Page 79 of The New Guy
But the trouble comes after, right? I step out of his embrace, and give him a stoic nod. “See you over there.” Where I’ll have to pretend indifference.
He chews his lip, and then crosses to the door. “Mind if I, uh, take a peek into the hallway?”
“Yeah, go ahead.”
I wait as he sticks his head out into the corridor and looks both ways. Then he opens the door for me.
And it feels terrible. Like I’m doing a perp walk. Still, I place a palm on his chest just before I walk out the door, pulling my suitcase behind me.
The door closes with a firm click, and I hate the sound of it.
* * *
An hour later I’m setting up my station in the underbelly of an unfamiliar stadium while game-day chaos swirls around me.
The visiting team never gets the glamorous digs. I’m essentially in a basement alcove, stacking bandages and supplies on a cracked countertop, while the equipment crew hauls bags of gear to and fro.
Hockey players are beginning to assemble in the adjacent dressing room. I hear their teasing voices, and catch a glimpse or two of their purple jackets as they arrive for their morning skate.
My phone rings, and the number is my sister’s. There’s no athlete in my chair yet, so I answer. “Hey Reg, is everything okay?”
“Of course,” she says cheerily. “I just called to tell you that our child is amazing.”
“Our child?”
“I get to claim her when you’re out of town,” she says, as if this makes perfect sense. “She's just so smart. I tried to stump her on Disney lyrics on the walk to school, and it totally backfired. She has all the lyrics to every song in Moana down cold.”
“She must get that from me,” I tease, and she laughs. “Thank you for being there for her this week.”
“I love it! Are you okay? You sound down.”
“I’m fine. Just tired.” Although that’s not really true. There’s the bullshit with Eustace, but I don’t need to ruin my sister’s day.
Plus, sneaking out of Hudson’s room made me feel melancholy. It’s not the same as being a high school kid again, and living in fear of my father’s wrath. But I still feel like maybe I’m kidding myself.
In the harsh light of morning, it’s hard to hang on to the fact that Hudson cares about me, and that our night together was magical. If you can’t get coffee together in the hotel lobby, did it really even happen?
“Gavin?” my sister prompts. “Did you hear me?”
“No, sorry,” I mutter. “Tired, here.”
She chuckles. “Must have been some night.”
“Oh it was. But I’m paying for it now.” In so many ways.
“Wake up, little brother. I was trying to tell you that my summer tour got some added dates, and I'm not coming back to the city until August twenty-second.”
Shit. That means I need to find a summer program for Jordyn. Stat. “Okay,” I say evenly. “Thank you for telling me.”
“Sorry,” she says softly. “I know you’re worried about childcare.”
“Only because I haven’t dealt with it yet.” But it’s possible that taking this job was a huge mistake.
“Jordyn told me about a day camp at the arts center. Her friends like it.”
“Yeah, I’m trying. But they give preference to their Gold Circle members. That’s, like, a two thousand dollar donation. And that’s before the cost of the camp.”
“Jesus,” Reggie sputters. “They’d better be little Rembrandts for that money. I’ll see you soon?”
