Page 45 of Some Kind of Forever
She lets out a giggle, covering her eyes in the crook of her arm while I work. “How was your meeting this morning?” she asks, relaxation settling into her voice.
“It was good. Dad and Kendall decided I’ll start at the new EdTechU headquarters in San Francisco while it gets up and running.”
“EdTechU?” She shoots up from the couch, peering at me with wide eyes.
“Yeah… You heard of it?”
“I’m catering for them in August…” she says slowly, eyes narrowing.
I tilt my head slightly, wondering why she looks confused. “I’ve never said I was working for my dad?”
“No, you did, but you never said a company name. So he’s like, one of the higher-ups?”
“More like the highest up. He and Kendall are co-founders. CEO and CTO, respectively. They founded EdTechU during undergrad at CUT?—”
“CUT? Like California University of Technology? Like, only super-smart geniuses go there?”
“Yeah… You didn’t know this?”
“How would I know this? Isn’t EdTechU, like, a really big company?” Her eyes widen with every bit of information I confirm for her.
“…Yes…” I hesitate, unsure where she’s going with this.
“I… You’re…” She shakes her head, grabbing her phone. “That’s like, one of the top technology companies…” Her mouth drops open as she looks down at her screen. “It’s worth a ton!”
There it is.The reason for the panic. We stare at each other while she processes the fact that I’m the son of a technology-genius multimillionaire.
“But…you had a job up at Camp Bender…”
“I didn’t, technically. I signed up to be a volunteer at first and didn’t need the paycheck, so I took the position without pay. Claire used the money to offer scholarships to two of the campers.” The way she’s staring, slack-jawed, makes me wonder if I’ve sprouted three heads. I move to cradle her face in my hands, not sure what else to do. “Hey…” I say softly. “I’m still me. I haven’t changed in the last five minutes. My family just has a little more money than most.”
“A lotmore money than most. You’re millionaires! Whydidn’t you say anything? I met your family, met yourparents, and just treated them like regular people. I gave them mediocre small-town pie!” She leans back against the arm of the couch, folding her arms with a bewildered look in her eyes.
“Three things,” I say, laughing at her quip about the pie. “One: theyarejust regular people. My parents didn’t grow up with money and like to stay as grounded as possible. Two: that apple pie is better than any expensive dessert I’ve ever tasted, and three: I didn’t say anything because it’s not something I go around advertising.”
She studies me, trying to make sense of everything spoken in the last few minutes. I take her hands in mine, pulling her close enough to wrap my arms around her waist. “Look, my family is wealthy. I use it when I need to—want to, even—but I try not to let it affect me. I don’t talk about it because it’s not the most interesting thing about me.” Her face softens, and I breathe a sigh of relief, sensing we’ve made it past this millionaire sized hurdle.
“You should have told me.”
“You’re right. Surprise,” I tease, squinting an eye as I flash my teeth in a nervous grin. She laughs, and I peck a kiss on her lips.
“So you’re moving to San Francisco? Not back to LA?” she says up through her lashes.
“Yep.”
“That’s only an hour away from SSU,” she whispers.
“Yep,” I smile, moving in for another kiss. Her fingertips trail down the muscle in my jaw as she kisses me back, sweetly at first, and then more urgently, until another yawn breaks us apart. “Come here.” I chuckle, lying back on the couch and bringing her to rest on top of me, head to chest. I play with her fingers, recalling that night at camp when our hands locked together after a thumb war. Being that close to her back then was amazing enough, butthis,having her body curled around mine, is something I don’t ever want to end.
“Can I ask you something?” I ask. The words come out cautiously, and I don’t know if I actually want to hear her answer.
She nods against me.
“Up at camp, you said being charming was a bad thing. Why was that a bad thing?”
She breathes a deep sigh before propping herself up to look at me. Her eyebrows dip, and her eyes seem to glaze over as she stares down at my chest. “Because it was.”
She recounts the story of her last boyfriend, his charm, the way he made her feel special, her abandoning her grades to spend time with him only for him to betray her trust in the worst possible way. Her resistance toward all my hints and flirting makes perfect sense now. I reminded her of him.
