Something about the eagerness in our coach’s step has me bristling, which is stupid. Hanlon needs friends, and Micah is a solid guy.
Plus, I’m not the jealous type.
What would I even be jealousabout?
When they reemerge a few minutes later, Hanlon is handing Micah his phone, and the pair are all smiles as they fist bump and Hanlon heads for the door.
I watch as my stepbrother disappears into the early morning darkness.
Spinning around to finish cleaning up Hanlon’s and my equipment, Marie grabs a rubber plate and follows me to the pile where it belongs.
“So…he’s cute,” she gushes.
“Already called dibs!” Micah says, passing us with a huge grin.
Marie’s face falls. “Damn. All the hot single guys are gay.”
My eyes widen. “He’s not gay, and he’s not a piece of meat you can calldibson, for Christ’s sake,” I say immediately.
“He gave me his number pretty easily, and I wasn’t really hiding my interest. You sure he’s straight?” Micah jokes as he hangs jump ropes back up along the wall.
“Pretty damn,” I mutter, although the uncomfortable truth is that I actuallydon’tknow.
“We’ll see,” Micah says, unfazed.
I make it all of ten embarrassing minutes before I send Hanlon a text. My rationale? It’s still my job to look outfor him.
Me:
Micah thinks you guys hanging out is a date, just FYI.
Hanlon
How sweet.
Me
Sweet?
Hanlon
Yeah, I’m flattered.
It’slike he’s purposely keeping his answers vague so as not to tell me anything helpful. I don’t know what my problem is, but I know it’s pissing me off. I don’t respond to that because I have absolutely no clue what to say. Instead, I drive back home, shower, and prepare to spend the day taking care of every chore I’ve been putting off just to keep my hands and my mind occupied.
I’m so desperate, I even think about calling Logan, but I never dial the number. In the end, I know that will only make things worse.
Chapter 8
Hanlon
By the end of the third week, Stone and I have managed to figure out how to work around each other without igniting a bunch of fires, but I still can’t say it’s a comfortable working environment.
I’ve begged to be put with one of the other guys, but Stone’s unnecessary, protective big brother complex won’t allow it. So, he’s kept us both trapped in our misery.
Thankfully, I’m finally done with theget-to-know-youphase of this internship. I’ve met all the crew, memorized the trail map—mostly—and have some familiarity with the daily schedule, and today is my favorite kind of day: testing the snowpack.
The part I actually give a shit about.
