Page 89 of In the Air Tonight

“Did you study theater in college?”

“Yep. I graduated from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts with a bachelor’s degree in performance.”

“Did you do any acting?”

“Quite a bit, actually. It was one of the ways I survived, by losing myself in other people’s stories so I could be free of my own for a while. But I got tired of barely making the rent, so when I had the opportunity to work for Wendall, I grabbed it thinking it would solve all my problems. Instead, it created new ones.”

He pulls into a dirt parking lot and shuts off the truck.

When we get out, Fenway follows me. I grab her leash.

“Hey, so guess what?” he says as we head for the trail.

“What?”

“We both graduated from art school.”

“So we did.”

“And we’re both making a living at it despite a million people telling us we’d starve to death if we pursued these careers.”

“I’m barely scraping by on what I make.”

“Still… You’re in the game, and that’s more than a lot of our fellow grads can say.”

“I suppose.”

“What would you do if you could do anything you want?”

“I think about that a lot, but I don’t really know. I still haven’t found the thing that makes me excited to get up and go to work every day. That’s been sorely missing in the years I’ve worked for Wendall. He drives me nuts.”

“So why don’t you quit and find something that makes you happy?”

“Says the guy with crazy-ass talent who can do whatever he wants.”

“You think my talent is crazy ass?”

I nudge my shoulder into him and nearly knock him over, which makes us laugh like little kids. We’re holding each other up as Fenway gives us a puzzled look while we try to pull ourselves together.

Jack brushes himself off dramatically. “Didn’t see that coming.”

I can’t stop laughing. “I’m so sorry.”

“You didn’t tell me one of your nicknames is Bruiser.” He quirks a brow. “Did you play football?”

“Not once in my whole life.”

“Whatever you say.”

He takes my hand smoothly and casually, as if it’s not the biggest of deals. It’s a thrill to hold hands with a handsome, funny guy on a gorgeous trail that’s popping with fall color as Fenway dashes ahead of us. She returns every minute or two to make sure we’re still there.

“I can see why it’s safe to let her off the leash.”

“She wants me in her sight at all times. The second she realizes she can’t see me she comes running back. She’s chipped and air tagged, just in case.”

“Good call.”

“I’d go mad if I couldn’t find her.”

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