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“Surprisingly, no,” I admit. “Also, I had fun today.”
Jameson’s hands tighten on the wheel. “Did you?”
The temperature in the SUV skyrockets, though Jameson hasn’t touched any of the controls. I have the same feeling I get at the height of my routine, when it’s time to let go of the hoop and trust that it will be there, when the entire audience holds their breath and waits to see if I’ll fall.
And I never do.
I never fall.
“Yeah. You looked hot.”
He exhales. “You looked hot, too. I wonder how the photos turned out.”
“I bet they’re going to be the best photos we’ve ever seen of ourselves.”
“You think August was that good?”
“I know he was.”
“Oh?” We’re slowly, inevitably heading for the highway. “Do you know him from somewhere?”
“No. Gabriel got his name from Hades.”
Jameson shakes his head and peers at me for a second, then looks back at the road. “Was I high for that conversation?”
“Probably, if you don’t remember it.”
“I don’t.”
“Too bad. It was cute. Mason got really disgruntled about Gabriel asking Hades for a recommendation.”
Jameson laughs out loud, a new wave of warmth moving through the SUV. “He would. He’s a possessive bastard. Probably thought Gabriel was stepping on his toes.”
“He’s taken their family pictures before. Apparently, he’s one of the best natural light photographers in the state.”
He scoffs. “If that’s where Gabriel got the recommendation from, he’s the best natural light photographer in the country. Or the world.”
“I’ve heard…” The highway entrance appears up ahead, and Jameson puts on his blinker and merges onto it. “I’ve heard that natural light is trendy for photographers.”
“That’s because you can get much better photos in natural light.”
“Did you learn that in your photography degree?”
He laughs again, quieter this time. “No, I learned it on the Internet. And Nate and Lydia go to an arts-focused high school, so they’re constantly coming around with art facts.”
“That’s cool.”
“Art facts?”
“An arts high school. Maybe if I’d gone to one of those, maybe I’d have…I don’t know. Maybe I’d have taken a different life path.”
Jameson shrugs. “Maybe. Maybe not. People go to law school with all kinds of backgrounds. You might have decided to become a lawyer even if you were also really good at charcoal sketches.”
“No, I wouldn’t have.” That weird excited-hope feeling is back, though nothing’s happened to give me a burst of excited hope. If anything, I should be sad. Is that all it would have taken to change everything? “I would’ve done something else. I couldstilldo something else.”
The feeling crashes down.
“But that would mean throwing away everything else I’ve done. All of that would have been for nothing.”
