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“It’s a good thing you’re taking that photography gig, then.”
I glared at Andrew with what I hoped was foreboding. As always, he ignored me.
We decided to meet at a lunch spot down the street from his job. I called Cat at soon as I was escorted out of my former job’s building, but she didn’t pick up. As my anxiety ramped up and I was almost in the throes of a panic attack, I called Andrew. He told me to meet him at the lunch spot.
“It wasn’t supposed to be a permanent gig,” I said. “I was supposed to go for a month and come back to this job. Who knows how much this band gig pays. Who knows if I’ll be able to support myself.”
“Weren’t you planning on moving in with Muscle Man anyway?” Andrew asked. I rolled my eyes at the absurd—but accurate—nickname. “You should be set in terms of bills and whatnot. Plus, he’s making corporate money, and he comes from a rich family. You’ll be okay.”
“Yes, but that’s not the point. It wasn’t in the plan.”
“So?”
“So, I can’t just uproot my whole life, Andrew. It doesn’t work that way.”
“Why not?” He sipped his soda. “Give me one good reason why it can’t work that way.”
“It’s chaotic, for one.” I ticked off the reasons on my fingers. “For two, it’s irresponsible. Three, it’s unreliable.”
“Aren’t those all ways to say that you want a life that’s boring and static?”
“No, but safety is at the very foundation of who I am.”
“Is it?” Andrew licked his fingers without a care in the world. “Or is it at the foundation of what you’re told to be?”
I sighed. “The point is, I’m out of a steady job.”
“So now you have to go tour with your favorite band. Sounds like a real problem.”
“It is. What about you? Have you cleared it with your job?”
“Yeah.” He shrugged. “They weren’t too concerned. Still, it’s a good thing Yasmine agreed to pay me to be their social media specialist.”
I sighed again. “Lucky you. You have a job to come home to on top of working on the road.”
“Listen, Ace.” He turned to me. “You’ll be fine. This is what you’re meant to do, remember. Everything else will follow.”
“Okay Deepak Chopra.” I snapped the lid back onto my potato salad. “I’ll see you in the morning, bright and early.” I stood up and stretched. “Time to face Michael.”
“What do you mean you lost your job?” I didn’t think it was possible, but I was almost convinced that Michael’s eyeballs would roll out of his head and onto the table. He shook his head back and forth, as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “How are we gonna pay for your apartment?”
“I’ll talk to the band leader about it tomorrow morning and send you the numbers,” I said. “But really, there’s nothing we can do about it now.”
“I know, but babe, you’re usually much more careful than this.” He looked at me, grimacing. “Why would you look up other jobs on a work computer?”
“I wasn’t thinking about it, okay,” I snapped. I sighed as Michael’s grimace quickly morphed into a frown. “Look, I’m sorry. I’m disappointed in me, too. It was careless and stupid to look at other jobs on a work computer. But we have to deal with this now, so can we talk about what we’re going to do?”
“Well, my job plus whatever my dad can lend us will cover our expenses.” Michael’s eyes moved back and forth as he did the calculations in his mind. “You’ll probably get your first paycheck toward the end of the month, when your rent is due. That’ll be your last rent payment anyway, considering that you were gonna move in with me. We will be fine.” He sighed and ran his hand through his silky strands. “We just don’t have any wiggle room for mistakes or added expenses in the interim.”
I nodded slowly. “I understand. I’m so sorry, Michael. I don’t know what got into me.”
He smiled, patting my shoulder. I tried not to grimace. “It’s okay, babe,” he said. “Things happen. I’ve got it covered.” He puffed out his chest a little. “I’ll take care of it.”
I pressed a kiss to his lips. “I have all the faith that you will,” I said.
