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“I don’t know about that.” I shrug. “I don’t mind sparring with him. He’s not the best in the class, but he’s improving.”
“So are you,” Snow says. “I want you to come here Tuesdays and Thursdays when class is done. I’ll work with you one on one.”
The idea of boxing five days a week is daunting—my back is already knotted up harder than an oak tree from the current sessions. But I understand how valuable a gift Snow is offering me. I don’t think he’s offering it to anyone else.
“Thank you,” I say. “I’d like that.”
“Good.” Snow claps me on the shoulder. His hand is heavy and warm. “Hurry on then, Dean. I don’t want Professor Graves to lock you out again.”
Was that Snow’s version of a joke?
He’s not smiling. But I’ve yet to see him smile—he may not be capable of it.
“Don’t worry, I’ll run,” I say.
“See you tomorrow.” Snow nods.
I jog across campus with long strides, my body sore but strangely light.
8
CAT
Dean leaves me alone for an entire week.
Those days are oddly blank.
I had grown used to running around campus, meeting him between classes and over meals.
I had gotten used to his tall frame always beside me, and that tense, electric energy he radiates.
Dean does everything efficiently. I’ve memorized the way he lines up his fork and knife beside his plate, how he butters his bread and how he sets his water glass down in precisely the same place after taking a drink.
I find myself setting out my own dishes in the same way, even though I’m eating lunch with Rakel, Anna, and Chay today, and not Dean.
“Nice to have you back,” Chay says to me, spreading out her own generous lunch, which includes three chocolate chip cookies.
“Are those keto?” Anna teases her.
“No,” Chay replies with great dignity. “I stopped doing keto over the summer when I went to Tasmania. I wanted to try the local food. And anyway, Ozzy says he likes me with a little more ass.”
“I bet he does,” Anna laughs. “You can have my cookie too—for Ozzy.”
“Are you guys still dating?” I ask Chay, pleased to hear an update.
“Yes,” she says happily. “I met his dad and cousins. We went bow hunting and cliff diving. Took a three-day trip to the barrier reef and swam with whale sharks. His dad is just like Ozzy, I felt like I knew him already. I think it was a good distraction for him. For all of us. Ozzy showed me his mom’s rose garden. I rode her favorite horse . . . He’s still sad, really sad. But he’s also himself, funny and playful and . . .”
Chay breaks off, pink-cheeked, thinking she’s said too much.
She’s clearly head-over-heels for Ozzy, despite the fact that they’re now long distance.
“Are you going to Tasmania again when school lets out?” I ask.
Chay shakes her head. “No. Ozzy’s coming to Berlin. I mean, if he still wants to in the spring.”
“I think he’d swim there if he had to,” Anna laughs.
“You can’t swim to Berlin. It’s land-locked,” Rakel says.
