He grinned and reached a hand down to help her up.
"Listen," they both said at the same time, then laughed.
Since she was getting good at avoidance, she motioned for him to go first.
"If Darryl's up for watching a movie, I think we should bite the bullet and tell him we're dating," Cam said. "I'm tired of pretending like we're just friends." He moved closer, then gripped her upper arms. "Aren't you?"
She nodded. No matter what she still had to tell him, that wasn't a lie.
"After that, we can just let people figure it out. We don't need an engraved announcement."
"No." Her voice cracked. "No, we don't. But I..."
She trailed off, hating the words she had to say.
"What?"
"It's just that I don't really want to do movie night tonight."
"Oh. Okay."
"Oh, fuck." The word burst out of her, as harsh as cannon fire. She was such a damn coward.
"Mina? What--"
"I don't know how to tell you this," she blurted. "And if I don't spit it out, I'm never going to say it. I got a job in LA. An amazing freaking job. And I'm going to take it." She drew a breath as she glanced at his face, but she couldn't read a thing on it. His expression had gone completely blank.
"I see. Well, congratulations." His forehead creased and his lips moved, as if trying to form either words or a frown and not managing either. Then he walked toward the window, giving her his back.
She took a step toward him, but didn't go any closer. "Cam, please. Can't we talk about this?"
When he turned toward her, she saw the flash of anger before he smothered it, his features once again turning bland. "Sounds like the time for talking is past. From where I'm standing, this sounds like a done deal."
She said nothing.
His shoulders drooped. "How long have you known?"
"I got the call on Sunday when you were at The Fix. It's a big deal, Cam, them calling me on a Sunday. It's not a hire through Human Resources. I'm going to be a personal assistant to one of the studio's top execs."
"Fetching his coffee and picking up his dry cleaning. Sounds like exactly what you want."
"That's not fair."
"Probably not," he agreed, then cupped his hands on his head as he faced the floor. He looked back up again a moment later, his eyes narrow. "You knew before we went to Graffiti Park. You told Lydia before you told me."
She nodded.
"And you've already accepted?"
"It was too good to pass up."
He didn't respond to that. Instead, he asked, "And the job here? You're just blowing them off." He didn't say, The way you're blowing me off, but she heard it anyway.
"I'm going to go talk to them tomorrow morning. I want to tell them in person. I don't want to burn any bridges."
"No, you wouldn't want that."
"Cam," she began, but he cut her off with a sharp glance. She wished she could flip a switch and make him understand how amazing this was. This incredible job that she got on her own. Without her father or her brother or anyone pulling strings for her or stepping in as her safety net. Just her and her resume and the skill she brought to the table.