Page 46 of Infatuated as They Come
“Are you gonna stay in New York?” I asked.
Claudia shook her head. “I came to Columbia because I kinda just wanted to experience the city, you know? But when I’m done here I’m probably gonna head on back to Boston where I can teach full time. Are you guysgonna come visit my studio when you’re all done with college?”
“You’re gonna go bankrupt in a month.” Natalie snorted. “I bet you’ll give everyone free classes.”
“I’m not gonna give free classes!” Claudia pouted. “Just really, really cheap classes. I want everyone to be able to participate. Either way, I’m definitely going back home, because as much as I love New York, I can’t be away from my family forever. It’s way too hard.”
“I get you,” I said. “I miss my parents too. Even my dad, as annoying as he can be…”
“What’s his deal?” Sophie asked.
“Um…” Where did I even begin? “I mean, maybe I’m exaggerating. He’s a good dad most of the time, but…”
“But?” Natalie raised her eyebrows up at me.
“He kinda hates my boyfriend,” I said, and the girls all collectively groaned.
“All dads are like that,” Claudia said. “This is why I’ve never had one, I just know my dad is gonna run him off or something.”
“Why doesn’t your dad like him?” Natalie asked.
“Uh… We just… We come from two very different worlds.” How did I say it without coming across as snobbish? “I mean, I come from a very… privileged background, and Sawyer…”
“Doesn’t?” Natalie finished off my sentence for me.
I nodded. “Yeah, pretty much.”
“Oh.” Sophie’s brows pulled together. “Really? Your dad cares about that?”
“Yeah, a lot,” I muttered. “He’s obsessed with the idea of me ending up with some rich guy instead of the one I’m very much in love with.”
“That’s dumb,” Claudia said. “You seem really happy. Doesn’t he care about that?”
“You’d think that would be enough for him, but apparently not.”
Sophie scoffed. “Your dad kinda sounds like a loser. No offense.”
“None taken in the slightest. Where were you guys last year?” I sighed deeply. “You would have made excellent backup.”
Claudia gave her head a shake. “This is why I don’t date. Boys complicatethings no matter how much money they have.”
Soon the gym was packed with the rest of the team, and we finished up with our stretches before taking on a pretty strenuous early morning cheer practice session. An hour and a half flew by before I was left saying goodbye to the girls so I could head on over to my Media Ethics class.
When midday hit and I had my break, I waited for that call from Sawyer to come through. He ended up texting me instead, telling me he’d call in a little bit, but a good half hour passed by, and I still wasn’t hearing his voice.
It wasn’t his fault. I knew how busy he was. I just wished he understood that he didn’thaveto be so busy. That it was okay to take it easy, to not work so much, to just put himself first.
At least I got ahold of his cousin. Brodie had just sent through a whole bunch of photos of the dorm room he was sharing with Lucas. I asked him if he was free to talk, and a second later, I was hearing his cheerful voice. I got to hear about all the fun things he was getting up to in Boston. His classes and the new job he got at a restaurant and the clubs he joined. When our call came to an end my phone went off in my hand, and I looked down to see a message from Sawyer.
Really busy here today. Will talk to you tonight. Love you so much.
I didn’t expect Sawyer to drop everything for me just to have a quick conversation, but the words made me frown, because I knew he was pushing himself harder than he needed to. He wasn’t used to slowing down or putting himself first. It was the opposite—doing it all alone was what he was accustomed to. The thought had me chewing at my bottom lip. I knew he was used to having to fight for himself in every which way, and it seemed like it was a habit he wasn’t going to let go of easily. He didn’t have to carry everything on his shoulders. I just wished he’d get that.
* * *
Chin in my hand, I tapped my fingers against my cheek as I eyed the clock.Maybe if I stared at it long and hard enough I could speed up time and finally see my boyfriend.
Sitting in front of me were two plates of spaghetti puttanesca—both of which had gone cold now. The smell of garlic and tomatoes was getting to me, but it would be rude and disrespectful to eat without Sawyer even though I could hear the distinct soft growling of my stomach. I was also dying to tell him the good news: that the studio had finally got back to me and that they loved every last one of his paintings and wanted him to get involved.
