I’m probably imagining it, but something like sadness might darken her eyes from aquamarine to sapphire.
“Yeah, plan worked, I guess. He said he’d work to trade me, if I still needed to go before the deadline. Right after the All-Star break.”
“Oh!” she says again, and I don’t think I’m imagining it this time, but it’s a bit hard to tell with all the blinking she’s doing. “I knew I deserved the credit for you being named hottest player of the week!” She shoves at my shoulder, but her words wobble, and she puts on a face that seems fake until she cocks her head. “What’s the All-Star break?”
“Yeah, uh, it’s a mandatory break during the All-Star Game. Happens every year. Get about four days off before the second half of the season.”
“Are you playing?”
“Nah. I’m ... not going to go.” I jerk my chin.
She narrows her eyes. “I don’t know how it works, but were you ... invited?”
“Obviously.” I cut her a look before I scratch absentmindedly at my chin. “I’m just ... not really interested in going without Matty.”
I didn’t think I’d ever be interested in anything without him, but here I am.
I’m interested in you, I think.Please don’t make me go.
“Oh. I’m sorry, Miller.” Her hand finds mine, and her thumb traces along his initial. “What are you going to do instead? Four days off probably seems like a lot when you’re used to one.”
“Yeah, uh, it is.” I watch her finger trace patterns along my skin and try to keep my eyes from closing. “I thought—I’m sure you’re busy, but, uh, maybe that’s when I’d ... try to go up to the cottage.” The words spill out before I can stop them.
But she grabs my singular hand with both of hers. “Sure. I can take a few days off.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.” She nods. “Really.”
“Cool, uh, it’s—”
She interrupts, voice all wilted and worried. “The unveiling isn’t until after that, though.”
“That’s okay. They, uh, don’t have to be in order,” I tell her. “We can play catch on my next day off when I’m home, and we can go to the cottage, and then we can—”
“Go on a practice date?” She smiles again, giving my hand an excited shake. “I mean, I don’t want to brag, but that was kind of genius of me, don’t you think? I can’t think of a better way to end this than to do the last thing on our lists together.”
“Yeah, yeah. Totally.” I nod, forcing a grin.
I should be used to things ending. There was nothing I could do to keep my mom or Matty around.
Ren keeps talking—beautiful and brilliant and bright, even without the sunset painting her in all those new colours.
But I can’t focus on a single thing she says, because I can’t think of anything fucking worse than having to say goodbye to Ren Jacobs.
Ren
“Do you think the Maritime Museum has a library this big?”
If the self-important sound of loafers clicking on a tile floor didn’t give Scott away, the spite hidden under something most people might mistake for teasing certainly would.
“How would I know?” I don’t bother looking up but keep clicking through the files on my computer.
He helps himself to the chair across from me, like he does with most things in his life, and folds himself neatly down, stretching his long legs out underneath the table so far into my space I feel like ghosts of his stupid shoes whisper past the pointed toes of my heels.
He shrugs, lazy, in my periphery. “I heard a rumour that you might become very well acquainted with the museum in the near future.”
I make a show of clicking down on my mouse harder than necessary. “If you don’t mind, I have a thrilling afternoon of data cleaning to do. As you know, we just acquired a family ofsaurolophus for the new collection, and I need to make sure the digital assets are catalogued properly.”
