Page 14 of Risk It All

She made me forget about how I bombed.

CHAPTER7

Emerson

Anthony convincesme to walk around Chicago with him for a few hours before we climb back into the car to drive the final stretch to New York.I cave, partly because I’ve missed Chicago since I left after college, but mostly because I’m not looking forward to another fourteen hour day in the car.

“This is where I went to college,” I tell him as we pass by the University of Chicago.

“Yeah?Did you like it?”

“Oh yeah.I’m from this super tiny town in Idaho and I couldn’t wait to get out and into a big city.”

“Do you go back home a lot?”he asks and I shake my head.

“No, not really.I’m not that close with my parents.They fight all of the time and after a while, it gets hard to be around them.I’ve spent the last few holidays with my best friend Layla.She’s not that close with her dad either, so we’ve just hung out in our apartment in Los Angeles.”

I point out my old dorm room and we walk in silence for a block.

“What about you?Where did you go to school?Was it close to home?”I ask him.

“Nope,” he says with a laugh.“I grew up in upstate New York but I went to Tulane University in New Orleans.”

“Why there?”I ask, genuinely curious.

“Cause it was a good school but was also known for its parties.I had been to New Orleans with my parents when I was a kid and liked the city.”

“I’ve never been,” I admit.

He buys me a breakfast sandwich and coffee and we check out the bean in Millennium Park and the Navy Pier.By the time we’re packing up the car and getting ready to head to New York, it’s close to noon.

“Want me to drive?”Anthony asks as he shoves the last bite of deep dish pizza into his mouth.

“Yeah,” I say and he seems surprised that I agreed.

I climb into the passenger seat, picking out some music as Anthony climbs behind the wheel and pulls out of the parking lot.It doesn’t take us long to hit the highway.

“Did you find a hotel for tonight?”Anthony asks an hour into the drive.

“No, I guess I should do that now.”

I’m pulling up the site on my phone when he clears his throat.I look over at him, noticing that he seems almost… nervous.I’ve never seen him as anything but cocky and it makes me wonder what he’s about to say.

“My brother and his wife live in New York.He’s some bigshot real estate investor and he has a penthouse on the Upper East Side.I mean, what I’m trying to say is that he has plenty of room if you want to stay there… with me,” he finishes awkwardly and I bite back the giggle that’s climbing up my throat.

“Are you sure your brother won’t mind?”

“Full disclosure?”

“Yeah.”

“He doesn’t know thatI’mgoing to be staying with him.”

I throw my head back, laughing at the sheepish expression on his face.

“Are you sure that I shouldn’t be making a hotel reservation and offering to letyoustay withmetonight?”

“I’m family.He can’t turn me away.I’ll tell our mom on him.”

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