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Jake gives me a look. “Wait. So is this what happened? You told him about the job and now you think you need to go chase after it. So he’s mad at you for leaving?”
“No,” I say. “Would you stop trying to guess and just let me finish?”
Jake folds his arms, glaring.
“I told him and he encouraged me to go after it. He said it was a great opportunity.”
Jake gestures. “And?”
“And that’s it!” I snap. “I can’t be mad because he said the only reasonable thing he could say. But the problem is I want him to be unreasonable. I want him to ask me to stay or something. I want him to tell me we made a mistake by calling this thing casual, because we both have real feelings that aren’t casual at all. I want all of it, and I know I can’t ask him because it’s insane.”
“The insane thing is you pretending you care enough about some job to leave this place and go back to New York.”
“What?”
“You’ve never been the type to dream about a career, Andi. You’re all about the moment. You’d be perfectly happy to keep doing odds and ends for Caroline around Frosty Harbor. Or babysitting. Or delivering pizzas. You have never given a shit about careers or money or all that materialistic stuff. You just scrape by enough to pay the bills and enjoy your life. I’ve always admired that about you.”
“Well,” I say, frowning as I turn his words over and ask myself if they’re true. “Even if that’s right, I can’t spend my whole life that way. I mean, at some point I’ve got to grow up and do grown up shit, right?”
“I’m a fucking NHL player, Andi. I’m never going to let you be destitute and on the street. I’ll always have your back, financially and otherwise. It’s why I never correct you when you think you’ve paid me back but still owe me shitloads of money.”
“I do?” I ask. “I’ve always tried to–”
He waves me away and grins. “I want you to be happy. To live your life. To chase after the things that excite you. It’s one of the perks of making this kind of money. I can extend my own good fortune to the people I care about. So if you don’t actually think you want to work this job, then fuck it. Stay here, even if Jesse won’t pull his head out of his ass, which he will.”
“Wait,” I say. “What do you mean, ‘which he will’?”
“I’m going to talk some sense into him.”
“No. Jake, please. You can’t tell him any of what I just said.”
“I won’t. I’m going to strategically and subtly lead him to the proper conclusion. He’ll never know you talked to me.”
I lick my lips. “I don’t know. You’ve never really been the subtle type.”
“I can be so subtle it’ll make your head spin.”
“If my head is spinning, wouldn’t that kind of imply it wasn’t subtle?”
“It implies–” he stops, then looks like his brain hurts, and shakes his head. “Just trust me. I’ll set him straight. It’s what best friends do.”
I know there’s no point in arguing, so I do all I can do and sigh.
“Now go cheer Nolan up. He’s still moping because I gave him a hard time about being a dumbass and getting banged up when we’re off for the holidays. And maybe tell him we all know he’s got the hots for Mia so they can stop pretending they aren’t dating or banging or whatever it is they’re doing.”
I lean to see around the wall to where Nolan is slumped on the couch sadly eating popcorn. He does look pathetic, even with Mia at his side. “Okay,” I say with a half smile.
Jake gives me a little squeeze on the shoulder. “Seriously, Andi. I’ve got you. Okay? Don’t go work some bullshit job you don’t care about because you think you need the money. I’ll never forgive you if you do.” With that, he heads straight to the garage, pulling the door open so I can briefly see Jesse all sweaty in a black t-shirt and shorts. Our eyes meet for a split second before the door closes.
Heart racing, I go to plop down beside Nolan and Mia. “Will you share?” I ask, nodding toward his popcorn.
He brightens. “I tried something a little out-there. It’s like a cinnamon, caramel, and strawberry reduction. Then I thinned it out until it was kind of a glaze and tossed the popcorn.”
“It’s really good,” Mia says.
I take a bite and smile. “Wow,” I say. “Yeah, this is amazing.”
And just like that, Nolan looks perfectly happy.
