“I can take a glance at the outline if you want,” Marcus offered, scratching at his freshly twisted locs. Nick remembered when Marcus had first started growing them during their freshman year at the University of North Carolina. They’d been so short back then. Now they fell midway down his back.
Marcus and Caleb had that brown skin, happy glow about them after visiting Caleb’s family in Cuba last week. Nick hated to bring the mood down and disappoint Marcus. He owed so much to him, for bettering not only his career but his life in general.
“Okay, so I don’t actually have an outline,” Nick admitted. “I’m trying, though. I am.”
Marcus and Caleb exchanged a look.
“Do you think it might help if you bought a desk for your apartment?” Marcus asked.
“Or any furniture at all?” Caleb added. “I can’t believe you’re still sleeping on a mattress on the floor. You have money now, Nick. Why do you insist on living like a broke college student?”
“I’m gonna go to IKEA next week,” Nick said. “I promise.”
“IKEA? Again, you have money. Why do you insist on living like a broke college student?” Caleb shook his head. “At least let me help. You know what, this week, you and I are gonna go to IKEA and pick out a bed frame. I won’t even charge you my standard interior design fee.”
Nick laughed. “Wow, thanks.”
Marcus and Caleb had both found their dream careers and each other shortly after college. Nick always felt like Marcus and Caleb’s unruly ward, who couldn’t figure out how to properly adult. It was embarrassing.
“We’ve been getting interview requests from some big outlets,” Marcus said. “Vanity Fair. The New Yorker. It’s not too late to claim the pen name, you know. We might even have time to get your photo taken and put on the book jacket . . .”
“No.” Nick’s answer was firm.
“Nick,” Marcus said gently. “Your dad can’t get to you or your money if you don’t let him. You can’t live your life trying to hide from him forever.”
“Do you still not know where they are?” Caleb asked.
Nick shook his head. His parents were hard to keep track of. They moved around a lot and seldom had working phones. He rarely talked to his father, Albert, but his mom, Teresa, called him when she could. On New Year’s Day, she’d called from a motel room in New Orleans. He hadn’t spoken to her since. She had no idea about how much Nick’s life had changed. She knew nothing of his money or the book deal, and he hated that he couldn’t tell her, because then she’d tell Albert, and no good could come from that.
“Either way,” Marcus said, “I think you might be missing out on a big opportunity to—”
“Is it okay if we talk about something else?” Nick asked abruptly. His headache was beginning to worsen. He didn’t know whether to blame this conversation or his hangover. He looked at Marcus, feeling both tired and guilty. “Please?”
Marcus and Caleb were quiet for a few moments. Then Marcus said, “Okay. What’d you do last night?”
Nick paused, thinking of the nutty situation he’d found himself in this morning. “I woke up naked in Yolanda’s bed somehow.”
Marcus blinked in surprise.
Meanwhile, Caleb was cackling. “What?!” he said. “That beautiful, fashionable, classy lady who donated what is practically your only piece of furniture, slept with you?”
“No,” Nick said, laughing, glad that he was able to both lighten the mood and change the subject. “Let me explain.”
Hours later, after regaling Marcus and Caleb with what he could remember of last night and listening as they discussed plans for Marcus’s twenty-ninth birthday party, Nick took the subway to the Manhattan Bridge stop and got off, choosing to walk back to Manhattan. He did a lot of walking since he’d moved here. Maybe it was the wanderlust. He could still travel if he wanted to, but he doubted he’d get any writing done that way.
As he walked over the bridge and through Lower Manhattan, he wondered about Lily and where she was, per usual. When Marcus had asked why Nick wanted to live in Union Square as opposed to Brooklyn, Nick had said he simply preferred Manhattan, but really, it was because Union Square made him think of Lily and their imaginary Christmastime date. He’d searched for Union Square apartments and came across his current building, which had been newly renovated and eagerly accepting new tenants. Nick’s reasoning for moving there was silly and sentimental, something he would never share.