Part 24 (1/2)
Nate just stared at me in disbelief. ”But...but, why? Annie, this is your dream-”
”No, it's not,” I said firmly. ”My dream is to make a living as an actress. New York was never my dream; I just went along with it because it seemed to be what everyone expected.”
”But-”
”I'm unhappy here, Nate,” I said. ”I have been the entire time. Not just because I missed you. I'm unhappy because I don't like the people that I work with. I'm unhappy because I can only afford this little s.h.i.+thole. I'm unhappy because I'm not with my friends. I miss my home.”
”But what will you do?” he asked. ”Go back to working in an office at Springwells? You were so unhappy there.”
”No,” I said firmly. ”I'll keep auditioning. In fact, Jenner is starting a regular company up in the city. It's small, but he's really committed to it. And there's no guarantee I'll get a place with them, but I'll try. I mean, at least I have more experience now, you know, for my resume. It's worth a shot.”
Nate didn't say anything, and I felt my heart sink a little. ”What?” I asked. ”Are you not happy that I'm coming home?”
”No,” he said, pulling me close. ”The thought of you so close to me is... well, let's just say that would make me really freaking happy. But I don't want you to do something that you'll end up regretting. Especially not for me.”
I laughed. ”Sorry, babe,” I told him. ”But there's no way in h.e.l.l I'm doing this for you, or for anyone else. Do you know who you're talking to here?”
He rolled his eyes and rested his forehead against mine. ”I must have forgotten. This is Annie-I-make-my-own-decisions-all-the-time.”
”You just said you didn't want me making this choice over you!” I cried, slapping his shoulder.
”Well, not entirely. But you could factor me in a little, you know. Just some of the time.”
I thought about what Ginny had told me, about how a good relations.h.i.+p should be a partners.h.i.+p. How you should take the other person into account, but only if they did the same with you. A balance.
”Maybe I could do that,” I said, leaning forward to kiss him again. ”Just some of the time.”
Chapter Twenty-nine.
*There's one important thing about true love that you should always keep in mind: when it's right, it's right. You can memorize all the dating tips and rules in the world, but when it's true love, everything will eventually come easily. Never forget the relations.h.i.+ps that got you where you are, and made you who you are. Even the ones that seemed tragic at the time helped make you who are you are now, the woman your true love can't live without.'-The Single Girl's Guide to Finding True Love.
”Hey,” I said, peeking around the door into Jenner's office. ”I'm gonna take off, okay?”
”Go, go,” he said, making a shooing motion with his hands. ”You should have left an hour ago. Your man will be p.i.s.sed.”
I rolled my eyes. ”He can deal with it. Do you have directions?”
He patted his pocket. ”Right here in my phone,” he said. ”See you in a few hours.”
I waved and headed back down the hallway, stopping in my office to grab my bag and turn off the light. There was a stack of papers on my desk for the new playwriting cla.s.ses, but it could wait until Monday. Nothing I couldn't handle.
Outside, I unlocked my bike from the streetlight pole where I had secured it that morning. Being close enough to ride to work was definitely one of the major perks of my new situation.
Before I could jump on the seat, my phone rang. I looked down at the screen and smiled. Jen. I had been expecting this call-was, in fact, amazed she'd managed to contain herself for so long.
”What is it now?” I asked.
”You're late!” she said in her stressed-out voice. ”I have a million things for you to do!”
”Keep your s.h.i.+rt on,” I told her. ”I'm on my way, okay?”
”Fine,” she said, sighing. ”But you better hurry. It's your party, you know?”
”I know, and I appreciate all of your work,” I told her with a grin, feeling a rush of fondness for my type-A best friend.
I pressed the end b.u.t.ton and climbed onto my bike. It was a warm day, perfect May weather, and I enjoyed the sensation of the breeze on my skin as I peddled the short distance home.
”Hey,” Nate called from the porch as I approached. He was balancing a white box in his arms, but he waited for me to pull my bike up the steps so he could kiss me h.e.l.lo. ”You're late.”
”So I keep hearing,” I said, giving him a second kiss for good measure. ”What's in the box?”
”Cupcakes,” he said.
”She's sending you out for cupcakes now?” I asked.
”She would have sent you, had you been here.”
I grinned. ”Oops. I hope you don't have any false ideas that I might have planned this to avoid doing Jen's errands.”
Nate rolled his eyes. ”Sure you didn't. How about you open the door? This is a little heavy, you know.”
I opened the door to our house and let him walk in ahead of me. ”h.e.l.lo!” I called out. ”I'm home!”
”It's about time,” Jen said, appearing in the doorway to the kitchen. ”Nate, take those into the dining room, there's a dessert table by the window.”
I rolled my eyes at him as he pa.s.sed and he sighed dramatically.
”Don't be so bossy,” I told Jen. ”You're the one who wanted to do all this. We would have been happy with pizza and beer.”
”You need a proper house-warming party,” she said. ”This is a huge deal, Annie!”
”I know,” I told her, walking past her into the kitchen to grab a water. ”Whoever would have thought that I'd be living with a boy?”
”Not me,” she muttered.
”Be nice!” I told her. ”I could still change my mind and move back to Ferndale with you and Matt.”
”Not a chance,” Nate said, coming up behind me and wrapping his arms around my waist. ”You signed a mortgage, baby. You're stuck with me.”
”I guess I am,” I said, smiling. ”Poor me.”
Three hours later, the party was in full swing and our house was full.