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His hands land on my shoulders, stopping my bout of word vomit. Nico tilts his forehead toward me and takes a deep breath.
On the second round, I join him for a relaxing inhale.
“Can I ask you something that might annoy you?”Nico asks.
“Sure.”
His eyebrows furrow as though he’s pondering the great mystery of life. “Why are you going to college?”
I pause at his question. “Um, I guess I like learning even if the entire structure of school is overwhelming. Besides, it’s just something I have to do.”
“I don’t think anyoneneedsto do anything.” He smiles at me, genuine interest sparkling in his eyes.
I can’t tell him the real reason, it’ll leave me too exposed.
Sorry, Little Lily, but I need to be with someone who has a plan for their life and you…well, without that, what value do you bring?
Chuck’s voice rings in my mind as loud and clear as it did all those years ago.
The fucking asshole has made me question my worth every step of the way.
Nico’s mouth slopes downward, and I’m realizing I hate it when the sunshine leaves his face.
“It’s a way for me to truly make something of myself,” I finally offer.
“You’ve already made something of yourself. You’re here, aren’t you? All in one piece.”
“Merely existing isn’t exactly a valuable currency.”
“Terrible perspective.”Is it?“Look, I’m not trying to stress you out or cause an existential crisis or anything, but maybe you don’t need to go to college. I mean, I dropped out and turned out fine.”
A sardonic grunt clips out of me. “Because you have a passion. I, on the other hand, feel like I was thrown into the driver’s seat of an adulthood car without any directions to the place everyone seems to be going.”
“Damn, Lil, very heavy.” Nico’s gaze follows a pair of tourists leaving a bench. We scramble to get the empty spot. “But everyone has obstacles. I mean, have you met my brother?”
“Yeah, I think he married my best friend,” I tease. “His name is Luca, right?”
He can’t help but laugh. “Watch it. That sarcasm is going to earn you a firm smack on the ass.” I try to ignore the twinge of excitement weaseling its way back into me as we sit down on the bench. “But seriously, my family was crushed when I dropped out of college. A long line of lawyers on my dad’s side and a mother who’s this genius architect. I was supposed to follow in their footsteps. I had it all planned out, entertainment law. It was definitely the coolest-sounding option out of all of them.”
“What? I had no idea.”
Nico shrugs. “In the grand scheme of things, it was a small blip in my life. I gave it a try but loathed it. Like you said, the structure didn’t work for me.”
Hmm. “Almost as if it’s not always one-size-fits-all.”
I wish someone had helped me understand that a few years ago because college makes me feel like I’m doing the right thing: ticking off the box everyone is supposed to. But it’s nearly impossible to not compare myself to others. Even if we’re all walking down a different road. I simply don’t havemy thingfigured out yet.
“Exactly. But I only fell in love with coding when I met my Flight Falcon cofounder. I’d spend hours teaching myself how to solve different problems and build things.”
“You’re lucky.” I open the water bottle I’ve been holding onto since my piggyback ride. “I wish it was that easy for me to make money doing what I love.”
Is passion meant to be hard to come by? Does it creep up on you when you least expect it?
“Iamlucky.” Nico takes the water from me, drains it, and passes the bottle back.Damn, I wanted some more of that.“Going to college is important. It just didn’t fit me. I wouldn’t have known if I hadn’t tried it on for size, but I was restless. I needed to travel.” Nico grins. “Right now, I have the freedom to create without having to manage others. Only responsible for myself.”
I smile at his honesty. “You, in charge of people? You’re right. Very scary.”
“Hey, I could do it if I wanted to.”
