Page 61 of Your Sharpest Edge
“Yeah, with Kids Camp.”
It was the one stop on the press tour I was actually looking forward to. The Ravens were sponsoring a few kids this summer to go to sports camp, which included, but wasn’t restricted to,hockey. It was an organization we started for kids who had working parents and were unable to afford childcare during the summer season. It helped the kids get out, enjoy the one season when it was actually warm in the city, and have fun.
“Don’t worry. I’ll be there with my gym shoes on.”
“Looking forward to it, man. See you in the morning.”
Ledger hung up, and I flipped my phone back onto the nightstand, then I tore the sheets off the bed and replaced them. I wanted no reminder of what happened tonight, which was stupid. I was single. I liked fucking, but the guilt crept in like I was doing something wrong. Every time this happened, I was cheating on my ghost again.
With a fresh set of sheets, I closed my eyes, thinking about our organization and Kids Camp tomorrow. Hell, let’s be honest. I thought about anything to get my mind offher.
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“I expected you to look like shit.” Ledger commented on my appearance. “Kinda like him.” He gestured over to Dirks, who had sunglasses on, his head hung low, and was wearing a mismatched outfit that clearly indicated he’d gotten dressed in the dark.
“Nah. I told you last night. I’m psyched for this.” I was in a pair of khaki shorts with a Ravens shirt that matched the one Cole and Dirks were wearing.
A brunette lady with a clipboard in one hand and her hair in a tight bun on top of her head came over to us as we stood inside a high school gymnasium in the city.
“Alright, stars of the show. I’ll go through what’s going to happen if that’s okay with you.”
Dirks groaned while Cole and I held back our laughter.
“Go right ahead, ma’am,” Ledger told her.
“We’re going to have our organization president make a little speech to the kids and their parents today, then we’ll divide the families up into six different teams based on age. Since you guysaren’t going to be here all summer, just for the day, we ask that you make your way around to each group and participate in activities.”
“The parents and kids?” Cole asked.
The lady nodded vigorously. “Yes. It’s family day. Anyone who signs up for the program has to attend with their family. It’s part of the stipulation because we believe we’re providing a collaborative camp for students so they can go home and show their parents what they learned. The parents might have never thrown a baseball before, and today we’re going to show them what catch really means.”
“Wow. That’s cool,” I said, extra excited for this.
“We think so, too.” With that, the lady shooed us to the side as the families piled in.
“You doing okay?” Ledger asked me and put his hand over my shoulder, giving it a squeeze.
Ledger was by far taller than me. He was a beast and a big dude with brown hair and a thick beard.
He also knew about Anastasia. Well, not exactly about her, but the whole thing that happened and the reason I had taken over a month off a contract. It was one of the only reasons I was going to get dropped and not traded, but the Ravens coach believed in me.
Eventually, Cole and I talked, and I told him the story of what happened in the few months that changed my life. He laughed when I told him Anastasia and I were just friends the entire time, too. Over the years, I’d realized I was always in love with her. She was the only true love I was ever going to have because, with her, everything was easy. There would never be anyone special like her, and trust me, I’d tried looking for four years.
“I’m fine,” I said as the gym filled with families and kids.
My mind imagined what it would be like to see them again—if I’d even recognize Damien since he was already five years old.
“Thank you so much, everyone, for coming.” The lady who gave us instructions now had a mic headset on as she guided families to take seats in the gym.
I leaned against the wall, not letting the pain from watching the excited families hurt me. She was never mine to begin with, but I thought I’d be in her life in some capacity for a while.
“I’m so excited everyone is here for their first day of summer camp. Please take a seat, and we’ll go ahead and get started.”
The crowd thinned out as they filled the seats.
“Damn, there are like a couple hundred people here,” Dirks, who’d perked up in the last few minutes, said as he scanned the crowd.
