smile. “You liked it, huh?”
“Jack ate nearly the whole pan all by himself when I was at work one day.”
“Is Jack still coming over and swiping your food?” Isabella asks.
“Some things never change,” Ashley says with a grin. True that. Our friend Jack has been swiping our food for years.
“I had to make another pan and hide it from him,” Sam continues. “He found it eventually anyway but there were a couple left so I packed them. Yum, yum, yum, girl.”
I smile and the conversation takes another random turn, the way conversations with your girlfriends tend to do. I have to admit though, I’m having difficulty paying attention. Because even Sam trying my Turtle Brownie recipe has its origin in Grayson Piers.
There’s no escaping this man today.
Chapter 5
The Genesis of Turtle Brownies
I asked for a tour of his house, but we didn’t make it very far. Around the corner from the living area was a more casual room with a couch, TV, closet for pool supplies and towels, and a patio door leading to the outside. I made a comment about christening the couch, but we took each other so eagerly we ended up on the floor instead.
Afterward, we sat together, finally making it to the couch. I was still nude but all wrapped up in the soft throw he kept on the back of it. He sat next to me with just a portion of the blanket thrown over his lap, but his chest was still uncovered for me to enjoy.
We got to talking about his YouTube channel and how he and his friend Tom got the whole thing off the ground. It all sounded so perfect, I was surprised to hear him say he was ready to try something new.
“Don’t you like it?” I asked.
“Yeah,” he said simply, “it’s fun and it’s performing really great. But it’s kind of... lost its novelty I guess. I enjoy photography but I’m more of a hobbyist. Tom’s a professional and really passionate about it. He’s been the driving force in some ways. I like what we’re doing, but I think I want a new topic. Maybe something I could do on my own. I’ve been kicking around a few ideas.”
“Like what?”
He shrugged. “I’m not sure yet. I’m leaning toward a travel channel.”
“Now that would be fun,” I said.
He nodded and his eyes lit up. “Wouldn’t it? I’m still trying to work out an angle though. It’s really hard to get something that broad to take off.”
“I once read a blog about this Canadian couple that picked up and moved to Columbia or somewhere. They started a blog and are making a living at it. I was so jealous. Their blog is all about how to go be an expat somewhere. It was really interesting.”
“Exactly. I need some way to narrow things down.” He put his arm on the back of the couch and started lightly playing with my hair. “I’m tossing around some ideas. I’m kind of waiting for inspiration to strike. I know what it takes to get a channel going and I don’t want to dive into something new unless I’m sure it’s something that will keep me engaged for a while. I tend to get bored kind of easily.”
“Me too.”
That’s when I decided to fess up about my Job Application Addiction. “You know, this place where I work, it’s a good company. The people are really nice. They’re dedicated to their employees and try to promote from within. They’ve invested a lot of training in me already and my manager said that when one of their project managers leaves, they might move me into her position. She’s quitting after she has her baby, but that’s not for another five months. Anyway, it would just be a first step but it would at least put my degree to more use. I’d be supervising a few people and get a raise. But honestly? I don’t want to do any of it. I mean, I’m sure I will. Why wouldn’t I? But that doesn’t stop me from putting out applications everywhere.”
“Like where?”
“Really random crap all over the place. I don’t know why I’m applying to any of these places, because aside from