Page 49 of Brick Wall
“No,” I say with a laugh, “and don’t worry, Todd Dinglehammer wins that award every year. I think people push him now every time he’s near a canoe.”
He gives me a light laugh, but it’s clear his mind is elsewhere. I wonder if he’s thinking about that kiss. My core heats in response.
I don’t think Sebastian will make another move tonight, though. I’m not sure why. It was a great kiss. Top tier. I hope I wasn’t the only one who enjoyed that.
“I saw the award list, and you are in the clear. It’s mostly teenage counselors who get it, anyway,” I add in case he was nervous about going on stage, although probably not because a football stadium has many more people than a minor camp party.
“But you are right,” I say while standing up and wiping myself off. “We should probably get back. I need to bring over the wine before the ceremony begins.”
Sebastian gives a hearty chuckle. “Don’t bother,” he says while placing his hand on top of mine when it reaches the wine box.
“There’s plenty of wine,” he clarifies.
“What?!” I accidentally raise my voice by three octaves. “How do you know?” I try to say more evenly.
“Because I passed your brother with a huge box of wine in his hands on my way over to the shed. He’s all set.” Sebastian chuckles at the end of his sentence.
“Oh my God! I can’t believe he played me again. Nope, no, it actually doesn’t surprise me at all. I can’t believe I fell for his trap…again.” I take a deep breath and then continue, “I’m sorry about my brothers, actually just Ryan.”
“It’s not a big deal; like I said before, it was my idea. I wanted to be here with you.” There’s heat in his eyes as he says those words, and I melt a little.
I’m staring back at Sebastian, probably with heat in my eyes, too. I automatically think of that kiss again. How do we go back to that kissing thing?
We are staring at each other, and I need to look away, but I can’t. However, he clears his throat and looks away instead.
“We, uh…” Sebastian stumbles over his words. “We should probably get back, even if the awards don’t matter. Maybe make your brother confused by our arrival, if anything.”
“Yeah, sure,” I say, opening the shed door.
My brother isn’t the only one confused.
At the end of the night, I’m still not sure where we stand, but before I fall asleep, my phone pings with multiple dog surfing videos.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Sebastian
Mauling Annie against the shed was not the plan. I guess I didn’t really have one. I just wanted her to know how amazing she is. That was the plan, and it kind of got away from me there.
To be honest, I haven’t thought about women in general too much before Annie. My focus is entirely on football. Sure, I have a break every now and then, but it’s much more then than now if that makes sense.
It’s been two days, and I’m still thinking about Annie entirely too much. I’m not used to it.
I’m sitting on a bench in the locker room, tying my sneakers after practice, when Calvin comes over and pats me on the back. “Ready?”
“Yep,” I say while grabbing my duffel bag.
Calvin and I live in the same condo complex. We both own condos in an older building in the Seaport District, overlooking both Boston Harbor and the stadium. It’s nice tobe a quick walk to both the ocean and the stadium. However, for security reasons, we usually just drive the few minutes down the road to work. It’s easier, especially when I’m exhausted from a grueling practice.
I’m driving my truck, lowering the volume, when I see Cal raising his eyebrows.
I’m not sure what it is but sitting next to someone in a car and not looking at them makes it easier to have more difficult conversations, not that it will be too difficult.
I take a deep breath and go for it.
“What do you think of Annie?”
“Annie? Goldie’s Annie?” he questions.
