Page 39 of Nerdelicious
“I have an interview next week.” I won’t mention the handful of immediate rejections.
Annabel hits her turn signal, and we drive up a winding road, leading us further into the mountains and toward our destination. “Who is the interview with?”
I shrug. “It’s a temp job. Some marketing firm. I’m not really excited about it, but at least it will give me some experience with phone interviews I can use for the next application.”
A job is a job, right? As long as it pays the bills and I’m no longer beholden to my parents or anyone else. Independent woman, hear me roar and all that. But instead of empowerment and liberation rushing through me, it’s more a trickle of meh. Disappearing somewhere to hide from the inevitable future would be preferable.
Reese settles against her seat, still half turned in my direction. “If you could do anything you wanted, what would it be? If there was nothing to hold you back. No excuses or limits.”
“Well, there is this one position I applied for, but—”
“No buts,” Reese points one finger in the air, “no excuses or limits, remember? So what’s this job?”
I hesitate, gazing out the window at the landscape growing thicker and greener the further we get up into the mountain. “So there’s this company creating a cross country chain of fandom-themed restaurants.”
There’s a long pause and I hold my breath. But I don’t need to worry about it because Annabel and Reese aren’t assholes, unlike someone whose name starts withJand ends inack. Neither are they my parents, worried about having a daughter who has a weird job and no retirement fund.
“Fandom-themed restaurants?” Reese asks. “Like dining with comic- and movie-themed dishes and paraphernalia?”
“Basically, yes. There are already similar venues all over the world. The job would involve researching markets prior to opening to assist design teams with menu creation, and also observing user experiences in action and reporting back to a marketing team.”
“Fred.” Annabel glances at me in the rearview mirror, her voice bright and encouraging. “This is like the perfect career for you.”
“I probably won’t even get an interview. I’m sure it’s competitive.”
“But you would rock this job. You have the restaurant experience, you’re great with people and knowing what they want, and you know everything about everything when it comes to fandoms. It’s totally your jam.”
“Maybe it will work out.” The trees are a blur of green as we zoom up the narrow road.
Wouldn’t that be the perfect thing to shove in Jack’s face? How many times did he mock me for my love of “kid crap”? But the truth was he wanted me to be his beck and call girl. To be fair, he did support us both once he started his job. But at what cost?
“No maybes allowed,” Reese says. “If this is your dream, you should go after it no matter what it takes.”
“Yeah,” Annabel adds. “Don’t make us badger you like we do Beast. Our harassment allotment is full.”
My ears perk up at the mention of my protégé slash former kissing partner. “What are you trying to convince Beast to do?”
Reese glances over at Grace, who’s still sleeping, before she responds, her voice lowered. “We’ve been telling him he should apply to a better culinary school. We’ve been nagging him for months. But he won’t even consider it.”
“He won’t leave his family,” I murmur.
“It’s admirable, and it’s obvious how much he cares for Grace, and how much she depends on him.” Reese shoots a look over at Grace again. “But sidelining your dreams doesn’t do anyone any good. I think that’s only part of it, though. There’s the other minor inconvenience of not being able to speak. He’s never outright brought it up, but I know he thinks it will hinder his chances of success.”
I nod slowly.
“We still have time to convince him. He’s only like, what, eighteen?” Annabel asks.
“Nineteen,” Reese and I say at the same time.
He told me his age right before we... I shake the images out of my head. One more reason it’s a bad idea. He’s nineteen, I’m twenty-two. I’m too old for him. Practically a cougar. Okay, that excuse is weak, it’s only a few years, but still.
“I don’t know.” Reese shifts her focus to Annabel. “You saw how he was when Grace took off last year. He was a wreck. He’ll never leave Grace, or Jude, or any of us if he can help it. We’re his only family.”
“Wait. Grace left? Like ran away?”
Reese and Annabel exchange a glance, and then Reese speaks. “She left where they were living in Valdosta and came here to Blue Falls. Jude and Beast followed. But that’s a long story. And it’s also why she’s promised to stay with Granny and go to school.”
And here’s my opening. “Does it have something to do with what happened when they were kids, like with their parents?”
