Page 114 of Secret Obsession
I do. My voice is soft at first, but neither of them judge me. Warmth blooms through my chest, and I find myself getting bolder as it goes on. Aspen looks up and grins at me, urging me to continue.
When the song comes to an end, I trail off into silence.
My heart aches, but in a delicious, adrenaline-fueled way.
Violet and Aspen both clap, and I allow my grin to take over my expression.
“I think the lessons are helping,” I say, clearing my throat. “Nora’s been teaching me how to be more confident with my own voice.”
Two lessons a week has done wonders—but I can’t help but think that singing is just a hobby. I’m going into the tech industry, and maybe I’ll follow in my parents’ path and work for the government.
I don’t know.
Everything is up in the air, and with only a few months left of college, it’s high time I figure it out.
My parents are the driving force behind my career choice. Not because they pressured me, but because I’ve always idolized them. They’re where I learnedeverything. How to do mental math in elementary school, and coding websites by the time I was in middle school. There was a brief stint in hacking, although that really isn’t my forte. And it’s not legal, so. There’s that. I only managed to break into the school’s grading system once, to change a grade for another classmate, and my parents caught me. They nearly skinned me alive, and I learned my lesson. Don’t hack unless you can’t be caught.
But because they’re such badasses in the sector where tech and government collide, it’s easy to want to emulate that.
Even if I’m not really feeling it.
Butfeelingsomething and being skilled are two completely different things. I like it well enough to get straight A’s in my classes, even the difficult ones. I’m good enough to not have to spend every waking hour studying this shit, like some of the other students in my major.
So if I’m a little lost right now in all aspects, at least I have career options that will pay well. Even if it gets to be tedious and monotonous and—
“Willow?” Violet squeezes my arm. “Where’d you go?”
I suppress my sigh. I should be excited to be here, to have just sung in front of an empty theater and felt alive for about a full minute.
I smother the emotion instead and smile at my best friend. “Sorry. Just a little…” I wave my hand.
My phone buzzes.
Unknown
Just wanted to say sorry to you. It’s Ronan Pierce.
Well… that’s weird.
How did you get my number?
Ronan
Bought it off one of the dance girls
Ummmm…
Too creepy?
Plus, you were just buying me drinks. How could you know I had a psychotic goalie stalker? Unless you’re apologizing for something else?
Can we talk?
My frown deepens.
“What is it?” Aspen asks.
I shake my head, ignoring the niggling feeling in my stomach. I stuff my phone in my pocket and force another smile. “Nothing, just some odd message. I’m hungry.”
