Austentacious119: Let the writing commence.
three
ASHTON
No man is offended by another man’s admiration of the woman he loves; it is the woman only who can make it a torment.
— JANE AUSTEN
Ifollowed Holden and Christy as we climbed down the rows of seats in the Commonwealth Center, the home of Richmond Rockets ice hockey. The game was about to begin and the arena was only half full. Looked like the Rockets were still struggling to find a fanbase.
I glanced over at the woman my sister-in-law, Christy, had hand-picked to be my date. Persephone Baker. A new teacher this year at Seddledowne High, she taught honors English. Imagine that. She was beautiful. Shiny blond hair that hit right below her shoulder blades. High cheekbones, huge blue eyes, probably five foot four. Maybe a little too short for a tall guy like me but close enough.
Tally’s the perfect height. She’d fit right under your chin.
STOP. IT.
Persephone wasn’t too loud but she wasn’t too quiet. She was funny, and smart, loved Lord of the Rings and Star Wars, and hated Jane Eyre as much as me.
So why did my stupid, dead heart feel nothing? Not a twitch, or a twitter of attraction.
“Theeeooo.” Tally’s sing-song voice entered through my eardrums, jolted through my veins, and hit my lungs with a WHAM! My heart bucked against my ribs, trying to catapult out of my chest and run straight over to her without me.
Looked like I wasn’t dead after all. I was so freaking alive it was annoying.
It had been a month since I’d met with her in my office. The first week had sucked like it was a real breakup. My chest had ached so much it hurt to breathe. But I kept moving. Kept pretending everything was fine. Spoiler: nothing was fine. Everything was terrible. But I’d done the right thing. Should’ve done it a year ago. This would get better with time.
The question was, how long? Even now, five times a day, I had to fight the urge to text her a meme or tell her how put off I was that Garrett kept trying to weave Doctor Who fan theories into his thesis on time travel paradoxes in contemporary sci-fi narratives.
My gaze followed the sound of her voice. She stood in front of her seat, tall and willowy with her dark brown hair that almost reached her waist. Her huge brown eyes were bright. She seemed happy to be here. Looked perfectly fine now that I wasn’t her advisor. That thought brought the dull ache down to lung-crushing level, undoing days of progress.
“C’mon over here.” She smiled at her eleven-year-old nephew who had a mini-hockey stick. From the pretend skater's motion and the sound effects he was making it looked like he was trying to play his very own game in the stands. “Igot you a hot dog. And root beer.” She snuggled her nine-year-old niece, Charlotte, against her side. Everyone called her Charlie. She was adorable and had the same long brown hair and big brown eyes as Tally. Apparently, the Hawkins genes were strong.
I hated what seeing Tally in Madden’s jersey did to me. Truth be told, at that moment I wanted to peel the jersey over her head, set it on fire, and burn it in effigy. I liked Madden. I hated that Madden was with Tally.
Her gaze flitted up to us and locked on mine. I smiled, my metaphorical olive branch. Her cheeks went pink, but I swear the sparkle deepened. Until she saw Persephone. A small crease formed between her brows, and she glanced away, her smile disappearing altogether.
Maybe it’s like the old cliche, absence made her heart grow fonder?
Nuh-uh. Nope. I was not doing this tonight. I would not obsess over every micro-expression or inflection in her voice. Thoughts of what it would be like if she realized she had feelings for me, would not ruin my evening. I would not think about what it would feel like to wrap my arms around her waist. Straight up heavenly. No doubt. Or what her lips would taste like—maybe sweet vanilla or creamy caramel. She loved lattes. Said she had to be properly caffeinated to start the day. Or how it would feel to hold her hand. I let out a small sigh.
No! Thoughts of Tally would not overtake my evening. I wouldn’t let them.
They just did, noob.
I released a low growl, irritated at myself.
Persephone glanced over at me. I pasted on a smile and pressed against the small of her back, urging her forward. It was time to slip on my Everything is Great face. I’d gotten pretty good at it over the years.
Anna and Blue were seated two rows up from Tally, alongwith the rest of my family. Anna hopped out of her seat and bounded up the stairs toward Holden and Christy. When Anna saw me she made a face like she’d smelled something sour. Her eyes flitted to Persephone, then to me, then to Holden, looking frustrated and confused.
Anna quickly hugged Christy. “Hey, Aunt Chris.” But she glared at Holden, her lips pursed in an angry line.But then her gaze shifted, and it wasn’t sayingangryanymore. She looked distraught. Almost panicked.
“Well, hello to you too.” Holden’s easy chuckle only made her eyes narrow further. He scoffed. “What could I possibly have done wrong? I just got here.” He opened his arms. “C’mon, you know you want an Uncle Holdie hug.”
Anna sidestepped him but I caught how her finger hooked through one of his belt loops keeping him in place. She spoke to Christy over his shoulder. “I need to steal him for a moment if that’s okay. He’ll be right back.”
Christy, who looked curious but amused, went on ahead. She hugged Blue who was holding Anna’s seat like someone might take it. That man had to have her next to him at all times. I got it. Sort of. Long ago, fate had torn them apart for four miserable years. But you’d think he’d have learned to relax by now. They shared the same last name, for crying out loud.
