Page 36 of Reckless Love

Chapter 13

When William appeared in my Friday lecture I was surprised. And then I was happy. And then I was upset. It was a cascade effect of emotions and realizations. As promised, he wore a black hat, dark shades, and plain grey t-shirt that pulled across his shoulders and chest.Several of my students gave him second glances.

And third and fourths. But I ignored that becausebrother.

I was surprised because that made two visits in one week after a lifetime of barely knowing each other. When he said he wanted us to get closer he obviously meant it. That made me very happy. Hopeful. Like a light was turning on inside me for the very first time. It was similarto how it felt when Leo pursued me, but altogether different. The light was the same, the glow and the happiness felt very similar, but it was the response that was quite different. When Leo lit me up I wanted to merge our bodies and our lives permanently and bask in his glow forever.

William simply made me want to hug him and have him over for football on the weekends.

But then...realization hit. Twice in one week. That was a lot. It was enthusiastic. It was lovely.

It was too much.

He was studying me. So I proceeded carefully. “This is a pleasant surprise.”

He pretended he didn’t know me. “Hi my name is Jefferson.”

I rolled my eyes. “All I asked was for you to keep a low profile, not take a new name.”

“You switched to your middlename. Why can’t I?”

“OkayJeff.Would you like some lunch?”

He smiled wide. “I saw the food truck was here and I hear the pork tacos are amazing.”

So I escorted my incognito big brother to the truck and then to a lovely shaded space on the lawn where we indulged in my favorite tacos, sodas, and coleslaw.

“Twice in one week. I’m honored, William. Do you do any actualwork or do you spend all your time gallivanting around Tampa?”

“I work. All the time. I’m working now, can’t you tell?”

“How is having lunch with me working?”

“I’m running numbers in the back of my head. How much we’re spending on concessions versus the revenue being generated by merchandise.” He tapped his temple. “It’s all up here. All the time. It never stops.” His voicewent pretty cold by the end.

“You still don’t sleep do you?” I had distinct memories of him staying up later than me but also being up at the crack of dawn every day. Sometimes I could hear him shuffling up and down the hallway at night.

He looked away. “Hard to sleep when your mind never stops. I can afford to take a long lunch. The hours I put in more than make up for it.”

We ate quietly after that. I think we were both lost in our memories. It was easy to pinpoint all the things that made us who we were, but a little harder to swallow the idea that we were now hardwired—in good and bad ways—to perform. I’m sure his fast mind and ability to put in long hours added to his success. But it also exhausted him, probably tormented him on those long nights when allhe wanted to do was rest.

As for me, my ability to piece together data and information came naturally, honed by Edmund for success. It contributed to every positive thing I had in my life now. It also haunted me every single day.

“Well? What do you think of the tacos?”

He wiped his mouth clean. “As good as you claimed. I think I’ll try the Cuban next time. My goal is try everysingle one in the city of Tampa.”

“That’s a very interesting goal.”

“The Cubans are really good here.”

“That’s because there is a whole Cuban community.”

He punched me lightly on the arm. “You don’t say. Something to do with cigars?”

“Something like that.”

“The cigars are really good here too.” He grinned.

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