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I’d agreed to Coach Anderson’s terms even before he’d stopped talking. Zoey wasn’t the problem. She knew her end of the deal, but there’d been a few outings where I got the impression she’d maybe want to make the “relationship” real by suggesting we let paparazzi snap a few shots of us kissing.
For the moment, that was a firm no unless Coach Anderson decided to suddenly alter the terms of our agreement. Coach also suggested I “keep it in the pants” and not date anyone else. So not only was I fake-dating Zoey, I couldn’t exactly date anyone for real, either.
Coach had me by the balls and not in the good way, either.
No quickies. No making out with anyone.
Well, except for Ciaran, and that didn’t count because it wasn’t real.
As I rinsed out the smoothie cup and placed it in the dishwasher, I laughed out loud because it just occurred to me that my life was a soap opera. Before I left the kitchen, I noticed a note in Franky’s handwriting.
Scanning it, I saw that it appeared to be a list for Ciaran. There were names of places to visit, restaurants, off-the-wall overlook hiking trails frequented by locals, and then the number to someone named Claude.
I collected the list, jogged upstairs, and rapped on Ciaran’s doorframe. Given that the door wide open, I knew he was inside. He was sitting at his desk and studying his laptop screen. He’d changed into athletic shorts and a T-shirt, and his hair was still slightly damp.
Ciaran’s expression was blank when he looked over at me.
“Hey,” I said, waving the paper, “you left this on the counter.”
“Thanks,” he said in a tone that did not invite further conversation. “You can leave it on the dresser by the door.”
“Were you wanting to visit a certain kind of business? I know everything around here.”
An expression of yearning briefly filled his eyes. “Is there a bookstore on that list?”
I reviewed the list again. Everything written down was a quick rideshare away. Ciaran wanted to find things to do during the week that would not require anyone’s assistance…which would include me. That was for the best. Ciaran needed to learn his way around and I needed to stay out of his way.
“Yes. There’s a bookstore near Malibu Point, which is a twenty-minute drive.”
“Got it, thanks,” Ciaran said without looking at me. He was tapping away at his phone. “I’ll order a rideshare.”
“Wait,” I blurted, which got his attention. “I can drive you.”
Didn’t I just tell myself Ciaran needed to learn his own way around? It was becoming clear I was incapable of listening to my own mind.
“There’s no need. I’m sure you have other things to do than chauffeur me about. I don’t want to get in the way of your next illegal enterprise. I suspect you’re two jobs away from smuggling humans into the country.”
The last part was said with a tinge of sarcasm. I chuckled.
“I was hoping you wouldn’t catch on, Ciaran,” I said smoothly, gaining a bit of my normal nonchalant coolness. I leaned against the doorjamb. “But here’s the deal. I do owe you a ride in the Ferrari.”
Ciaran thought for a second before closing the lid to his laptop.
“I’ll put on my sneakers.”
25
CIARAN
There were only a few firsts in my life that occupied the indelible parts of my mind.
My first kiss two years ago with Rowen. It’d been a terrible mess, all sloppy with bumping teeth. Plus, I’d cut my tongue on Rowen’s braces, but that first kiss was euphoric. I wouldn’t have traded it for the world.
Writing my first short story at the age of nine. It wasn’t particularly good, but it had a beginning, middle, and end, and was my first-ever completed story. That was an important memory.
I’ll always remember my first funeral. My dad’s. My parents weren’t married—they’d met in Vegas when he was stationed at Nellis Air Force base as one of the air traffic controllers. He and three other airmen died during a training accident overseas when I was five. Their military burial at Arlington National Cemetery was burned into my brain. The artillery. The flags. All the tombstones. My mom’s inconsolable sobbing. I’d been about to go into the first grade, but Mom and Grandpa Tommy decided it would be best for me to wait another year. That was why I was eighteen but still a junior in high school. That was a life-changing moment.
Not much since in my life had brought me actual joy.
