“Fish? Really?”
I punched his shoulder. “Hey, I won them at the carnival and they’re still alive. That was six years ago, and that’s a major accomplishment.”
He wiped the back of his hand across his mouth. “That is a major accomplishment. I think those things are meant to die the second you bring them home.”
“Well, Ron, Snape, and Harry are never dying,” I said over his laughter as he repeated the names of my goldfish. “Shut up, Nick. Stop laughing at me.”
“Harry, Ron, and Snape? Seriously?”
“I was going through a phase.”
“Please tell me your dog isn’t named Dumbledore?” he all but snorted, and I glared at him.
“My dog’s a girl. Her name is Bettina. What about you? Do you have any pets that I can make fun of?”
Nick stopped laughing and shook his head. “No. Sorry. My dad claims to be allergic to dogs, but I think he’s full of shit. No pets for me, not even as a kid. Not even a stupid fish.”
I couldn’t help it, but in that moment I actually felt sorry for him, and said so.
He shrugged but didn’t say anything.
After an awkward pause, he asked, “What are you majoring in?”
“Film production,” I replied, trying to stop myself from smiling at him like an idiot, but failing.
He let out a little groan. “Ah, that must suck.”
Confused, I squinted at him. Did he think my choice of major was lame? “Why does it suck?”
“Because I thought they were dropping it after this semester.”
I sat up straight in the hard stadium chair as my body instantly stiffened. “What are you talking about? Why would they drop it?”
He brushed his thighs, sending crumbs from his long-gone sandwich to the ground at his feet. “Shit, I could be totally wrong. It’s not my major, so . . .”
“But they have all the equipment, and three separate studios. It doesn’t make sense,” I said slowly, not wanting to believe that State would actually cancel the program.
“Jess?”
Nick’s voice was clear, but my thoughts felt muddled.
“Jess, look at me.”
When I looked up, his deep blue eyes made my heart lurch like they always seemed to do.
“I’m sure I heard wrong. Check with your counselor, but don’t take my word for it, okay?” When I didn’t respond, he grasped my hands, giving them a quick squeeze. “Jess.”
“Sorry, I’m just silently freaking out here.”
“Don’t. I’m sure it’s nothing.” He waved a hand as if dismissing the entire idea. “So, tell me what you want to do in film production.”
My smile slowly returned.
“I’m not a hundred percent sure yet since I haven’t ever done any of it. I was thinking I might want to direct or produce, but there are so many other things that go into making a film, who knows which direction I’ll choose.” The possibilities seemed endless, and that filled me with hope. Hope that I’d follow my dreams and have a career I loved.
“What about you?” I asked.
“I’m a marketing major. My dad owns one of the top marketing firms in three states, so I’ll go to work for him as soon as I graduate.” His words seemed forced, not filled with the kind of excitement one would expect.
“You don’t want to work for your father?”
Nick’s brows pulled together briefly before relaxing, as if he wondered how I’d picked up on such a subtle detail. “No, I do. It’s just . . .”
When he didn’t continue, I asked, “What? It’s just what?”
“It’s just that there’s a part of me that really wants to work with my brothers. Working with my dad would be great, but . . .”
He stopped talking again, and I urged him on.
“Your brothers don’t work for your dad, right? They own a bunch of bars or something?” I’d heard they did, but since the information was secondhand, I wasn’t sure.
His face lit up. “They own one bar in Santa Monica. It’s called Sam’s.”
“So you said that working with your dad would be great, but . . . but what?”
“It’s just that if I could do anything, I’d work with Frank and Ryan, buy into the bar with them. I love being there. And I’m good at it.” His gaze finally raised and connected with mine. “I helped them create and design their new drink menu, and I’ve handled all their marketing to date.” A cocky grin emerged. “And I’m pretty good with people, in case you didn’t know.”
I laughed. “I’m well aware.”
Nick looked so happy talking about the bar, it made me wonder how he could just walk away from it. He didn’t seem to be the type of person who wouldn’t fight for the things he wanted, but then again, I didn’t really know him.
“Why don’t you work for them instead?”
At my question, his entire expression darkened.
He blew out a breath that was long and painfully slow as I waited for him to say something, anything. This was the kind of good stuff in a conversation that really let you peek inside the character of a person. And it was rare that a topic like this came up between two people so quickly.
“That was never in the plan, Jess. It’s been set in stone for as long as I can remember that I would work for my dad and run the company one day. I wasn’t really raised to question that, you know?”