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I wait for the joke, but it never comes. He’s actually serious. “No.”
“Okay.” Tossing the ball up, he starts juggling it between his feet.
“Shouldn’t you be resting for the hike tomorrow?”
He yelps a laugh. “No one has ever been able to wear me out. I can go forever.” The look he gives me, under long, dark eyelashes, makes it impossible to know if he intended the double entendre. “You’re coming, right?”
“Avery tells me I don’t have a choice.”
The ball lands in his palm with aslapand he studies me up and down. “Do you hike in a suit?”
“I don’t own anything else.”
His cheeks dimple, giving away the smile he’s trying to hide. “Fair enough.”
The endless pulse of nighttime insects stretches out between us. He’s still breathing hard, close enough that I could reach out and drag my fingers down through the sweat in the hollow of his throat. He tips his head, starts to say something, then stops. For the first time, his eyes look uncertain.
“Jonah!” his friend yells from the field. “Hurry up!”
He takes a step back, then hesitates. “You should give Sophie an internship.”
“Who?”
“She’s my—my friend. The smartest person in our class. Or you could pick Elliott, I guess. Or Brady. He’s the guy that won’t shut up about torts. Any of them would kill to work for you.”
“Desperation isn’t a virtue.”
He cocks his head, confused. They don’t teach that in school, quite the opposite. “Give them a chance,” he protests. “They’re all going to become great lawyers.”
“What about you?”
His shoulders tense. “What about me?”
“Do you not deserve a chance?”
He studies the ball under his arm, picking off bits of grass and flicking them onto the ground. “I know lawyers like to twist people’s words, but you’re off the clock, right?”
Jabs at my profession are so familiar that I don’t even react. Finally, his body relaxes. “Sorry.” A slow, impudent smile tugs at his face. “I don’t know if anyone told you, but I can be a very rude person. It’s nice to meet you, sir.”
“A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mr. Scott.”
He pretends to throw the ball at me, watching me fumble to catch it, then spins around and darts away.
