He leaned in close and whispered as well, unable to suppress the laughter fighting to get out. “Get whatever you want, Hannah. I have a full time job and cheap rent. I can afford to splurge on you tonight.”
She pulled back, giving him a doubtful look, but when the waitress came she got the prix fixe menu as well, selecting the fish and the creme brûlée. He smiled to himself that she believed him.
“So how’s the internship going?”
Looking at him over the rim of her martini glass, her eyebrows raised, then scrunched together, finally settling low over her narrowed eyes as she lowered her glass. “Are you asking as my HR manager or my boyfriend?”
He let out a laugh. “Your boyfriend. Are you liking it? Learning a lot? You tell me all about school, but you don’t talk to me about work. You’ve said before that this was your dream internship. So is it living up to your expectations?”
She nodded enthusiastically. “I love it. Sandra’s awesome. I’ve learned so much from her already, and I love the philosophy behind the company.” Launching into more detail, she told him all about the different social media campaigns she was working on and how much fun she was having. He wished he could manage half the enthusiasm for work that she had.
The waitress bringing their food interrupted her, and after they both cut into their entrees and started eating, she brought the conversation around to him. “What about you? Have you thought more about doing what you love?”
He shrugged, not wanting to taint their evening by going there. “Not really.” And cut another bite of his steak. It was cooked perfectly, juicy, red in the middle surrounded by pink, the sauce with it complementing the flavor.
He raised his eyes to Hannah’s when she made an irritated sound in her throat. “What?”
Imitating his shrug, she pitched her voice low and dumb sounding. “Not really.” Is that really how she thought he sounded? “Come on. You haven’t thought about it at all? I know you’re not happy at work. Don’t you want to do something you like more?” She shook her head at him and took a drink of her water.
He shrugged again. “It’s work. They pay me. It’s not the most exciting thing in the world. It’s a good job, they pay well, it has good benefits, and they care about their employees. There’s a lot to be said for that.”
She stared at him for a minute, not moving, then shook her head a little. “It just makes me sad that you’ve given up already.”
“Not everyone gets to do what they love for a living.”
She spluttered, looking around the room, trying to find something to say to that. “Okay, fine. I guess somebody has to be a janitor or a garbageman or something. But you just graduated. You haven’t even tried doing something you’d really like. Why not? What better time to do what you want, what you love, than now?”
He didn’t say anything, keeping his attention on his food. It just seemed silly and farfetched. He learned a long time ago that dreams were for night time. Days were for working and earning money. At least he wasn’t working on a fishing boat or in the Coast Guard like his dad had been growing up. Those were about the only options in Westport, and neither paid well enough for the amount of work and commitment they required. But how could he explain that to Hannah? He hadn’t even talked about that with Chris or Lance. For all they knew, he loved his job. But surfing for a living? Not possible, at least not for him. If he couldn’t go pro, how could he get paid to surf? No, he just needed a good enough job to save some money and get some experience, then he could move near the ocean and find a job there. Somewhere with great beaches and perfect waves.
Hannah’s voice interrupted his thoughts again. “I’m just saying, Matt. You’re too young to give up on yourself already. Just promise me you’ll think about it. Figure out how to enjoy yourself more.”
He let a wicked grin come to his lips. “I enjoy myself plenty with you.”
In the low light, he could just make out the slight wash of pink on her skin, but she wouldn’t be distracted. “That’s not what I mean and you know it. Promise.”
He sighed. “Okay. I promise.”
Obviously pleased with herself, she smiled and she opened her mouth to say something, but before she could, a voice interrupted them.
“Hey, you two. Fancy running into you here.”
Matt’s stomach clenched, nausea gripping him. He thought he might be sick right here all over the table.
Sandra, Hannah’s supervisor and mentor in the marketing department, stood next to their table, her brown eyes far too perceptive behind her glasses, cataloging him, their table, Hannah. Shit. Shit shit shit fucking shitty shit. He was so screwed.
Hannah straightened in her chair. “Hey, Sandra. How’s it going?” Her voice came out remarkably calm, but he could detect an undertone of panic.
Sandra nodded, crossing her arms over the slinky purple sheath dress she wore, her dark hair tied up in a knot on the back of her head. “Good. I’m out with my husband for Valentine’s Day. And you two are on a … date?”
She raised her eyebrows at him on the last word. He swallowed convulsively, fighting down the bile in his throat.
Hannah pushed her chair back and stood. “Sandra, can I talk to you?”
Sandra pulled her eyes from him slowly, looking Hannah up and down again. “Sure. What do you need?”
Hannah led her away from the table toward the restrooms at the front of the restaurant. Matt sat at the table, sucking down his ice water, trying to fight back the panic. If Sandra said anything to anyone, he’d get fired and Hannah wouldn’t get offered a summer internship, if she was even allowed to finish this one. He was pretty sure
