay son would look at art with his mother.”
I practically spray my coffee on the table. But since my parents are taking my career change—not to mention my sexuality—much better than I thought they would, I agree to go with her anyway.
By the time I get back to Darby, it’s evening already. I climb the stairs to the third floor with the usual amount of trepidation. Lately, I’m always listening for Luke’s key in the lock, so I can accidentally appear on the landing at the same moment.
Subtle of me, I know.
Tonight, though, I hit it just right. Luke is walking out of our bathroom and unable to reach the safety of his closed bedroom door before I arrive. “Hi,” I say quietly.
“Hi.” He jams his hands in his pockets. “If you had anything to do with the job offer I just got, I appreciate it.”
“What job offer?” I say stiffly.
He rolls his amazing dark eyes.
“Fine. Go ahead and yell at me some more. I may have nudged my father into checking into your summer application. But it’s only because I care about you.”
Luke’s gaze drops to the floor. “Thank you,” he says so quietly that I almost can’t hear. “I’m sure I don’t really deserve it.”
And before I can argue, he goes into his room and closes the door.
Two more torturous weeks pass. I’m not someone who gives up easily, but it’s starting to look like this time I don’t have a choice. Luke is still keeping me at arm’s length, and I leave for Chile tomorrow.
It might be time to call it.
“No way,” Annika’s outraged voice exclaims out of the speakerphone. She’s keeping me “company” while I pack for my expedition, and clearly she’s not happy with the conclusions I’ve reached. “You’re not calling it, Keaton. You care about this guy.”
“Yeah, but he doesn’t care about me,” I protest.
She snorts loudly. “Ha! Of course he cares about you. Why else is he avoiding you this hard? He’s running from his feelings.”
I can’t believe we’re even having this conversation, but I can’t deny that it feels nice to talk to someone about it. Judd and I are barely speaking, and while I’m on good terms with Tanner and the others, it’s not like we sit around talking about my newfound gayness.
I’d been nervous as hell the day I told Annika, but she was so immediately supportive that I almost feel stupid for thinking she might not be. She’s my best friend, and her warm response to my news only proves that she’ll always be that.
“Maybe. But it doesn’t change the fact that we’re not together.” I’ve been trying to chip away at Luke’s defenses ever since his arrest, to no avail. He’s a stubborn man, and it’s obvious the events of the last month not only embarrassed him, but sent him right back to his default state of pure distrust.
“I’m leaving tomorrow morning,” I say glumly. “And he hasn’t even said goodbye yet.”
“Yet,” she echoes. “I’m sure he will.”
I’m not sure at all. These days, Luke’s either holed up in the library or working at Jill’s. He’s so determined to keep his distance from me, I wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t come home tonight at all.