Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 92466 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 462(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92466 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 462(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
Are you kidding me? I peeked inside. It was filled with cash.
“Two-thousand dollars,” she said. “That’s the admission fee, right?”
Whoa. I could barely breathe right now. “Nicole, this is the sweetest thing anyone has ever tried to do for me. But I absolutely cannot take this.”
“Yes, you can,” she insisted.
“Where did you even get this kind of money?”
“It’s some of the cash I’ve made babysitting over the years. I’ve been saving it for nothing in particular. Just a rainy day, I guess. But I don’t need anything.”
“You’re gonna need this cash for school.” I put the envelope back in her hands.
She shook her head. “There’s a good chance I’m gonna get a scholarship. I probably won’t need it.”
“You’ll always need spending money, even if your tuition is paid.”
“Atticus…” She pleaded. “I’ve told you this before. You’re so talented. I don’t mean to be cruel to the other guys, but they’re just playing around when you all practice together. You have real skills on those drums. You can go somewhere with this. It made me so sad to hear you say you’d have to give up this opportunity because you don’t have the sign-up fee. You never know. You could make an important connection there.” Nicole shook her head. “Anyway, I won’t take it back.” She shoved the envelope of cash into my hands. “I’m not taking no for an answer.”
Then she threw open the door and ran off before I could say anything else. Literally ran down the street.
What the heck?
I debated chasing after her, but I was still frozen, in a state of shock. My heart was bursting with an unidentifiable feeling. Gratitude couldn’t even begin to describe it. I’d thought this girl was incredible before. But this? I was speechless.
Up in my room, I paced with the envelope in my hands for the next hour. There was no way I could accept this money. I’d done nothing to earn it. That wasn’t up for debate. But I was still baffled as to what to say, how to thank her, whether to go to her house now to give it back.
Was it tempting to take it? Sure. But more than anything, it was the meaning behind this that mattered the most. She believed in me. When we’d first met, I wasn’t sure if she was just pulling my chain being so complimentary. But we’d gotten to know each other since then. She’d seen me perform countless more times. Nicole’s opinion mattered more to me than anyone’s.
Finally done deliberating, I grabbed my jacket and hopped into my beat-up car, heading straight to her house. It was the first time I’d ever visited her there, and I hoped her dad wouldn’t want to kill me if he got the wrong idea about me stopping by. But as I was pulling up, I saw another car pulling out. Not just any car—Julian’s.
My blood started pumping. There weren’t any other cars in the driveway, so it didn’t look like her parents were home. She’d been alone with Julian?
After he pulled out of the driveway, Julian took off in the other direction. So he didn’t notice me parked outside the house.
For a few minutes, I sat in the car, unsure what I was gonna say to her, especially now that I’d seen him leave.
Forcing myself to get out, I walked up to her front door. This was no longer just about the money. Now I had to know what the hell was going on with Julian. As I knocked, I felt my heartbeat accelerate. I had to be careful. I didn’t want to come off as jealous, even if that was the damn truth.
After a moment, she opened. “Hey,” she said, surprise on her face.
“Can I come in?”
“Sure…”
I looked past her. “Are your parents here?”
“No. They went to church for a holiday bazaar planning meeting. My mom is on the board, and she dragged him along.”
I kept nodding. “Did I just see Julian leave?”
“Yeah. He came by.”
I tilted my head. “Just a visit or…?”
“Well, yeah.”
I swallowed hard. “What did he want?”
Her face turned beet red. “He asked me out, actually.”
Clearing my throat, I willed myself to remain calm. “Really…”
“Yeah.”
My stomach was in knots. “What did you say?”
“I…told him I’d think about it.”
“What’s your hesitation?”
She looked down at her feet. “I don’t know if I’m into him that way.”
That gave me intense satisfaction, though it didn’t sound like she’d totally made up her mind. “Well, if you’re not sure, you shouldn’t sell yourself short.”
She lifted her gaze to mine. Her eyes were piercing. For a second, I was tempted to admit that it wasn’t just Julian who had feelings for her. I liked her, too. But then I remembered the repercussions. I was twenty. She was seventeen and I was pretty sure still a virgin. So I kept my mouth shut.