Page 69 of Not That Into You

“No, surfer girl, the wave.” He boops me on the nose. “In Hawaii.”

“Oh, I wish we were in Hawaii.” I look out over the ocean, imagining the palm trees and beautiful beaches of Maui. “I assume you’ve been?”

“Well, yeah.”

I roll my eyes. “Of course you have. I’m sure you’ve been everywhere.”

“Let’s see.” He starts ticking off cities with his fingers. “Paris, London, Rome?—”

I give him a withering look. “Hilarious.”

“Oh, did you mean just in the US?” He starts ticking off cities again. “Honolulu, San Francisco, Chicago?—”

I smack his arm. “Jackass.”

He chuckles, looking pretty pleased with himself. “You haven’t traveled much?”

“Nope. But I’ve always wanted to.”

“Why haven’t you traveled more?”

I frown at him. “Because I can’t afford it.” Duh.

“Come on. Even a road trip?”

I shrug. “My mom owns her own business, and my dad works a lot, so they were always pretty busy. And money was tight growing up, so we didn’t really go on extended family vacations. I’ve been trying to save up to travel, but New York’s expensive, and work hasn’t always been consistent.”

He frowns. “Where would you go if you could go anywhere?”

“Hm.” I bite my bottom lip. So many choices. “I’d go to the Philippines with my mom.”

“You’ve never been?”

“No. There are a lot of countries I’d love to visit, but I’d start with the Philippines. I’d like to see where my mom grew up. I’d like to spend time with that side of the family.” I frown. “We’ve spent time on video calls, of course, but I haven’t met them in person.”

“None of your mother’s family has come to the States?”

I shake my head. “No. For money reasons, health reasons, family reasons. It’s not an easy trip. It would take about twenty-four hours to get to New York.”

“Huh.”

I look down at my board, tracing water over its surface. “I’ve actually been considering leaving New York and moving somewhere cheaper.”

“What?” His eyes go wide as he stares at me. “You’d leave New York?”

I shrug. “Maybe.”

“But you’re such a New Yorker.”

I snort. “Thanks. I wouldn’t necessarily say that, though.”

“What are you talking about? You’re always wearing black, you don’t take shit from anybody, and you’ve nailed the too-cool-for-everyone attitude.”

I lift a brow. Is that all it takes? “Nonetheless, I’d like to save more money, and I’m not sure how to do that while living in New York.”

“What about the job offer from the design studio?”

“Design 454?”

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