AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Mom told her I’d pick her up and take her to my brother’s engagement party on Saturday.” The very thought of it made my insides flip around like a half-dead trout.
“Then you’ll have a do-over. That’s good. Just apologize.”
I didn’t like the sound of that. I did not like to apologize. Especially when I wasn’t sure I’d done anything really wrong. She’d been kind of rude too, after all. “Do you think she’s going to apologize, though?”
“For what?”
“For... I thought back over the course of the evening. “She called me unobservant and unintelligent.”
“Well, she might, I guess. Doesn’t matter though. You can only control yourself and the way you react to shit. That’s what our work together is all about.”
“Right.” I did not want to apologize. But I would.
Because I was a grown-ass man who was in control of the way he reacted to things. Things like crazy-hot women who wrestled bears for work and produced tiny blond people with smart mouths and twinkling little eyes and the best laughs I’d ever heard. And Clara Connor couldn’t hurt me now. I wasn’t a lovesick teenager anymore. I was Sylvester-fucking Remington, highly paid right wing for the Wilcox Wombats, and I was in control.
“Call me later. Let me know if it works out.”
“Okay. Thanks.” I hung up, feeling better and wondering for the millionth time why I needed Rock to point out the obvious before I could get myself together. I guessed I was just glad I had him.
I rolled to pull my backpack from the floor and slipped out my laptop. I was balls deep in a data visualization course that was kicking my ass. And I’d missed a lecture tonight, only to have everything from my name to the way I ate pasta scrutinized by a five-year old.
“Shit,” I moaned, scanning through the chat my group mates had been participating in for the last two hours after the lecture. We had another group project to complete, and they were basically forging ahead without me, though they’d sectioned off part of the work for me to do. Of course, since I hadn’t seen the lecture yet or read the materials, I didn’t have much understanding of what the assignment was or how I could contribute. Not my favorite position to be in.
I sat up, moving to the desk at the side of my room next to the window, and did my best to put the evening out of my head. I needed to buckle down and contribute, or I wouldn’t pass this class. I’d already flubbed an exam thanks to a long and draining trip toward the end of the season to deliver the Seattle Krakens’ butts to them on a silver platter.
ME: Sorry, getting in here late.
JASON: No worries, Remi. Plenty of work to go around.
Yeah, I was Remi to my classmates.
They had no idea what I was up to or who I was outside of school. It was part of the reason I’d gone with a virtual program. That, and the ongoing need for me to actually show up at practice and games. But if my classmates knew how I spent my days, I was pretty sure they’d discount my ability to pull my weight in these kinds of group projects.
I had learned from experience that people didn’t tend to take me seriously in the intellectual realm. That’d been true for as long as I could remember.
ME: I’m going over the notes now.
SARAH: Let us know if you’re not sure where to get started. I’ve done a little data visualization at work—could jump on a call and walk you through the tools we’re using.
ME: Thanks. I’ll get right to it and reach out if I need anything. Sorry again for being late.
TEIKA: Not a big deal, Remi. We all have lives too.
A little warm glow spread as I absorbed the acceptance of my classmates. I didn’t want to let them down. It was no different than being with the Wombats. These guys were my team, and they depended on me. That was one thing I understood well.
I dug in, scanning the notes from the lecture and sorting through the project we’d been assigned. I was definitely going to have to do some research. I had no idea how to approach my part of the project. But luckily, it was the off-season. I had plenty of free time to research and figure it out.
I leaned back in the roller chair, turning myself to stare out the window into the darkness outside my room.
Only, it wasn’t completely dark.
There was a bright square of light on the house next door.
Clara’s house.
And she was standing smack in the middle of that beacon of glowing light. In a loose T-shirt and a pair of loose boxer shorts.
I had an irrational thought—were those her ex’s shorts?
