Page 2 of Infinite as They Come
“No.”
“Tell me.”
“You’re so annoying,” I said with a giggle, but then his lips were back on mine, kissing me so softly and slowly and deeply that it had me sighing right against him and tugging at his blazer.
“I don’t wanna do anything bad to you,” he said against my lips. “I just wanted to say how proud I am of you, honey. I know this whole night is for you, and you deserve it. You worked so hard the last three years. School and the paper and cheer and everything. Look at you. My hard working girl. I’m so lucky you’re mine…”
I blushed a little more at his words, getting lost in the feeling of his broad chest pressed right up against me. “Thank you. It feels so strange to be done with school forever. Now I have to enter the real world… Scary, right?”
Sawyer hugged me tight, my face pressed right up against his chest so I couldn’t escape. “Aw, my poor spoiled princess is gonna get her first job,” he cooed, peppering the top of my head with kisses. “What’s she gonna do?”
“Hey.” I laughed, the sound all muffled. “I can handle a job.”
“I’m just joking.” He pulled away from me. “You’re my smart girl. I know you can handle it. And I’m excited for you. You’re gonna do so good no matter what you do. I’m real lucky I get to watch you do it.”
His words made me smile, but they also left me feeling scattered brained for a second or two. I had starting getting offers for journalist roles towards the end of my final semester. The New York Times, The New Yorker, Vogue. Places I had always thought I’d look to when school was finally over and done with, but all I could think about was how unappealing it all sounded. Stuck in a skyscraper? Five days a week? Shoulder to shoulder with a too big crowd? It sounded suffocating, and after three years in New York, there was zero allure to it.
I had turned down those offers. It felt selfish and slightly self-indulgent, but none of those roles made me thinkyes, I’d like to do this for the rest of my life.Every part of me was ready to say goodbye to the city and hello to something different and quieter and more peaceful—to the next chapter of my life with Sawyer. But I set those thoughts aside as he pecked my lips.
“How about we go back out there, huh?” Sawyer asked, fingers interlocking with mine. “Your parents are definitely gonna think I’m doing something to you in here…”
I let him guide me out of the tiny closet and back down the hallway, and soon we were stepping inside the private dining room of the restaurant. I had been to Vue de la Lumière plenty of times, but tonight was a little different. It felt like everyone’s heads were turning when me and Sawyer stepped back into the room, our hands still clasped together as we walked back to the table.
“What were you two doing, hm?” my best friend asked, pointing the spoon in her hand my way. “You were gone for a little while…”
“Nothing,” I said as I sat down.
“Your cheeks are super red.”
“They’re not.” My head turned to Sawyer, playfully narrowing my eyes at him. “Look at what you did.”
“I won’t tell anyone,” Annie said, tossing her dark curls over her pale shoulder.
“What did I miss?” I asked, eager to change the subject.
“I stole that last bit of your dessert. My bad,” she said, giving me a little grin. “That soufflé was something else.”
“You deserve a reward after all your hard work. Did I mention that I read that article about you again this morning?”
“Yes.” She licked her spoon. “Like, a hundred times.”
Annie had just finished up a beautiful performance ofManon: playing the starring role and doing such a good job that half the show’s review was dedicated to her. She deserved every last bit of that praise.
“It was barely a few hundred words,” she said. “And theymisspelled my last name.”
My head shook. “There’ll be many more reviews to come, I’m sure. With correct spellings this time. New York will be lucky to have you.”
She perked up in her seat suddenly. “I’m gonna miss all the beaches in California, but I can’t wait to go.”
Unlike me, Annie was ready to embrace the city. With school finished now, she’d be moving to the East Coast in a few months and already had audition after audition lined up.
“You’re gonna have the best time,” I said.
“But I’m gonna be competing with so many other dancers now. I don’t wanna get eaten alive.” She shoved her spoon into her mouth, her words getting all muffled. “I’m too young to get eaten alive.”
I shook my head with a laugh. “Don’t be a drama queen.”
“Oh, you need to teach me how to hail a cab before I leave, by the way. I need to get louder before I go. Sawyer,” she said, leaning forward to look at him, “how do I do that?”
