Page 43 of To Love Jason Thorn

She laughed. “I’m afraid you’re too late, Isaw Lucy inhale that last night.”

“Damn you, Lucy,” I muttered, giving up onmy search.

“Are you nervous?”

“Nervous? Who, me? About what?”

Tilting her head, she waited expectantly.

Rolling my eyes, I mumbled, “He hasn’t beengone that long, just a few months, and he texted me every now and then, butyeah, I’m excited to see him again.” Even though I knew I shouldn’t have been,I was. “And as if that’s not enough excitement for my fragile heart, I’m gonna meetthe casting director and actually be there when they pick who’ll play Evie. I’mdefinitely freaking ecstatic about that.”

“You’re so lucky. I wonder who’ll come in toaudition for her. If Keira Knightley is there, you have to take pictures. A tonof them. From every single angle.”

“Ah, Char,” I said as I hopped up on thecounter empty-handed. I wanted to eat ice cream to calm down my nerves. “Talkingabout Keira Knightley isn’t helping at all. If I see Keira Knightley, I’m goingto embarrass myself even more than I did the last time they saw me, and I don’twant to think about that.”

Walking around me, she opened therefrigerator and took out two small boxes of apple juice—taking advantage of asale, we had bought them the day before. Handing one of them over, she jumpedon the counter right across from me.

I sighed. “My savior.”

“I would offer alcohol to take the edgeoff, but I’m thinking that wouldn’t be very helpful in your state.”

“No, it wouldn’t,” I said, with a wince.“I’ll drink to my heart’s content when we go out tonight. Still coming, right?Don’t bail on us like you did last time. It’s karaoke night.”

“No bailing necessary. I wouldn’t misskaraoke night. So, how does it feel to be an early graduate? What are yourplans now?”

“I haven’t decided how I feel about it yet.I’m happy, of course, but a little sad, too, I think. I paid off all my studentloans with the money I made from the book, so that’s something. I feel as lightas a feather. Don’t have a lot of money left in the bank, but at least I won’thave to worry about loans.”

She shook her juice box before jabbing thestraw into it. “Yeah, I’m not looking forward to paying student loans everymonth. I wish I had the time to write a book, too.”

It wasn’t anything I hadn’t heard the pastfew months. I’d quickly learned that when you write a book, and surprise,surprise, you’re making money off of it—even if it’s only fifty bucks amonth—suddenly everyone around you turns into a writer. Of course, they’re a muchbetter writer than you, only they don’t have the time to sit down and go intola-la land because they are so very busy with real life already.

“Oh, you’re thinking of writing a book?” Iasked mildly as I inspected the juice box in my hand.

“Well, I’m English lit, too, so yeah, I’vethought about it. I mean, even you wrote one,” she chuckled nervously.

Raising my eyebrows, I looked at her. “EvenI wrote one?”

“Oh.” She went poker-faced. “That didn’tsound right. I just meant, you never mentioned that you were writing a book andthen bam, you published it on your own. It was just surprising.”

Lucy had been my beta reader since the dayshe’d stolen my laptop to see what I was always working on, but I hadn’t hadthe courage to share my words with anyone else. It wasn’t because I didn’t likeCharlotte, it was just because I was too nervous about the whole thing.

In the silence that followed her words, shetook few long sips from her apple juice before putting it down on the counter.“Anyway, the reason I asked about your plans…I was wondering if you werethinking about moving out?”

“Moving out? Of here?”

“Yeah. I mean we have one more semester,but since you’re gonna have money coming in from the movie, too…” She shrugged.“I just thought maybe you’d get your own place.”

“You trying to get rid of me, Char?” Iasked, slightly amused, slightly wary.

“Of course not.” She jumped down and tossedthe box into the garbage can; she hadn’t even finished it. “You know Lily, right?”I nodded. “Well, her boyfriend tossed her out so she is looking for a place tostay for the rest of the semester. I said maybe your room would be vacant ifyou decided to move out.”

“Sorry to hear that about Lily, but I’m notconsidering leaving. I like living with you guys.”

“Oh.” She looked genuinely confused. “Theway you’ve been acting around Marcus lately, I thought you were uncomfortablehere.”

“Marcus was my friend for a year before westarted our relationship; we’ve been living together for almost three yearsnow. I’m not uncomfortable around him, Char, we just don’t hang out together asmuch as we used to. Other than that, I have no problems with him. He is the oneacting weird after this book deal happened.”

“I understand.” She avoided my eyes.

---