“What?”
“Say things that are actually sincere.”
I slant a shoulder up to my ear. “Why do you say things that remind me I can have the time of my life?”
“Because I’m selfish, and you haven’t left my mind since that night.” His blunt answer lingers in my mind for the rest of the day.
9
DECLAN
Ihook my hands under the arms of an eight-year-old who just fell on the ice. As soon as he is up on two feet, he’s gliding away from me as if nothing happened. That’s pretty much what kids do, bounce back. Or at least, that’s what I’ve noticed the last two days of helping at the kids’ summer camp.
They skate around without a care in the world, and I’m kind of jealous. Being stuck in the crossroads of your life isn’t exactly a clear-minded experience.
Skating to the boards, I watch as the group of mostly boys skates around to warm up. I don’t have a clear plan about what I’ll teach them today, but I feel like taking shots at the net is a basic good start.
“Don’t forget that lunch is at one,” Connor reminds me from off the ice. I glance at him and see that he’s busy surveying his to-do list on his tablet. To my surprise, Ford didn’t have to rope Connor into being a camp coordinator; he volunteered. Of course, he negotiated his hourly wage, so it’s not exactly volunteering.
“Lunch?” I cock a brow.
He looks at me as if I’m crazy. “Yeah, with the kids. Some days you can do your own thing to have a break, but today is team building, so enjoy your peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich, or cheese sandwich if you have a peanut allergy. If you really feel like you want to live it up, then have a juice box too.” His tone is mundane.
I rub the back of my neck and blow out a breath. I forgot, and I was kind of looking forward to lunch with Violet. Now I’ll have to find a new time and wait even longer to see her.
“Not a problem,” I lie. “Okay, make sure they’re all lined up in five minutes. You should get your skates on, I want your help this morning,” I tell him.
Connor looks up from the screen. “Really? You want my help?”
“Isn’t that why you’re here, Mr. Varsity Hockey Player?” I flash him a grin, as I can tell my request is boosting his ego a bit. In truth, he has talent, and he’s going places. I feel confident enough to give him a little responsibility.
“Okay, I’ll be right back.”
I nod my head, and I quickly step off the ice to grab my phone from my bag. Quickly, I scroll down my contacts, then touch the screen to type.
Me
How caffeinated are you today? I won’t be able to escape for lunch. What about room service at dinner time?
The moment I hit send, I realize that a dinner time slot is slightly risky. It leaves a gray area about what to do for the night—stay or go. It’s the ambiguous no-man’s land of fuck-buddy protocol. She sees the message instantly, and the dots move.
Violet
Oh, dinner…
Huh, she must be thinking it too.
I guess it could work.
7?
Sure.
Alright, see you then. Slightly disappointed I never got a photo…
I throw in a crying emoji.
I had no free hands…
