Page 26 of Wish Lists and Road Trips

I was well aware that I’d never even lived by myself, let alone been responsible for the upkeep of a whole house, but the night I decided to leave Sean, I looked around my life and realized I had nowhere to run to. Nothing that was just mine. The idea of this house being some sort of refuge had taken root in my brain. And once my parents saw that I could do this, it might even make up for the broken engagement.

Besides, it was a big chunk of change I was getting. Investing it in real estate was a smart move. Wasn’t that Nick’s wholejob?

Nick nudged me and I realized I’d been staring at the same eye shadow palette for longer than I should have.

He pressed his thumb to my bottom lip, popping it out from between my teeth. “I’m not trying to tell you what to do,” he said softly. “I just meant that I know a little bit about it. If you want any advice, I’m here. We’ll keep in touch, okay?”

I smiled. “Okay. Thank you.”

He kept walking. “You’re young, Brit. You have plenty of time to have it all.”

“Okay, old man.” I rolled my eyes at his subtle rank-pulling, but I sort of liked the idea of having someone to bounce ideas off of. An ally. Someone who’d done this type of thing.

I’d been growing my blog and socials for over a year now. I was confident in the world of follower counts and web traffic. And I’d gotten a bunch of contacts through my job for makeup gigs. I’d been hired for proms and special events, even some weddings. But running an actual physical space was a whole new world. Something Nick seemed to be somewhat of an expert in.

I opened my wallet and found one of the mock-up business cards I’d made, smiling at the illustrated sketch of a woman’s profile, the sprawling font over a smudge of pink meant to look like blush. The aesthetic matched my blog but there was a place at the bottom for a real address, and I had printed the credentials I’d have when I graduated next month after my name.

I slipped it into Nick’s hand.

He studied it, then glanced at me, his cheek twitching into a smile. “It’s the same color as your hair.”

“Be the brand, Nicky.” I held my hand out but he put the card in his pocket. “Do you really want to know what made me decide to do this? Likereallydo it.”

He nodded, eyes serious.

“When I first got the job at the mall, it was just that—a job. I needed money and I wanted to get away from my life, especially Sean. It was a few months before I noticed it, but there was a woman who would come in at least once a week, sometimes more. One day, she told me she lived at a women’s shelter and every time she had a job interview, she’d come there to get her makeup done for free by me because she wanted to look like her old self. Before things went bad for her.

“I started teaching her things when she would come in, different techniques. That’s how I realized I was good at that part. I posted some tutorials and recommendations on Instagram, and people liked them, so I started the blog. I even got paid partnerships with a couple of different lines and it helped me pay for school. Hair and makeup at first, then I added electives and made sure my training was well-rounded. It was the first time I realized that it wasn’t just rich people and fancy parties who I could help.”

Everyone deserved some of the power that came from looking the way you felt inside. Sometimes I wondered if that power was exactly what Sean and my parents hated about me having this business.

Nick looked down at me, a smile lifting one side of his face. It felt a little like respect, that smile, and I slipped it on like a crown.

“You don’t think it’s silly?” I asked.

“No, Brit. I don’t think any of that is silly.”

I hooked my arm through his again, beaming.

We rounded the corner to the men’s aisle and I bit my tongue as Nick picked out some shampoo/body-wash combination, as if those two things were remotely the same. I picked up a stick of men’s deodorant, giving it a sniff. I read the name, smiling. Rock Solid. That about sums him up.

I held it up to his nose and he nodded for me to throw it in the basket when my phone vibrated from my bra. I pulled it out.

“Hi, Daddy.”

“Bridget. Where are you?”

I balanced the phone on my shoulder and picked up a bottle of Axe body spray, wiggling my eyebrows. Nick made a face and I giggled. “Um, Louisiana? Maybe.”

“Louisiana?” My father’s sharp tone wiped the smile from my face. “You were supposed to be home. We have things to discuss, young lady.”

Nick slid his arm out from mine and took a few steps ahead to avoid eavesdropping.

“Missing the ship was an honest mistake. And—”

“So you decided to extend the vacation I’m paying for by taking the long way home?”

I shrank at the accusation. “I could hardly help the blizzard.”

---