“All year, actually.”
“What about school?”
I shake my head. “My parents were my tutors. I never went to a proper school until my last year of high school and then college.”
“You went to college?”
“Don’t look so surprised,” I say with a large dose of sarcasm, but his shock is a little insulting.
“You just don’t seem the type.”
“And what type is that?”
“I don’t know.” He looks around. “You seem to be the opposite of conventional. And your upbringing confirms it.”
“I guess. But I think that’s where I differ from my parents. They were never happy if they stayed in one place for too long. As for me… I don’t know… I like having a place to call home… Friends that I can grow old with.”
He nods but looks away.
“What about you? Do you like travelling with the team?”
He redirects his gaze to me and smiles. “I love it. It’s the best part of the job. I get to travel across the country and even into Canada sometimes. I wake up in a new city almost every day. It’s like a dream come true.”
“You sound like my father,” I say and the familiar pang in my chest creeps up whenever I think about him. I’m ready to change the subject but he asks the one question I’ve been dreading.
“How did they die?”
A lump forms in my throat and I try to clear it. When that doesn’t work, I take a sip of my water. My hand trembles so I place the glass gently back on the table.
“I can’t talk about it.”
“It’s okay. You don’t have to.”
I look down between us and I’m desperate to change the subject. To change the energy in the room.
That’s when I remember his shoulder.
“Can I feel your arm?”
He stares at me through narrow eyes, probably wondering about the quick change, but then he smiles. “That’s got to be the worst pick up line I’ve ever heard.”
His boyish grin makes me laugh and I appreciate him lightening the mood. “I’m not flirting. I promise.”
“Well, I don’t like the sound of that. Just when things are starting to look up between us.”
“I noticed a grimace on your face when you were playing with Anthony, and I’ve been meaning to take a look at it.”
“I thought you were going to show me some yoga exercises. This sounds like a set up to have your hands all over me.”
I roll my eyes, but he continues, “I think you’re flirting with me, Sage.”
“Never,” I say, then look him straight in the eye. “Now take off your shirt.”
7
Casey
I know I’m right. She is flirting with me.
