ripped jeans | hes

seventy three

"Hey, come in, come in." Jacob stood up from his desk as I stepped into his office.

"How've you been?" I slid into the familiar chair across from his shiny wooden desk.

"Good. Great."

As soon as I sat down, my eyes darted to a framed picture of my professor and Stella showing off their shiny smiles on some tropical island, looking directly at me from his desk. It wasn't there last time.

I squinted my eyes at the picture before looking back up at Jacob, who was quickly filing some papers into his desk. "So, you and your fiancé are back on good terms?"

"Excuse me?" Jacob's head picked up and he gave me an innocently perplexed look.

My face grew red. "Sorry, was that inappropriate to ask?"

"Oh." Jacob's eyes followed mine to see that I was looking at the picture. I also noticed that his ring was still gone as he turned the picture so it was face-down. "No, it's alright. It's still complicated."

"Sure," I nodded, wishing I had just shut up.

"So, I have some news." Jacob sat down at his chair, his fingers flying as he adjusted his grey collar. "And I was primarily going to save this until Christmas break began, but I thought I'd share this with you now."

"I'm going away for Christmas anyway, so meeting with me now is best." I nodded.

"Oh? Where're you going?"

"England." I cleared my throat, watching his face stiffen. "I'm staying with Harry and his family. His friends are coming with us, too."

"Really?" Jacob twisted his fountain pen in his hands. "England?"

"Mhmm." I nodded, biting back my smile. "I'm super excited."

"Of course, of course." Jacob's square teeth bit down on the end of his pen. "This must be an exciting time. Being young, going across the world with somebody you love, people who know how to have a good time. Very, very, exciting."

"Yes, I'm incredibly lucky." I chuckled quietly, picking at the pocket of my jeans.

"I wish I hadn't jumped so quickly into my career, maybe I could do the same."

"Well, you ended up being pretty successful, don't you think?"

"I suppose." Jacob sighed, letting his mind wander for a moment before speaking. "Well, anyway. This came in the mail."

Jacob handed me a perfectly sealed manilla envelope. I put it in my lap.

"What is it?"

Jacob shrugged playfully, leaning back in his seat and letting this familiarly wide smile occupy his whole face. "Haven't opened it."

I felt my butterflies fill my stomach and my heart begin to knock against my chest. My palms became instantly sweaty. This could be it! My future! My big move to the East Coast!

"Do you...think it's about my internship?" My eyes immediately went wide, my shaking fingers racing to open the envelope.

"No, no, no." Jacob stopped me, causing me to freeze in my place. "Don't open it here. Just shoot me a text before our next class if it's good. Don't send me anything if it's bad."

I bit my smiling bottom lip, nodding slowly. "I can do that."

"Great." Jacob leaned in, whispering. "I'm rooting for you, Addison Montgomery. I'm your biggest fan."

"Thank you, Jacob. For everything. You've done so much." I began to stand up from my chair, holding the envelope close to my chest.

"Where're you headed now?" Jacob slowly made his way over to the window, pulling the blind to the side and peeking outside. "That Range Rover..."