Page 91 of The Pact

It takes me a second to find the words. “I ... that would be ... oh my God, Ash! That’s the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me.”

Mr. Reynolds chuckles. “I guess that means you accept the job offer?”

It really seems too good to be true. “I do. But is it that simple? I mean, if I’ll be officially employed by the college, won’t I have to go for an interview or something?”

Mr. Reynolds shakes his head. “Since your wage is privately funded, not really. You’ll just need to go through an informal chat with their athletic department committee and an employee induction course. But it’s all a formality. The committee immediately accepted to hire you based on my recommendation and the glowing references provided by your boss at Shell Cove Library. And if you guys hang around, I’ll introduce you to one of the members of the panel who is here tonight. He’s a new tenured professor at Bridgeport.”

This is like a dream. I’ll be able to go to college without waiting for years. I take a deep breath to try and contain the tears that are threatening to spill and ruin my makeup.

“Ash,” I whisper, looking into his eyes. “I have no words. That’s the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me.”

Edith smiles, taking her husband’s arm and walking away. “That’s delightful but let’s stop talking about business for a minute and enjoy the party. Mr. Reynolds here owes me a dance. And you should get Ashton to dance with you too, he’s excellent at it. I taught him all I know.”

Ash nods, guiding me toward a section of the huge ballroom where the lights are dimmer and there are a few couples already dancing. “Mom had the right idea. Will you do me the honor of dancing with me?”

I agree and rest my head on Ashton’s shoulder as we swing in sync with the music. There are a lot of things I want to say to him. I can’t believe he and the others got me a job for their team and a place at Bridgeport. I was accepted—it was an early admission actually—but at first, I couldn’t accept without my parents’ signature and I needed their help with tuition anyway. When it became clear that my father had decided against letting me go to college and I moved out, I didn’t need his permission anymore because I turned eighteen but obviously I had no way to pay for it.

“Are you ok?” Ash whispers into my ear, pulling me a bit closer as we dance.

His mother is right. We’ve been dancing for about ten songs and he’s an excellent partner. He guides me without being overwhelming and it feels natural for our bodies to move together.

“Yeah, I’m ok.” I lift my gaze to meet his. “I’m just ... no one has ever done anything like that for me, Ash. Thank you.”

He tightens his hold on me and my nose touches the smooth skin of his neck, right above the collar of his white shirt. I know we’re dancing closer than would be polite, but right now I can’t bring myself to care. “You don’t have to thank me. Not just me, at least. Like I said, it was Bode’s idea and the others agreed too.”

I don’t know what to say to that, so I rest my head back on his shoulder, trying to stop my head from spinning. It would be easy to read too much into this and surely this isn’t the time or the place to discuss it. Honestly, I’m kinda scared to discuss it because I might be starting to care for these guys more than would be safe.

There’s a beat of silence between us, when the only thing guiding our steps is the music flowing around the dance floor.

Ashton leads me confidently toward the edge of the ballroom where we can probably enjoy a tad more privacy than in the thick of it.

“Ausra, what’s going on in that pretty head of yours? I can hear the gears grinding and you’re tense. I hope we didn’t offend you by trying to help?”

I lift my head to look at him. We’re barely moving at this point but he doesn’t even try to loosen his hold on me. “Offended? How could I be offended? I’m just unsure about what that means for us.” The word us feels heavy on my tongue, it has the viscous consistency of syrup. “I wonder if you guys have thought about the implications of your offer. If I work for you, what’s going to happen at the end of the summer? When our game is over? You all said no strings attached and—”

“Does it matter?” he interrupts. “I mean yeah, we know that the game will be over by the time we even start school. And while I can’t talk for the others, I want all sorts of strings attached. I don’t want to stop seeing you when the game is over. I don’t even fucking care who wins. I just know that I still want you in my life. With or without the others.”

His words make my heart increase its pace but I’m still worried about a bajillion things. “So you want to stay friends?”

The corner of his mouth quirks up in an irreverent smirk. “Friends? Sure. But Ausra, is that what we are? Just friends?”

I’m scared to assume anything, so I tread carefully. “Isn’t that what you guys said when you asked me to play?”

He returns serious. “Cutie, I don’t know about you but I care about you. As more than a friend. Look, I don’t let my hookups sleep in my arms. I’ve actually always gotten rid of them as soon as the condom was disposed of. If it was just about the game, trust me, we’d hook up and then call you a cab at best. There wouldn’t be any hanging out, eating together, cuddling. Meeting families. Sure, we might’ve started with the intention to just play with you but at least as far as I’m concerned, I fucking care. And don’t tell me that you don’t because I don’t believe you. If you didn’t care about me, you wouldn’t have looked after me for three days. Maria was here and there was a doctor on call, so you weren’t needed. Actions speak louder than words, Ausra.”

“Ash, I—”

“Answer me, Ausra. Do you care about me?”

I nod shakily. “I do. So you say you want more? But what about the others? I—”

He shrugs. “As I said, I don’t want to talk for them. But I’ve known Kelley for ten years and the others since kindergarten. You met Nora, didn’t you?”

I confirm that I met Kelley’s sister. “I did but—”

“You being our team’s manager was Bode’s idea. He’s obviously thought beyond our game. And have you seen Shep? You haven’t known him for long but I can tell you for sure that I’ve never seen that asshole follow anyone like a lost puppy, like he does you.”

I’m still worried that this whole thing will explode in my face. That I’ll listen to Ash and to the feelings that keep piling up in my heart, pressing for me to let them take over. I’ll let myself believe that they care, accept their offer and then when we’re done with our game, they’ll move on to other hookups and I’ll have a front seat to that shit show.

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