He sighs. “Okay, so here’s where I think we got confused. One, my name is Roux. I was hesitant to give my real name on Kala. Stranger danger and all that. Also, I’m a little cautious when giving my name since my ex, so I went with something that sounds enough like Roux that I’d at least turn to see who spoke as opposed to saying my name is Sam or Adam, which I’d have ignored entirely because that’s not my name.”
I’m still grinning. I can’t help it.
“Makes sense,” Alka says. “It’s going to take some time tonotcall you Ruby.”
“It’s okay. I don’t mind it at all.”
“I really like Roux, though,” I say. “It’s a nice name.”
I hear his smile now. “Thank you. Okay, I don’t know how long he’ll talk to Noah, so two, when Alka asked me where I went to school after I said I was transferring, I answered with the truth. At the time, I was currently enrolled at Longwood U. Maybe I should have added on that I was trying to transferfromLongwood U. If anything, that would have at least prompted the question as to where I was hoping to go. Rainbow Dorset. The signs were there. We just didn’t ask the right questions, I guess.”
“To be fair, knowing your full name wasn’t going to make me realize sooner,” Alka says. “I let Harper handle all recruiting. Full disclosure—when I pulled up the roster in front of the team, that was the first time I was looking at it.”
Ruby laughs. “Yeah?”
“Yep. Just think. If I’d looked at it on the plane when I opened the damn email, we’d have known a week ago.”
“Serves you right for not being a responsible coach and learning your athletes’ names,” I tease.
Alka huffs. “For real.”
Hearing Ruby laugh settles something inside me. I sigh. He’s so fucking close. It’s maddening that he’s not right here in front of us where we can hold him between us. I can’t wait for him to have a place in our home.
“So… We should also talk about the reality of this situation,” Alka says. “You’re my athlete. On my team.”
“I know. I’ll quit soccer,” Ruby says.
“No,” Alka and I say together.
Ruby laughs.
“We need to talk about this,” Alka insists, “but do not quit soccer. We’ll figure it out.”
“How? Isn’t dating a student against the rules?”
“Oh, probably. But quitting soccer doesn’t suddenly make you on limits. You’re still a student here.”
“I… Well, that’s fucking stupid.”
Alka and I grin at each other.
“So now what? I’m here, yet we can’t be together?”
“We can be together, but until I figure out how to make this work logistically, we’re going to have to see each other on the down low.”
“Pretending I’m a gay man pretending I’m a straight man and sneaking around with guys. Got it.”
We laugh. Fuck, I’ve missed this man. How can it have only been a week?
“We’ll figure it out,” I assure him. “Promise.”
“Soon,” he says, sighing.
Alka and I hold each other’s stares. “Soon,” we repeat.
“Also, tomorrow, you’re coming over,” I say. “I’m going to need to hold you for a while.”
Ruby sighs. “Done. I don’t have a vehicle here. How far away do you live?”
