Page 73 of After Hours Lectures
“My dad just texted me about a job opportunity. I don’t know any details yet, but it potentially could be a big deal.”
He stood and picked up his plate. “That’s awesome, man. I know you’ve been looking for something after graduation. I hope this works out for you.”
I nodded. “Me too.”
I finished eating dinner and then headed back up to my room. I was lying in bed, scrolling various social media apps, when my phone rang. The call was from an unknown number, which would usually keep me from answering, but thinking it might be Vaughn, I pressed the green accept button. “Hello,” I answered.
“Is this Tyler?”
“It is.”
“Hey, this is Vaughn Evans. Chase gave me your number. I hope that’s okay.”
I sat up. “Of course. He mentioned you might call.”
“Is this a good time to chat?”
“It is.” My palms were sweating. I couldn’t believe I was talking totheVaughn Evans on the phone.
“Great. So, the guys and I were talking about doing something different during our upcoming world tour. We’ll be hitting the road in July, and we thought it’d be cool to have someone document the entire thing. It would be something our fans could subscribe to and get a behind-the-scenes look into what goes into our concerts. We remembered you mentioning you wanted to go into music journalism, so we thought you might be a good fit for this project. Do you think you might be interested?”
“Wow. I really appreciate you thinking of me. What would the job entail?”
“Well, you’d need to travel with us. We thought you could post some pictures and do a small write-up about what happens during each concert. Maybe even exclusive interviews with each of us.”
The job sounded amazing, and I felt confident I could do what they needed, but something—or rather someone—had me hesitating to accept. In the last couple of weeks, I’d been leaning more toward staying on the East Coast because I didn’t want to leave Hayden, even though I hadn’t found a job yet. However, could I really pass this up? “I don’t know what to say. It’s a great opportunity—”
“I hear a ‘but’ coming.” He chuckled.
“No, not a ‘but’. I just need to figure a few things out. How soon do you need an answer?”
“You probably have finals coming up and all that shit. Could you let me know by the beginning of June?” he asked.
I nodded my head, even though he couldn’t see me. “Yeah, I can let you know by then.”
“Okay. I look forward to hearing from you.”
“Thanks again,” I replied. “I’ll call you soon.”
“Sounds good. Later.”
“Later.”
I tossed my phone onto my bed and let out a long breath. Excitement and apprehension fought inside of me. My brain told me I’d be an idiot not to accept the job, while my heart wanted to stay with Hayden. I needed to talk to him before making a decision, but I would wait until our date when we could speak in person.
* * *
Later that night,the Sigma House was full of drunk students dancing, playing beer pong, and taking part in everything else that went down during our frat parties. Having already decided to spend the night letting loose and leave all adult decision-making for later, I poured myself another beer from the keg.
“Hey, Tyler,” Lia greeted as she grabbed a red plastic cup off the counter I was leaning against.
“Long time no see,” I replied, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “What have you been up to?”
She filled her cup to the brim. “Not much. Emily’s been lying low since Ford ghosted her after the last party, so we’ve avoided going out for a couple of weeks. I talked her into coming out tonight, but she ditched me the minute we walked in the door. I think she’s hunting for one of your frat bros to help her make him jealous.”
“Sounds like a lot of drama.”
She laughed. “That’s why I need alcohol.”
