“Well, if I find a good job, we might continue living here after you kick it.”
“Flynn!” Zoya smacks a hand over her mouth, eyes wide, flitting between me and her grandma.
Juni throws her head back in a belly laugh. “I like this one, Zoya.”
“Ya know,” I say, “I’m kind of an expert at keeping people alive. I’m a professional muse.”
“Stop.” Zoya giggles.
Juni’s eyebrows lift. “Tell me more.”
“How do you feel about cats?” I ask.
“What kind of cat?”
I shrug. “Dunno until we check out the shelter. In my expert experience, you don’t choose the cat; the cat chooses you.”
Zoya twists her body, caressing one cheek before kissing the other. Her eyes sparkle when she looks at me and grins. “This is so big,” she whispers.
The next morning, I sneak out of Zoya’s room, as if her parents don’t know I checked out of the hotel yesterday, and I’m sleeping in her bed until we find a place.
“You’re a jogger too. Good to know,” Bodhi says, catching me just as I open the front door. He’s in shorts and tennis shoes too as he comes down the stairs. “We can chat,” he says resting his hand on my shoulder for a second.
I don’t know if I should trust his smile or not.
“This way.” He nods to the right and starts jogging.
I follow him.
“I understand you don’t want to live this lifestyle. And I respect that,” he says. “I didn’t want it either.”
We veer to the right on a dirt trail that goes up into the hills.
“But then we got Zoya, and that girl has loved music her whole life. So I joined the family business to take this journey with my daughter. I don’t know what will happen between the two of you, but we are team Zoya. If she wants to live in Minneapolis and ride around the city on a bike, we support that. If she wants to travel the world, playing sold-out concerts, we support that. If she wants to fall in love with you and have a family?—”
“You support that,” I say, not trying to interrupt him. But, dude, I get the point.
He chuckles, looking over at me. “Yes. The question is, do you?”
“Of—”
“And before you answer,” he interrupts me. “Just know that it’s okay if you have aspirations that don’t align with Zoya’s. Henna and I spent time apart because our needs and desiresdidn’t align. Holding on because you’re afraid of losing someone, isn’t good. Giving up your dreams for someone else’s, also isn’t good. But I can promise you, Zoya needs music like she needs air.”
We jog around another corner. It’s a winding trail.
“Can I be honest with you?”
He laughs. “I expect nothing less.”
“I have no idea what I’m doing.”
“And?”
“Nope. Noand.” I shake my head. “That’s it.”
Bodhi slows to a stop, a little out of breath as he steps to the side to stretch his quads and hamstrings.
I do the same. “Here’s what I know,” I say. “I know I love your daughter. I know there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for her or to protect her. Beyond that, I don’t know what comes next. I’m terrified of fuck—” I clear my throat. “Messingup. What if something happens to Juni? What if Zoya does want to play music with her band again? Can I find a job? I don’t know what she’s told you about my past, but I don’t have a clean record, so getting a job could be a challenge.”
