Page 193 of Defend Me

“I talked to my dad about something,” he murmured.

“I told you that you don’t need the nose job.”

He squeezed me tight enough to be painful. “Attitude isn’t always required.”

“That’s a lie.” Turning around in his arms, I held onto either side of his neck. “What’d you talk to him about?”

“The future.”

I felt a little nervous about those words. It was a remnant of all the time that thoughts of the future were scary. Things weren’t great with his mom, but he texted her sometimes. When she asked to talk to him on the phone, he said he wasn’t ready. The biggest thing was that she hadn’t apologized still. I had no idea what would happen, especially since his parents were separated right now. We weren’t sure which direction that’d go in either.

There was still some uncertainty about everything, but we were going to navigate it all together. That was all I cared about.

“After this school year, I start the law program,” he went on. “And I want to go into it knowing exactly where I’m heading.”

“It’s sort of early to know what’s gonna happen. I mean, I know we’re going to New York, but…”

“We don’t have to. I’ve told you that.”

“Yeah, but I’m okay with it. I like big cities and that’s where your life is.”

“My life is with you,” he said, stroking my cheek. “We can still go there if that’s what we decide, but that’s not what this is about.”

“If you don’t tell me what it’s about, I’m gonna get nauseous.”

“I want to study something else.”

My mouth dropped open. “You don’t want to go to law school?”

“Are you crazy? Of course, I do. But not for corporate law.”

“Um, okay. I don’t understand. That’s what your dad does. How are you gonna be a part of his firm if you don’t do that?”

“I won’t be. After our sociology project and hearing you talk about what you want to do, I started thinking about how I want to live my life, who I want to serve. Corporate law isn’t going to make me feel fulfilled. I want to do something good.”

My chest felt tight as I listened to him. Something had lit up in his eyes as he spoke, a glow that had gradually been appearing more.

“So, what are you gonna do?” I asked.

“I was thinking regulatory law. It sounds boring, I know, but I could be involved in social services and represent people who need it. Maybe eventually, I can help implement regulations in government agencies.”

“Jesus. That’s…”

He bit his lip and looked to the side. “Is it a dumb idea?”

“How would it be a dumb idea? I’m just surprised. It’s a lot different than what you had planned and it sounds like you put a lot of thought into it.”

“I wouldn’t consider it if I hadn’t.”

“Won’t you make way less money?” I asked.

“Sure, but it’ll still be a lot if I’m good at it. Between the two of us, we’ll have plenty of money to live, baby. Also, I have a trust fund, so I don’t think money is a factor.”

With a laugh, I trailed my fingers down his chest. “So, we’ll kind of be in the same realm.”

“Sorta, in some cases. It would involve a lot more than that, but it’s all a bunch of boring shit I won’t go on about.”

“Go on about it. I’ll always listen to you.”

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