“He seems a little stricter than that,” I offer.
He shrugs. “I guess.”
He doesn’t want to talk about it, and I can’t blame him. So I counter with “Besides, I didn’t think self-sacrifice was really your style.”
“Isn’t it?” He casts me a curious side-eye. “What’s my style?”
“Spoiled rich boy who sneaks by on his good looks and Daddy’s money.”
“So you think I’m good-looking?”
I feel my face go hot. I hand a dish back. “You missed a spot.”
He chuckles as he rewashes a perfectly clean plate.
“What’s your deal?” I ask.
“What do you mean?”
“Like…what do you want to do with your life?”
“I’m going to become a doctor.”
“Like father, like son?”
“Something like that.”
“Do you want to work at the hospital?”
His jaw tightens. He doesn’t move his eyes from his plate. “You’re going to laugh at me.”
“Maybe. But I’ll wait until you’re out of earshot.”
He casts me a sidelong look. Finally, he says, “I want to join the Peace Corps.”
He’s right. That catches me completely off guard.
Jason King is full of surprises tonight.
“Why?” I ask.
He glances at me. “Isn’t it obvious? You tell a girl you spent a year in the Peace Corps—instant panty-dropper.”
I roll my eyes. That’s a little more his style…but I can tell he doesn’t mean it.
“Okay…besides panty-dropping. Why else?” I ask.
“And…I don’t know.” He shrugs. He turns his focus back on the plates, works on soaping and scrubbing. “I’ve had a good life. I guess I just…want to give something back. Make a difference.”
The way he says it…it’s like it’s something shameful. Like his heart of gold is something that is meant to be hidden away underneath his bed, behind his porn collection.
“So why don’t you?”
“My dad says if I want to do something good, I should do what he does. Make millions and donate to a good cause.”
I shrug. “That’s one way to do it, sure. But is that what you want?”
“I don’t know.”