Page 39 of Finding My Forever

“NYU.”

Suddenly, I was smiling with him. “You don’t say.”

He shrugged and turned back around, and we kept walking.

“You know, Liam. You may have solved in a few minutes what I’ve been wondering for years.”

He gave me a cocky smile, but I shook my head and playfully shoved him. “Don’t let it get to your head.”

“Are you guys coming or what?” Sophia shouted from the corner. We were almost a full block behind them.

Liam waved them ahead. “We’ll catch up at the station.”

“Have you always been into acting?”

We passed a cute shop with fresh cut flowers for sale, and I admired the white hydrangea as we passed. What would it be like to live here? The thought wasn’t something I considered at any other school I visited. Maybe that was a sign.

“My mom had me in theater classes since I was little. I had my first acting job as a baby. I was actually in a few Broadway products when I was younger.”

Holy cow. This guy was serious.

“That’s amazing.”

He shrugged. “They were never major roles, but it gave me a taste of what it would be like, and that’s been my goal ever since.”

“So, you don’t want to do TV or movies?”

“No. I love the connection to an audience live theater give me too much.”

I could hear the passion in his voice and I craved the same thing. As much as I enjoyed writing, I didn’t talk about it the way he talked about acting. Maybe it was because I hadn’t focused on it enough, or maybe I hadn’t been inspired like he had.

I looked up the street and thought about all I’d seen so far in the city. This was a place where I could find inspiration. There’s no way someone could live here with the energy and life of the city infecting them. Plus, I hadn’t eaten so well in years. The restaurants and bakeries actually catered to me. It was freeing.

I couldn’t get too excited though. My main mission was finding out more about Liam.

“So, you were a theater kid in high school?”

“I went to a performing arts school, so we all kind of were. Well, I guess some of the musicians and dancers wouldn’t fall into that category.”

“You went to a performing arts high school?”

He met my eyes with just a hint of confusion. “Yeah. Is your school not specialized?”

We were talking two different languages. “No, I go to a normal school.”

“A public school?” His voice was a mix of shock and maybe a bit of horror.

“Yeah.” I didn’t see what the big deal was. Didn’t most kids?

What he said about his childhood started clicking into a place. He was a child actor, he was from Boston, he was on Broadway, went to a private school, and was now at NYU. All of this added up to a very wealthy family. One that focused on his success from the time he was born. A tiny part of me was jealous, but the vast majority felt bad for him. What normal experiences had he missed out on?

“I guess I’m just used to other people going to…” He paused and seemed to be thinking. “Never mind.”

“No, you can say it.”

He reached up and rubbed the side of his face. “It’s just. The people that go to NYU have been training in their major for years. They’re passionate about what they do and they’ve had the best possible teachers get them ready.”

I waited for him to continue. I wasn’t going to participate until he revealed everything he was thinking.