Page 65 of Waiting for Sunshine

“God, I hope not.” He smiles, his perfect, straight white teeth on display.

We walk around saying hi to acquaintances and old friends of mine, Max never letting my hand go. I know he isn’t a fan of crowds, so it means a lot to me that he shows up to things like this that are important to me, never once complaining. When he makes his way over to the bar to get us both a drink, I turn around and am met with an all too familiar face. Swagger fully intact as he makes his way over to me.

“There’s my favorite rookie!” Hugh announces. I smile, closing the space between us to greet him. He opens his arms for a hug and I lean into him.

“Are you still pulling the rookie card on me? I feel like since you’ve displayed my art now maybe I should shake that title?” I tease. He laughs at my response, before taking a deep breath in.

“The place looks fabulous, and Lauren sure looked surprised. You did a great job.” He says looking around the venue.

“Oh, thanks. It wasn’t all me though, Taylor and Leah helped of course.” I answer, glancing over at my friends.

“Of course, you ladies always have been a package deal.” He replies. I’d spent so much time with Hugh during my time in San Francisco so he knew all about my best friends and the bond we had. He too became like family to me and I’ve really missed him.

“So, what was it you wanted to talk to me about? I would be lying if I said I wasn’t racking my brain all day trying to figure it out.” I admit. He laughs so casually, putting me a little more at ease.

“Okay, no beating around the bush then.” He answers, placing both hands inside the front pockets of his slacks.

“I want you to come back to San Francisco to be my full time art curator. The position is open and I can’t think of anyone better fit for the job. It’s yours if you want it. Unless, of course, there’s something keeping you here.” He says, holding his hands up in hesitation.

My mind is absolutely frozen. I can’t believe he’s offering me this position. That he came all the wayhereto offer me the position. Well. I mean, I’m not sure that’s the actual reason he’s here, but still. Is this really happening?

“Well,” I open my mouth to speak, but I hear someone else do it for me.

“Of course there’s not.” My head snaps to Max, standing behind me with our drinks in his hands.

“What?” I ask, completely shocked by his response.

“Don’t worry about putting in a notice at the bar. This is clearly what you’re meant to do. You shouldn’t be wasting your time or your talent bartending. You’re better than that Shane. You’re better than anything this town has to offer you. You should take the job. Consider this your official termination from Chattahoochies.” Max forces a half smile.

“Chattahoochies?” Hugh laughs. Max narrows his gaze at him before turning around and walking off.

“Max, wait.” I chase after him, leaving Hugh standing in the middle of the venue alone.

“You don’t mean that. Tell me you don’t mean that.” I say pleadingly. I stand there waiting for him to tell me he’s joking.

“Did you know he was here?Whyhe is here?” he asks surprisingly calm. Stunned, I try to come up with a response. I take a deep breath and try to explain it to him.

“I didn’t know he was in town until earlier today. He said he needed to speak with me back when I was in San Francisco, but I forgot to contact him when I got back. He called me today saying he was in town so I told him about the party tonight.” I answer honestly.

“Did you knowwhy?” his jaw ticks at the end of his question.

“No! He just said he wanted to talk to me. I didn’t know he was going to ask me to go back to San Francisco.” I feel the panic starting to rise in my chest.

“Do you want to?” he asks, studying my face for a reaction.

I freeze at his question, at how angry and hurt he looks. Sure, this is a great job opportunity, and it’s something I wanted for a long time. But things have changed since I left San Francisco. Things are different now, Iwantdifferent things now. Before I can answer, Max takes my silence as answer enough.

“Go to San Francisco, Shane. It’s where you belong.”

Just like that he’s gone. He rushes out the door and gets on his motorcycle before my feet can catch up. I run out the door behind him, but when I make it to the edge of the sidewalk, I’m too late. I’m left standing there, tears falling from my eyes. Wondering how he could just let me go like that. Leave me like that.

He basically pushed me on a flight back to San Francisco, broke up with me and fired me in one fell swoop. Now I have to go back to my best friend’s party and pretend everything is okay. Because even though my heart is broken, I will not take away from her special day.

When I return, Hugh is talking with Lauren, a smile spread across his face as wide as the ocean. When he sees me approaching he turns his full attention to me.

“So, what do you say?” he asks. Lauren cocks her head to the side, looking at me like she missed something.Girl, you have no fucking clue how much.

“Um, Can I let you know?” I ask vaguely, forcing a smile on my face.

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