Anxiety squeezed Bryson’s chest like a vise.
It had to be the hospital. Or the sheriff’s office. Would the fire department call?
He clicked into his voicemail and readied himself for whatever news was about to turn his world upside down.
“Hi, Bryson. This is Althea Gordon, assistant principal at Southwest Terrebonne High School. Your mother gave me your number.”
Bryson paused the voicemail and, still holding on to Bella, bent over and braced his left hand against his knee. He sucked in several deep breaths. He had to stop jumping to the worst-case scenario when it came to his parents. He was going to give himself a fucking heart attack.
He went back to the voicemail.
“I know this is very short notice, but one of our featured speakers for the school’s Career Day had to pull out at the last minute. I mentioned it to your mother before she left on her cruise, and she said I should give you a call. Even though you didn’t graduate from Southwest Terrebonne, we still consider you an honorary member of the Wolf Pack. I apologize for not calling sooner, but we would love to have you join us tomorrow.”
Seriously, Ma?
She couldn’t bother to make time for him, yet she hadno qualms about distributing his time out to others. It’s a good thing he wasn’t on call tomorrow and the one surgery he’d had scheduled was pushed back due to an infection that would need to be cleared first.
He called the assistant principal back and was relieved to get her voicemail. He wasn’t up for holding a conversation right now.
“Hi, Ms. Gordon, this is Bryson Mitchell. I’m happy to join you all for Career Day. If you can send a text to this number with the start time, that would help a lot. See you tomorrow.”
Still holding Bella against his chest, Bryson set off in an easy jog along the remaining bit of the running trail. He crossed Lake Marina Drive and, within minutes, was back in his condo. He considered returning to the park for a more rigorous run, but it didn’t take much to talk himself out of it.
After topping off Bella’s water bowl, he made his way to the kitchen for his own bottle of water. His phone chimed with an incoming text.
Hey Bryson, this is Sierra Jackson. Your mom gave me your number.
“What the hell?” Why was his mother giving his number out like Halloween candy? And to his junior prom date, no less.
But he couldn’t ignore Sierra’s text. She had been sweet back in the day. She’d also refrained from remarking on the less-than-stellar two minutes it had taken from start to finish when they both lost their virginity on prom night.
He perched against the kitchen counter and banged out a quick text.
Hey Sierra. Good to hear from you.
He uncapped a bottle of water and gulped down half of it without coming up for air. Sierra texted back within seconds.
Your mom told me you moved to New Orleans. I’m in River Ridge now. Maybe we can get together?
Bryson set the water bottle on the counter and stared at the phone.
There were several ways to interpret Sierra’s invitation. She was an old friend who possibly just wanted to catch up. They hadn’t been super close as kids. They’d attended the same church but not the same high school. He’d only asked her to prom because not a single girl at the bougie-ass high school he went to appealed to him back then.
The three dots popped up on his phone, indicating another incoming text.
To be clear, when I say get together, I mean in an adult way.
Well, damn. Guess there was no reason for him to interpret her meaning on his own.
Bryson ran a hand over his mouth as he continued to process the text and suss out its implications.
Maybe this is what he needed. After the way his kiss with Evie had ended, with her still not sure if she wanted to go beyond that kiss, why not see what else was out there? God knows this drought he’d been in had lasted longer than he’d planned. It had been nearly a year since he’d hooked up with anyone. His last time had been with a research vet he’d met at a conference in Seattle. They hadn’t even exchanged numbers after.
Would it hurt to spend a night out with an old friend? A night that would end in guaranteed sex and would force him to finally put Evie in that friends-only category she obviously wanted to reside in?
He texted Sierra back.
I appreciate the invitation, but this just isn’t a good time.
