Page 23 of Overtime
“Yeah. You’ve been saying you wanted to go, so I asked if it was possible to rent the place out, and they said yes. I might have namedropped you a bit.”
“Violet…”
“I know. I use my powers wisely though. And you guys are under so much pressure this season. I thought it would be a good escape for a couple of hours. Calm your stress levels a bit. And we’re getting a private tour behind the scenes.” Violet turns to us. “I only asked about Ben and me, but I could ask for you all too. You’re definitely welcome to tour the public areas though. I already asked about that.”
“No. You should go on your private tour together, the two of you. I can wander around. Having the whole place to myself sounds amazing.”
“Well, as long as you two can play nice.” Violet looks between us.
“We can play nice. Right, Joss?” I grin at her.
“Of course.” She grins back, a glint in her eye.
After a quick introductionand signing some autographs for family members of the employees, Joss and I are let loose in the aquarium while Ben and Violet take their private tour. We make our way through the exhibits for a few moments in silence, finding ourselves in an underwater dome when she finally speaks.
“Did you delete the text?”
“Yes.”
“Without looking at it?”
“Yes. I told you I would.”
“Thank you.”
“Not gonna tell me what the rest of it said?”
“I told you enough. I’m sorry for breaking into the bathroom while you were showering. I just… can we be honest for a moment?” She stops and looks at me for permission to continue.
“Yeah…” I agree, wondering where this is headed.
“This is getting messy fast right?” She frowns.
“Complicated maybe. I don’t know that I’d say messy.”
“Yet.”
I tilt my head because it’s a fair possibility it will get messy.
“Nude photos, the idea of you on the board, whatever just happened in that bathroom… or the first night I was here. This is bad. We’re older, more mature now. We can do better than the last time.”
“Agreed that we can do better. Is it necessarily bad though?”
She eyes me skeptically. “That there’s still a weird spark here? Yeah, I think that’s bad given the way it blew up the last time.”
I shrug, trying to make it look casual even though I feel the apprehension starting to creep in. “I think a lot has changed since then. And you’re only in town for a few weeks. Seeing Ben and Violet, getting Harper and the nonprofit set up, and then you’re back on the road?”
“Right.”
“So you won’t be here to deal with me on the board. You photograph people all the time, so it’ll be professional. And a few weeks of flirting never killed anyone.”
“Nearly killed us both the last time.”
“Yeah well, we were fucking. Not flirting. But I was a kid who’d just had his heart ripped out of his chest by the only girl he’d ever thought he’d be with. With the rival quarterback. I was in a pretty ugly place at the time that had nothing to do with you.”
“And now, what are you? The guys call you a priest, but you certainly don’t talk like it.”
I’m not excited about getting into the weeds on this with her.
